PopViewers

We helped PopViewers develop a stable app primed for growth.

PopViewers came to Heady with a big idea and the rough framework of an app. We built it out into something that would feel intuitive and exciting for its users.

Our development team validated existing UX features, like filters, spoiler alerts, and +1 signup options, and we finessed the app’s Discover page and recommendation engine to ensure that they both reflected the diverse selection of films and TV shows that would resonate with PopViewers’ users. As we navigated the development process, we also delivered code that matched PopViewers’ specifications to a tee and made suggestions when it didn’t, created just the right amount of code on a tight timeline and budget, and continuously integrated new developments—creating a stable, easy-to-use app that PopViewers could build on for the future.

Through strategic user research, we provided proof of concept.

After discussing who PopViewers wanted to reach with the app, we thought: why don’t we validate the concept with this audience first, before PopViewers takes the app to investors?

Heady recruited research participants based on “proto-personas”—or rough ideas of its intended audience—provided by PopViewers. Through a series of interviews with these participants, we developed insights that we used to refine the app’s UI and UX. Though PopViewers initially envisioned its users posting video reactions to the community board, we found that users instead gravitated toward a Reddit-type message board for sharing thoughts and reactions to whatever they were streaming. Through user interviews, we also realized users’ value filters—like genres and streaming services—that later became an integral part of the experience.

The result? We told PopViewers what the market wanted before they took their product to market, potentially saving their team from investing significant time, money, and energy into an app that could have missed the mark.

We met PopViewers where they were in their process—seamlessly transitioning the app to their team and later returning as ongoing advisors.

After PopViewers used our proof of concept to secure funding and build its teams, it migrated the remaining app development in-house. Because Heady developed the app through a series of strategic builds and optimizations, our code was easy and accessible for PopViewers’ internal teams to pick up. We also hosted the entire app on our servers—so the app never crashed.

After securing funding and growing its team, PopViewers asked Heady to sign on in an advisory role to provide ongoing usability and feature validation services.