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Hysteria

A marketplace-based search engine that narrows down the sexual wellness products young people want.

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Fernanda Sesto
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    E-commerce
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    Rest of the US
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  • Project Description

    77% of Gen Zers (ages 18-24) said they wanted to try something spicy in bed. In fact, they see sex as an important aspect of their health. And so do we! However, having hundreds of sexual wellness products (oils, vibrators, etc) online creates overwhelming feelings because they don’t know what to look for specifically. Therefore, they buy these products on websites that offer no guidance based on what they want. The solution? Bridging the gap between sexual wellness brands and Gen Zers by developing a mobile personalized search engine that helps users make high quality decisions about their purchases. We will drive traffic to specific sexual wellness online retailers by listing their products organically and also advertising them in exchange for a rate per click. Hysteria will be appealing to this target market because Gen Zers want to explore and learn about their sexuality. They are also known for mobile shopping and requiring instant results. Because we will use machine learning to understand behavior and interests, the results shown in our app will be tailored for each individual, making the user experience engaging, convenient, and less time consuming. We will create a loyal customer base by showing products from brands that are reliable, high quality, and aesthetic. We want to break the stigma around sex with a minimalistic app design and a user experience suitable for all audiences.
    Hysteria

  • Why is the timing right for your idea?

    The pandemic rocketed sales for sexual wellness products. Being in quarantine, individuals channeled feelings of loneliness through sexual exploration. In fact, sales were up nearly 600% compared to April 2019.* The rise of female-owned sextech companies has empowered more women to sexually explore their desires. Women are destigmatizing sexual pleasure and becoming target consumers as opposed to the male dominated market there was 5 years ago. As this momentum of de-stigmatization continues, Hysteria will be at the forefront to guide high quality decisions of consumers and thus, meet their sexual wellness needs. * Yahoo Finance

  • What is your competitive advantage?

    There are no other sexual wellness search engines at the moment so we have the opportunity to understand the target market deeply, create stronger customer relationships, and position our engine as a reliable source. As women who come from conservative households, we understand the stigma surrounding sexual wellness and the importance of making these products accessible to young people. Given that we have different sexual orientations, our diverse perspectives will allow us to create a product that will reach users regardless of their gender identity and sexual orientation. Most importantly, we share the same age as our target market which makes it easier to understand the users.

  • What will you do with $10,000?

    In order to build our first MVP and cover marketing costs, we want to win this competition. These funds will be allocated towards market research, engineering labor costs, servers, and design. Once we have a functional prototype, we will start beta testing with college students because they are part of the target market and we have direct access to them.