59897
Urso
Zero-player game with meditation mechanics
USA, North Carolina
Market: Entertainment, Mobile applications
Stage of the project: Prototype or product is ready
Date of last change: 31.03.2023
USA, North Carolina
Market: Entertainment, Mobile applications
Stage of the project: Prototype or product is ready
Date of last change: 31.03.2023
Idea
We aim to fuse the best of mental-health apps and mobile gaming to get an upper hand in user acquisition and retention.
Current Status
During past years we’ve been building mental-health apps (praktika app) and mobile games (zillionwhales, acquired by a top-tier publisher Azur Games in 2022).
Our team has a wealth of experience in both fields and we’re ready to change the market.
US-based.
Our team has a wealth of experience in both fields and we’re ready to change the market.
US-based.
Market
Our users are residents of big cities in the United States between the ages of 25 and 35.
Problem or Opportunity
The mental-health apps market is still growing and analysts predict it to hit a $17B cap by 2030.
Along with that, we see some signals indicating that interest in classical apps is slowly declining.
You all probably know two market leaders, Calm and Headspace. And they are losing user engagement right now.
You probably know that there are a lot of mental-health apps on both major mobile platforms, and most of them share the same problems.
Firstly, every app on the market overwhelms its users with content. It’s not necessarily a bad thing. But it certainly doesn't make it easier for a regular person to navigate the app.
Most apps demand a lot of time and personal effort to make meditation a part of your daily routine. While at the same time they don’t give you any tools to measure your progress and keep yourself motivated.
All of these factors result in less than ideal engagement and shorter user lifetime.
We have our own classic meditation app Practico. And we know from experience that it’s very hard to retain users for longer than 4 months. And neither it’s easy to acquire new ones.
Along with that, we see some signals indicating that interest in classical apps is slowly declining.
You all probably know two market leaders, Calm and Headspace. And they are losing user engagement right now.
You probably know that there are a lot of mental-health apps on both major mobile platforms, and most of them share the same problems.
Firstly, every app on the market overwhelms its users with content. It’s not necessarily a bad thing. But it certainly doesn't make it easier for a regular person to navigate the app.
Most apps demand a lot of time and personal effort to make meditation a part of your daily routine. While at the same time they don’t give you any tools to measure your progress and keep yourself motivated.
All of these factors result in less than ideal engagement and shorter user lifetime.
We have our own classic meditation app Practico. And we know from experience that it’s very hard to retain users for longer than 4 months. And neither it’s easy to acquire new ones.
Solution (product or service)
Like there are a lot of mental health apps, there are a lot of apps for language learning. Most of them provide their users with great content. But only a few of them can turn the slow and tedious process of learning a new language into a fun and engaging experience. You know what I mean if you ever tried apps like Duolingo.
So, we intend to do something similar turning your daily mental-health care routine into an exciting gamified journey.
All of that makes us believe there’s still a potential for new products to emerge. And they start to pop up, like this brand new Finch app, which has an idea somewhat similar to ours.
It's something like a tamagotchi game, with a virtual avatar that you care for. But there are no games and no meditation.
There is still a lot of room for improvement.
So, we created our team to change the mindfulness market. Our new app is called Urso.
This is a game where meditation will be the core activity.
We want to use the mechanics of modern mobile games where a metagame can keep players engaged for a long time.
We want to mix a classic mindfulness app with a zero-player kinda tamagochi game. The user will grow his own pet, go on a journey with it, and receive awards and achievements.
By watching their pet, users will get used to meditating every day and improving their lives.
So, we intend to do something similar turning your daily mental-health care routine into an exciting gamified journey.
All of that makes us believe there’s still a potential for new products to emerge. And they start to pop up, like this brand new Finch app, which has an idea somewhat similar to ours.
It's something like a tamagotchi game, with a virtual avatar that you care for. But there are no games and no meditation.
There is still a lot of room for improvement.
So, we created our team to change the mindfulness market. Our new app is called Urso.
This is a game where meditation will be the core activity.
We want to use the mechanics of modern mobile games where a metagame can keep players engaged for a long time.
We want to mix a classic mindfulness app with a zero-player kinda tamagochi game. The user will grow his own pet, go on a journey with it, and receive awards and achievements.
By watching their pet, users will get used to meditating every day and improving their lives.
Competitors
Calm
Headspace
Meditopia
General problems:
1. Boring and not rewarding. It's not fun at all: no engagement, no visible achievements = no reason to come back.
2. Identical content. Hundreds of typical meditations.
3. Too much commitment needed. 10 minutes a day, and at least 10 days in a row.
Headspace
Meditopia
General problems:
1. Boring and not rewarding. It's not fun at all: no engagement, no visible achievements = no reason to come back.
2. Identical content. Hundreds of typical meditations.
3. Too much commitment needed. 10 minutes a day, and at least 10 days in a row.
Advantages or differentiators
During past years we’ve been working on mental-health apps and mobile games. Our team has a wealth of experience in both fields and ready to change the market.
A few years ago, Dima, Daniel, and I started making a classic meditation app called Practico.
Recently, Andrey joined our team. He is the CEO of Zillion Whales, whose company was recently acquired by one of the largest players in the mobile market, Azur Games.
A few years ago, Dima, Daniel, and I started making a classic meditation app called Practico.
Recently, Andrey joined our team. He is the CEO of Zillion Whales, whose company was recently acquired by one of the largest players in the mobile market, Azur Games.
Finance
The new app will be based on a subscription model.
Plus, we want to add in-app p’urchases for metagame features. For example, some special items which will increase avatars efficiency. Or it might be ability to save users perfect track if he occasionally skipped couple of days.
Plus, we want to add in-app p’urchases for metagame features. For example, some special items which will increase avatars efficiency. Or it might be ability to save users perfect track if he occasionally skipped couple of days.
Business model
We will launch many advertising campaigns with hundreds of static and video creatives. Paid advertising will be the main source of users.
Money will be spent on
The money will help us expand the team, build the app and acquire new audiences.
Offer for investor
Raising:
$500k seed on SAFE with 5M post-money.
$200k already raised from Mitgo in March ‘23.
$500k seed on SAFE with 5M post-money.
$200k already raised from Mitgo in March ‘23.
Team or Management
Risks
There is still a risk that meditation and gaming will not work together.
Photos
Presentation
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