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Meet , founder of Hooot! is a mobile app designed to provide immediate assistance to those who feel that they are in a dangerous situation by allowing the user to say a codeword听or phrase into their phone and the app will immediately alert the user鈥檚 emergency contact.

Max is a Senior at 蜜糖直播 Boulder majoring in Computer Science. Max has always been interested in entrepreneurship and was inspired by watching his father鈥檚 entrepreneurial journey and success. Throughout his time at 蜜糖直播 Boulder, Max participated in the New Venture Challenge twice and has spent the majority of his time developing his safety-oriented mobile app, Hooot!

蜜糖直播 Hooot

In 2019, Max began developing a mobile app, titled Party Favor, that was designed to protect students from sexual assault and harassment. Unfortunately, Max ran into听several technical issues听that caused him to take a step back and reevaluate the concept of the Party Favor app. During this time, Max realized that there was a need for an app accessible to all people and not just college students. He then rebranded the Party Favor app as 'Hooot' and began addressing other technical issues.

Hooot is a mobile safety app that is available on iOS. Hooot鈥檚 goal is to assist in keeping women and others safe by providing听access to help through notifying a customer鈥檚 emergency contact if a specified code phrase is said.听This allows the customer to have full safety measures in place whenever and wherever they need it. As Hooot continues to grow, the team hopes to focus more on sexual assault awareness and educating communities.听

Through 蜜糖直播 Boulder resources, Max created a robust team and connect with a skilled mentor for guidance.听The Hooot team formed during their Computer Science Senior Capstone course and has been working hard to improve Hooot鈥檚 user experience. The Hooot team currently consists of Max,听Beka Admasu, , and Raegan.听Max is continually looking for other students to connect with over a shared passion for the startup community and entrepreneurship.听

How to Use Hooot

After downloading the Hooot app, you will need to create a profile, add emergency contacts, and set a codeword or passphrase. You can then decide when to activate Hooot and the app will remain active until turned off. If you are ever feeling endangered, simply say your chosen phrase and Hooot will send your location to your list of emergency contacts. Hooot also offers a premium service that shares your location with emergency services when a second chosen passphrase is yelled. This premium service currently costs $10 monthly, however, the Hooot team is working hard to lower costs and make the app more accessible.听

Upcoming Projects and Events

The Hooot team is in the customer discovery phase and is focused on speaking with users to learn how they can continue to add value to the app, solve user issues, and increase customer satisfaction. They are currently underway in creating a test program in cities such as听Chicago, Detroit, and New York City. The team also visits downtown Boulder听and听Denver to speak with customers face-to-face.

Through their customer discovery, the Hooot team found that the sign-up process seemed long to users. They are currently working towards shortening this process to make registration quicker and more efficient. Additionally, the team hopes to add more features to the app such as a fake phone call that allows a user to leave an uncomfortable situation if necessary. The app hopes to contain a list of the different 鈥渁ngel shots鈥� around the world so that women and others who feel unsafe at a bar are able to discreetly communicate to the bartender through a code drink name.听

Challenges Faced

Max elaborates on the听challenges he faced,

鈥淲hen I first started, I followed the motto that ''if you build it, they will come" and I quickly realized this saying was a big joke. There is so much more that goes into growing your company than just building a product.鈥�

Max adds that remaining focused has been challenging while in school. Prior to meeting his team members, Max ran Hooot by himself and had an overwhelming number of tasks at hand. Fortunately, he now has a team听to assist with important tasks and help continue to move the company and product听forward.听

Hooot Team Advice for Current Students

Max provides the following advice for students,

鈥淚鈥檝e been reading a lot of Paul Graham lately and some of his materials emphasize the importance of utilizing college resources to grow as a person and view different perspectives. He also talks about his opinions towards college entrepreneurship and how he鈥檚 against it. I agree with the idea of utilizing college resources and growing, but I don鈥檛 necessarily agree with his feelings towards college entrepreneurship. I believe that if you have a passion for something or identify with an issue in your life that you believe you can solve, then you should go for it! Go after what you want and just make sure you鈥檙e in it for the right reasons.鈥�

Beka continues, 鈥淒on鈥檛 let 鈥榥o鈥� stop you. We鈥檝e been told 鈥榥o鈥� many times, and we听continued to push through and make things work. Take someone telling you 鈥榥o鈥� as a good thing and don鈥檛 give up on what you鈥檙e doing!鈥澨�

Caroline elaborates, "Fail with enthusiasm and you'll eventually find success."

Raegan provided the team鈥檚 final sentiments,

"Share and pursue your ideas because they have more value than you think!"