No, just findings that are very valuable in innovation. How we explored the potential of an app that takes authentically authentic photos.
Image manipulation has been with us as long as photography itself. But with the development of digital tools and artificial intelligence, its use has skyrocketed. Edited photographs have a significant impact on our reality, they can influence choices or even wars. They serve as evidence in court cases and it is often difficult to distinguish whether they are authentic, doctored or outright faked.
In 2022, we were approached by an investor and developers from Quanti, who were working together on TrustVision, an app that can take photos with unquestionable metadata and obtain authentication for authorities and courts. The investor had the idea for the TrustVision product and Quanti produced a prototype app based on the idea. Our task was to find and research the real market need and the areas with the greatest potential for use (the so-called problem-solution fit), set up a business strategy and start sales.
We defined the areas with the greatest potential as construction, science and research, insurance, litigation, media, real estate and claims. We also explored the not-for-profit sector and how TrustVision can be used to defend against misinformation.
We conducted more than three dozen interviews with key figures in the identified industries and gained valuable insights on how to improve the product and what to kill it. And with the market insights, we saved the investor millions not invested in dead ends.
We also built a business strategy and very quickly reached relevant people from whom we got valuable feedback for our follow-up considerations.
After five months of working together, we concluded that the product in this form and at this time had no commercial application. We have advised the client not to proceed with the development of the TrustVision application at this time. However, market sentiment and needs can change at any time, especially given the opportunities presented by the rapid development of AI technologies. And we, along with Quanti and the investor, will be ready.
It was a great and interesting collaboration, and although it did not lead to a defined goal, all parties consider it more than beneficial. Because even finding out which way the road doesn’t lead is one of the most valuable and appreciated things in innovation.
“Direct People has been a great addition to our team with skills and experience that we lacked as developers. In a short time they were able to get a feel for what we were thinking, what we were building and where we were going. They helped with their own ideas. I’d reach out to Directy for the next product idea as well, probably because they showed us this time that this is not the way to go.”
Ondřej Škrdlant, Team Lead, Quanti
“The goal was to find out as quickly as possible if there was a place for our TrustVision project on the market. The team at Direct People helped us quickly reach dozens of potential customers from eight business verticals and create relevant concepts and collaboration opportunities for them. Thanks to DP, we ended up saving a lot of money because they quickly identified that the market for this solution was not there at the moment. And we could move on to other projects?”
Igor Schulmeister, investor
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