Capstone – Project

Target Market Analysis with Graduation and Student Loan Levels

A Collaboration Between

Engagement Synopsis

Anvil is a platform for crushing student debt. Our tool helps borrowers pay off their debts faster and more efficiently, with none of the stress and uncertainty that traditionally accompanies the process. We do this by guiding borrowers through the process of optimizing their loan structure and payment strategy, and by introducing a gamified hook cycle to encourage ad hoc payments. Student debt is a massive problem in the United States. 65% of 2018 college graduates had student loan debt, and the average amount owed was $29k (source). It’s bigger than that, though – in total, there is currently over $1.5T of student debt amongst 45M Americans (source). We hypothesize that many students 1) do not approach student loan repayment with sufficient efficacy to meet their long-term goals, and 2) see student loans as a source of uncertainty and stress. Assuming this to be true, by defining “well-lit paths” for effectively restructuring and paying down debt, we can give every borrower in the country the tools they need to start their journey towards a debt-free life. For Anvil to reach these borrowers effectively, we need to draw out solid insights from the large data sets available. One core example is segmenting student loan borrowers to understand motivations and use cases. This work would set the course for Anvil as we raise pre-seed funds in the spring and set our direction for the first 6-18 months of development and marketing. Thorough market analysis at this stage has the potential for enormous impact on the success of our platform. A key dataset in this space is the College Scorecard corpus (https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/data/). Last updated earlier this month (12/19/19), it includes many relevant datapoints – among them: field of study, postgraduate earnings and amount of federal student loans, which are key attributes on which to slice our potential user base. Other datasets include: Pew Research Higher Education Gender/Work, Federal Reserve Bank of NY Student Loan Landscape, and the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) corpora, courtesy of the US Department of Education. This last data source is particularly interesting, as it displays the the complete lifecycle of Federal Student aid – including deferment and delinquency. We want data to power insights across the entire company. We are looking to partner with motivated students who will collaborate with our leadership team to build the framework of internal datasets and logic we use to drive business and application decisions. We would love to work with students who are passionate about taking on one of the greatest social issues of our time! Anvil’s efficiency in accomplishing our KPIs is directly correlated with the number of people to whom we can bring relief and freedom from the burden of student debt. I am excited about the potential of this collaboration! Please let me know if there are any questions. Thanks, William

Company Information

CompanyAnvil Tech
HQMichigan
RevenueUnlisted
EmployeesUnlisted
StagePre-Revenue Startup
Hiring PotentialFollow-on Projects
Websitehttps://anviltech.io/

Company Overview

Anvil is a platform for crushing student debt. Our tool helps borrowers pay off their debts faster and more efficiently, with none of the stress and uncertainty that traditionally accompanies the process. We do this by guiding borrowers through the process of optimizing their loan structure and payment strategy, and by introducing a gamified hook cycle to encourage ad hoc payments.

Course Info & Engagement Details

SchoolStevens Institute of Technology, School of Business Industry Capstone Program
Engagement FormatCapstone - Small Team Consulting Project - Students work in small groups of 2-6 directly with faculty and host company project champions on developing real solutions to real-world challenges.
CourseSpring 2020 MBA Capstone
Level
  • All Graduate
Students EnrolledN/A
Meeting Day & TimeN/A
Student Time Commitment8-15 Hours Per Week
Company Time Commitment2 Hours
Duration13.14 Weeks

Project Topics

Students

Student

Novan Pamidimukkala

npamidim@stevens.edu

Collaboration Timeline

Touchpoints & Assignments Due Date Type
Engagement Kickoff

Engagement Kickoff

February 3rd, 2020 Event na
Complete Kickoff Evaluation

Complete Kickoff Evaluation

Survey link:
February 6th, 2020 Event na
Kickoff Webinar

Kickoff Webinar

Meeting link:
February 7th, 2020 Event na
Complete Temperature Check Evaluation

Complete Temperature Check Evaluation

Survey link:
March 3rd, 2020 Event na
Complete Temperature Check Evaluation

Complete Temperature Check Evaluation

Survey link:
April 6th, 2020 Event na
Submit Final Deliverable Submit Final Deliverable
May 21st, 2020 Submission Required submission-required
Engagement End

Engagement End

May 22nd, 2020 Event na
Complete Final Peer Evaluation

Complete Final Peer Evaluation

Survey link:
May 24th, 2020 Event na
Complete Final Self Evaluation

Complete Final Self Evaluation

Survey link:
May 24th, 2020 Event na

Key Milestones & Project Process

  • February 7, 2020 - ANALYZE ANVIL'S MISSION AND PROGRESS TO-DATE

    • What does Anvil hope to accomplish?
    • How far along is the product?

    Suggested Deliverable:

    N/A

  • March 6, 2020 - TARGET MARKET AND INDUSTRY ANALYSIS

    • Who are the competitors?
    • What is the size of the market?
    • Can you analyze the TAM, SAM, and SOM?
    • Who’s the target audience by segment?

    Suggested Deliverable:

    N/A

  • April 3, 2020 - REVENUE & FINANCIAL MODEL DEVELOPMENT

    • What revenue streams might exist for Anvil within the next 1-5 years?
    • How would you price our these revenue streams?
    • Can you map the growth of the business over the next 1-5 years through a financial model?

    Suggested Deliverable:

    N/A

  • May 5, 2020 - RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PITCH DECK

    • What’s the problem?
    • What’s the solution?
    • Who’s the target audience?
    • What’s the revenue model?
    • What’s the size of the market?
    • Team
    • Fundraising Ask
    • Exit Strategy

    Suggested Deliverable:

    N/A

Project Resources

There are no resources currently available

Company Supervising Team

There are currently no supervisors assigned.

School Supervisors

Instructor

Khasha Dehnad

businessprojects@stevens.edu

Instructor

Frank Gallucci

fgallucci@whitestone.net

Instructor

Pat Saporito

patsaporito@gmail.com

Instructor

Alkiviadis Vazacopoulos

avazacop@stevens.edu

Instructor

Saptaparna Gupta

sgupta6@stevens.edu