WeDance

A pivotal day in our journey: WeDance was officially launched on Product Hunt! This marked a significant milestone, showcasing our platform to a global audience of tech enthusiasts, early adopters, and potential investors. The launch on Product Hunt served as a major stepping stone, allowing us to present our unique solution to a community renowned for recognizing and supporting innovative and groundbreaking technology. It was not only a day of celebration but also a moment of anticipation, as we eagerly awaited the feedback, engagement, and opportunities that would stem from this exposure. The day signified the culmination of years of dedication, creativity, and hard work, and marked the beginning of a new chapter in connecting dance lovers around the world. As we embarked on this exciting phase, we were fueled by the enthusiasm of our team, the support of our community, and the endless possibilities that lay ahead for WeDance.

We launched an internship program for designers and developers. Our Slack hit 261 members.

We embraced an innovative approach with multiple Design Sprints, steered by adept Sprint Leaders. This strategy was pivotal in validating fresh ideas and truly understanding the needs of our users. Through these iterative and collaborative sessions, we delved deep into the user experience, fine-tuning our concepts and refining our solutions. The tangible outcome of these efforts was a significant improvement in user testing results, a clear indication that we were on the right track. One of the standout successes from these sprints was the development of the VIP cards. This concept, initially just an idea, had evolved and successfully transitioned into the build phase. This marked a crucial milestone in our journey, demonstrating the effectiveness of our user-centered design process and the potential of our innovative ideas. That period was not just about ideation but about turning visions into reality, setting the stage for a new chapter in offering enhanced value and unique experiences to our community.

In September 2022, after our sincere efforts with the WeHelp project didn't yield the anticipated success, we decided to refocus our energies and passion back onto WeDance. This period marked a rekindling of our original vision, blending our learnings from the past months with renewed determination. The experience of working on WeHelp, despite its challenges, had enriched our team, instilling a deeper sense of resilience and adaptability. As we resumed work on WeDance, we brought with us not only our original enthusiasm for connecting the dance community but also a broader perspective on the role of technology in creating positive impact. This was a time of reflection, regrouping, and reinvigorating our commitment to making WeDance a vibrant, inclusive, and dynamic platform for dance lovers worldwide. The journey from WeHelp back to WeDance symbolized not just a return to our roots, but also a step forward in our journey, enriched by the lessons learned during a challenging yet transformative period.

As conflict erupted between Russia and Ukraine in February 2022, it brought unprecedented challenges and a humanitarian crisis. In response, our development team swiftly shifted focus to contribute to relief efforts. We initiated the WeHelp project, a dedicated endeavor aimed at assisting with evacuation and providing support to those affected by the war. This project was not just about leveraging our technological expertise but also about showing solidarity and compassion in times of crisis. Our team worked tirelessly, understanding the urgency and the impact of the situation. This period underscored our commitment not just to innovation, but also to humanitarian aid and the power of community support in dire circumstances. It was a testament to how technology and human empathy can come together to make a significant difference during trying times.

We were defining roles and expanding team. First Local Committee was formed in Munich and functioned for couple months.

• HQ Team
• Formed first LC in Munich
• Campaign: WeDance Behind Scenes
• WeDanceStory: 2 interviews
• Video Ad at Isarpost Party in Munich
• LC Munich established 5 partnerships
• LC Munich maintained dance calendar for last 3 months

We finally started going out to invite new people to our platform!

• Started new Lists for Dance Festivals, Dance Groups, Dance Influencers, Dance Studios in Munich
• Launched advertising campaigns on Rovinj Sensual Festival, Rovinj Salsa Festival and Kyiv Sense Fest

• Started preparation for Official Registration, was working on Satzung to register Verein (German non-profit Association).
• Opened first job - Frontend Developer
• Oxy joined as Ambassador in Munich
• Aslihan started WeDanceStory – interviews with dancers for podcast on Spotify and videos on Youtube.

Ambassador Program was started with Aslihan in Munich, who took over the lead of Munich community. Then Ivan become Ambassador in Karlsruhe. Later Alina became Ambassador in Berlin. Maria in Moscow. Mila in Odesa.

A new mentorship program attracted intern designers and developers and few months there were a well-done Scrum process.

Launched City Profiles!

A new layout was inspired by Twitter.

Telegram channel, Instagram and Facebook was created for Munich to publish posters of new members of the website, who were looking for partner. As well as dance events.

Telegram group later was connected as a discussion group in channel to merge the subscribers.

First code for WeDance was committed on 17 May 2020. First intention was to recreate and adapt dev.to platform for dancers. After few weeks, development was paused.

Community first! Don’t repeat mistakes!

Alex started testing hypothesis “will dancers want to install a new app to access dance calendar?”. Luckily at that point in Munich there were not many people using Telegram and that platform was chosen to publish weekly dance calendar. And local dance community started to join the group. At some point it became the biggest dance chat in Munich. There were several groups per each dance style and later everything was merged into one geo-located public group. The problem with that group was that random people and spammers started to join and molest the group members. New private group was created to resolve the issue.

Another hypothesis were if “dancers would like to find a partner” and this offer was posted in chat. After one-to-one interviews, set of questions was defined and gathered into Google Spreadsheet. It was difficult to reach a critical mass to be able to find a perfect match, so at this point was made a decision to continue development of the website, so that dancers can create their profile and write each other a message. The profile editing was inspired by Couchsurfing.

During Corona pandemic there were only one place in Munich where it was possible to meet and dance outdoors. Multiple organizers of dance events were inviting their groups to dance at the same time, and the one with loudest speaker was winning. There were a lot of fights for place. New initiative was born - book a place with teamup.com calendar. Hopefully one day it will be possible to book a place with WeDance. As for 2022 organizers keep using that calendar.