Penn State Startup Week 2026

Now You Know started as a simple challenge: can you accurately predict how a friend will respond to a scenario or question? That one mechanic exposes how often we assume we know people, and how quickly real conversation opens up when we test those assumptions. In this talk, I’ll share how we turned that insight into a product that students actually want to play.

I’ll walk through the practical steps: validating the concept through live playtests, iterating mechanics to keep it fast and fun, and translating a “feel-good” outcome into something marketable without sounding preachy. We’ll cover what worked, what didn’t, and the lessons that mattered most in building a consumer product from zero. I’m happy to include a quick interactive demo during the session.