English is the de facto language of the world and it belongs to everyone on this planet. Despite this claim of equality, non-natives have a huge disadvantage over native speakers. My co-founders and I started Ludwig with a mission: help everyone write better English and be more confident about it. To achieve the ambitious goal of making English writing more democratic, we have been working with the most cutting edge Artificial Intelligence technologies in the field of Natural Language Processing (NLP) for the last 8 years. In our endeavors to help our users be more effective and efficient with their writing, in 2021 we conducted a market survey with ~1000 users and discovered that 60% of them were using other writing support tools in combination with Ludwig (i.e. grammar checker and paraphrasers). Based on this, we decided to design and develop a paraphraser. In Aug 2022, after several iterations, we trained a model, whose results were good enough for production. At the same time, we built a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to expose this paraphraser model, named EUPHRASER, to the end user. We incorporated such MVP on our Ludwig Desktop App and released it publicly in beta on Sep 1, 2022.
The objective of the proposed work is to bring our TRL7 paraphrase prototype to market (TRL9) with a compelling product market fit and a strong new strategy
The key components of our project include:
1. Integration of Paraphraser:
The technical integration of the paraphraser into different platforms like Gigi, Website, Desktop App, Chrome Extension, and Mobile App.
Ensuring seamless functionality across these diverse channels.
2. Product Iterations:
- Conducting multivariate testing to refine the user interface (UI) and marketing strategies.
- Iterative improvements based on user feedback and test results.
- Transformation of Identity:
3. Shifting from being solely a linguistic search engine to a comprehensive writing-enhancement software.
- Redefining Ludwig's identity to align with the expanded scope of services.
- Value Proposition Enhancement
4. Clearly articulating the new value proposition that includes the paraphraser functionality
-Communicating the benefits of the writing-enhancement software to users.
- Business Positioning
- Repositioning Ludwig in the market as a complete writing solution.
5: Product Market Fit
Following the integration of the paraphraser into diverse touchpoints, we embarked on a comprehensive assessment to discern the effects on key performance indicators (KPIs) mostly on our Webapp. This evaluation involved a thorough examination of backend functionalities, frontend user experiences, and marketing strategies that we employed. We continually refined and adjusted our approaches based on the observed outcomes.
6: Public Release.
The final Release, involved gradually introducing the paraphraser to the public, achieving product-market fit across all touchpoints. This milestone signifies the transition to TRL 9, marking the official release of the product. Recognizing the importance of iteration, we initiated user engagement well ahead of the final release. We kickstarted our release strategy with the beta version, offered to users free of charge. Subsequently, starting from May 2023, we formally informed our actual users about the new features on Ludwig's web app. This communication continued as we kept our users updated on all product changes.
Our release strategy unfolded gradually, mirroring our approach to user communication. From September 2023 onwards, we ramped up our marketing efforts, reaching a peak in March 2024, which we consider as the project's end.
