The Commons StARTuP aCCELERATORConsultant
The program
The Commons is a Milwaukee-based accelerator that connects corporations and startups with college students to solve real business problems using design thinking. The program tasked every team with taking their idea from a rough concept to a fully pitched startup — complete with market research, customer interviews, beachhead identification, a wireframed app, and a business model. At the end of the program all 7 other teams pitched their ideas to investors to secure funding for their startups.
My Role
As a consultant, I was brought in to support Sekhere — a local retail delivery startup — and advise a team of 8 college students over 6 weeks as they moved from problem definition to investor pitch.
I oversaw strategic discussions from the facilitated design thinking workshops, mediated team conversations, asked to follow up questions to help the team refine the problem, edited our pitch deck and reviewed all member deliverables before briefings and presentations.
The startup — Sekhere
Sekhere was an app and web-based platform enabling same-day delivery of local retail items — bridging brick-and-mortar stores with on-demand digital shoppers.
It stood out from competitors like Delivery Mates, Ezer, and MiButler by being the only platform combining a consumer app, retailer business tools, diverse delivery options, and real-time inventory tracking.
🤳Platform
App platform - $7.99 standard delivery (end of day) and $10.99 express (2-hour).
40% commission per transaction plus subscription and ad revenue.
📊Market size
TAM of 64.3M online shoppers. At 1% market share: 642,960 users and $2.44M projected annual revenue.
112.8M
Target residents aged 18–44
Market Opportunity
64.3M
Total addressable market
$2.44M
Projected annual revenue at 1% share
Competitive positioning
Sekhere was the only platform in the competitive set offering all five key differentiators — giving the marketing narrative a strong unique value proposition to work from.
App platform Sekhere ✓ · Competitors: 1 of 3
Consumer-friendly UX Sekhere ✓ · Competitors: partial
Business component for retailers Sekhere ✓ · Competitors: 2 of 3
Diverse delivery services Sekhere ✓ · Competitors: limited
Inventory tracking Sekhere only ✓
Competition: Delivery Mates · Ezer · MiButler
What the team accomplished
50+ People attended Demo Day — local investors and community members
watch the Sekhere pitch live.
Identified the total addressable market — 64.3M potential users nationwide
Analyzed the beachhead market and defined the core target customer segment
Conducted competitive analysis across the retail delivery landscape
Interviewed potential customers to validate the problem and refine the solution
Created a mobile app wireframe demonstrated during the investor pitch
Collaborated to build the full pitch deck and business structure
Pitched live to 100+ attendees on Demo Day including local investors
Gathered public feedback and implemented changes to the pitch and model
Researched local app developers to map a path to market
Outcome + Reflection
Sekhere did not receive funding at Demo Day but the team successfully pitched a fully validated startup concept to local investors and a live audience of 50+, with a real business model, app wireframe, competitive analysis, and go-to-market strategy built from scratch in 6 weeks.
Every team member walked away with hands-on experience in design thinking, startup methodology, and investor communication.
App Wireframe
Sekhere Pitch Deck