Marketing as research
Most startups market to find users. SENA marketed to understand them before the app existed. Interviews showed that most people weren't searching for "legal aid" or "NGOs." They were asking: Is this abuse? Am I being harassed? Do I have rights? So the message shifted from explaining resources to helping people recognise their situation.
What people responded to shaped the app's language and its situation-first navigation.
Guerrilla posters
Across NYC community spaces, small businesses and transit-adjacent walls, one-word questions: "Harassed? Gaslit? Abused?" They tested which words people stopped for.
Social content
Complex systems turned into plain answers: legal rights, medical support, cyber safety, reporting paths. Videos edited with Sanjana Raj.
Council outreach
NYC Council offices put SENA in front of the people residents already turn to.
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Council offices in 24 hrs