A big 'thank you' to all of you who took our Q3 member survey! About 1/3 of members participated, and we're excited to share some changes coming soon to Ticco as a result of their feedback. If you didn't take this survey, please keep an eye out for future surveys. We place a high value on member feedback and use it to make significant decisions in the process of developing Ticco.
What's Changing
We're Removing the Experience Bracket
Until now, we've limited Ticco membership to those who have between 2 & 15 years of experience. While this has absolutely helped to create a community that welcomes early-career professionals, we've heard from many that it feels exclusionary and is counter-intuitive to the intention of Ticco as a result. In our recent member survey, 45% of respondents said they liked the bracket, while 55% said they wanted to change it in one way or another. Considering this response and the logistical challenges we've encountered developing a system for those who grow beyond the bracket while they are members, we've opted to altogether eliminate this requirement.
We recognize that, for some, this is a key aspect of Ticco. We will continue to make an effort to support early-career professionals and create a place where those individuals feel able to share their opinions and ask questions without fear of judgement. Through our design and persona, we know that Ticco will continue to primarily attract this audience, and we hope you'll stick with Ticco to see this prove true and to experience the benefit of having a larger community as our reach grows.
In general, Ticco will continue to advocate for one of our core values, to "create a culture of compensation." As part of this work, we will continue to advocate for fair pay and speak out against unpaid internships, which de-value the work of all professionals and disproportionately harm early-career and non-white professionals.
You Can Now Add your own Discussions
When we created Ticco, we planned to create Discussions in order to avoid some of the tension seen in typical online forums. We're so happy to see that this type of negative culture hasn't come through on Ticco to-date, and as a result there just isn't a need for our team to create all Discussions. Members have told us over time (and have said in our surveys) that they want the ability to create their own, so we're making it real! We hope this will boost participation in Discussions and increase the frequency with which they are posted so our more active users can always have something new to explore.
You can now create a Discussion about anything you want, and after it's approved it will be posted on Ticco within 72 hours. The updated submission form will stay the same, but soon you'll see new icons on the Discussions area of the platform that help you to create a Discussion. Note that proposed Discussions that violate our Community Guidelines will not be approved.
Membership Will Stay at $10/Month for the Forseeable Future
When we first opened Ticco, we offered membership at $10/month for a limited time and planned to increase to $15/month after the first year. While market research told us that this was a fair value for what Ticco would be, we recognize that Ticco is just getting started, and more value will be added to the platform as more professionals join and we roll out new features. In our recent member survey, we asked respondents what they felt was fair to pay for Ticco in its current state, and 68% said they felt $10/month or more was a fair price. Considering this feedback, we've decided to keep the monthly rate of Ticco at $10/month or $115/year for the forseeable future.
What's Staying the Same
(but Carrying More Weight)
As of this week, it's been 5 months since we welcomed Ticco's first members. We've learned a lot in this time, and we've worked hard to identify what is most valuable about Ticco. As part of this survey, we asked our members what they love most about what we do, and we're using their feedback to solidify our approach going forward.
Their input has helped us to craft a new mission statement and new core values that reflect both our priorities and what we know our members want most from us. These sentiments were always at the heart of Ticco, but we'll now officially refer to them and consider them as we go forward in creating retreats, programming, content, and features.
Our New Mission
We're here to enable people who shape cities to embrace each other and collaborate as they usher our urban areas into the future.
Our Core Values
- Break Barriers: Encourage collaboration and help professionals to look beyond what divides us
- Create a Culture of Compensation: Advocate for fair pay in our members' professions and the elimination of unpaid internships
- Support Future Leaders: Provide a space where the next generation of professionals, who are inherently more diverse, feel comfortable sharing their experiences and perspectives
Our sincerest 'thanks' for being a Ticco member! Membership is what keeps our work going, and we can't wait to accomplish big goals and make real change with your continued support.