HBS Section Website
My HBS section needed one simple place for the week ahead, the people around us and section communications. I interviewed five sectionmates, designed and built the product solo, and reached approximately ninety percent adoption.
Section adoption
Requested replication
From concept to launch
01 The problem
Five interviews revealed one common need: a simple hub for section events, classmates and shared knowledge. Sectionmates wanted immediate utility—not another account, configurable feed or complex product to manage.
I am tired of opening 10 tabs of shared Excels, Word Docs, and websites to keep up with section activities and announcements — the website provided such a relief.
HBS sectionmate
02 What I built
I built a React and TypeScript SPA and deployed it to Cloudflare Pages in under a week. Public content stays static; Workers KV and Pages Functions support editable events. The private roster is encrypted and decrypted only in the browser, so no server holds its plaintext or key. The work led to my election as the section's Tech Representative.
Live demo, fictional data — password: demo
03 Key decisions
Decision 01
Static simplicity over application complexity
A primarily static hub that opens immediately, with live infrastructure only where administrators need to update events.
A database-heavy platform with individual accounts, user-created content and granular permissions.
Interviews favored a low-friction information hub. The tradeoff was fewer direct contributions and simpler permissions.
Decision 02
Weekly utility over feature novelty
Launching the four experiences sectionmates mentioned most often and would have reasons to revisit each week.
A larger first release built around speculative or one-time-use features.
Interview frequency set the initial scope, while recurring value created a reason to return.
04 Outcome
Approximately ninety percent of the section adopted the app, and other sections requested guidance and source code to replicate it. The work led to my election as the section's Tech Representative.
I am now adding lightweight submissions and simpler administration without introducing full user accounts.
About the demo
This was an independent HBS side project, not client work. The public demo uses fictional profiles and events and is separate from the private version used by the section.