Gradpreneur — From Project to Possibility
A short film for an app that helps graduates turn their final-year project into a real business.
THE BRIEF
Gradpreneur (gradpreneur.ai) is an app for students and new graduates. It helps them turn a project they've already built into a business, with an AI 'co-founder' to talk ideas through, clear next steps, mentors and a community of other young founders.
The team wanted a launch video for the app stores, YouTube and social media. It needed to speak to graduates who are struggling to find jobs, show how the app works from start to finish, and feel hopeful rather than salesy.
The video is about 80 seconds long, has no voiceover, and ends on the website and the download buttons.
THE APPROACH
The video follows one person, Tolu, a graphic design graduate. It starts with her degree certificate ('You finally got the degree.') and her final-year project, CreativeCents. Then her inbox fills up with job rejections. Then one question appears on screen: 'What if your project became your business?'
From there we see the app. Tolu types in her project, and her AI co-founder helps her pin down the real problem: freelance designers get paid per project and struggle in the gaps between payments. The app saves that and gives her a next step, 'Talk to 10 designers'. She meets mentors and joins the community, where she asks who to talk to first and sees another graduate celebrating her first paying client. It ends with 'Turn your project into a business.'
The colours are Gradpreneur's bright blue and dark navy. The first part uses simple illustrations, and the app part shows the real screens on phones.
THE RESULT
A story-driven video that shows the whole Gradpreneur journey in about 80 seconds and gives the launch a human, emotional hook. Each part of the app also works as its own short clip.
DELIVERABLES
- Main video (82 seconds)
- App screen animation
- On-screen text design
- Illustrated story scenes
- Short clips for social media
✦ Director's note
“A rejection email is the most relatable moment for a new graduate, so that's where the video starts. The app only shows up once the viewer is asking the same question Tolu is.”