I am an older sister. I've always been the one younger girls come to — for advice, for reassurance, for the kind of honest conversation that feels safe. I built Akka because I also know what it's like to need that and not have it.
"I grew up as a first-gen immigrant navigating a world my parents hadn't navigated either. There was no older sister to ask. No one who had already figured out the unwritten rules — of college applications, of workplace dynamics, of simply belonging somewhere new."
I made every decision by guessing, Googling, and quietly watching people who seemed to know more than me. What I needed wasn't an expert — it was someone one chapter ahead, willing to be honest.
"I am also the person younger girls come to. My DMs, my kitchen table, my 11pm phone calls — that's where I give the advice no one else gives them. The real stuff. The stuff you only share when you feel safe."
Akka is an attempt to make that relationship — the one I give freely and the one I always needed — something more young women can actually access.
Traditional education prepares you for exams. It doesn't prepare you for the conversation after you get an offer, the loneliness of a new city, or the quiet panic of not knowing what to do next.
And the mentorship that exists? It's hard to access, intimidating to ask for, and usually comes from people so far ahead they've forgotten what it felt like to be lost.
"I don't want someone with a PhD telling me how to deal with imposter syndrome. I want someone who felt it last year and got through it."
Research from MENTOR, Nature Communications, and the U.S. Department of State converge on the same finding: young women — especially from low-income and first-generation backgrounds — are significantly underserved by existing mentorship structures. I used this body of evidence to frame Akka's design priorities.
The journey map traces Priya from anxiety and comparison, through her first real engagement with Akka, to the moment she becomes a big sister herself — the platform's most powerful retention loop.
| Stage | Thinking | Emotion | Pain point | Opportunity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awareness Junior year begins |
"Everyone seems to know what they're doing. Why don't I?" | Anxious, behind | Generic advice everywhere. Comparison spiral on social. | Empathy-first onboarding |
| Discovery Finds Akka |
"Okay — this actually sounds like me a year from now." | Curious, cautious | Unsure if mentor will understand her background. | Warm matching flowIcebreaker prompts |
| Engagement First real session |
"She actually understands. This is what I needed." | Relieved, energized | Slow response time can break momentum. | Response nudgesMilestones |
| Transition Offer + negotiation |
"I would have just accepted whatever they offered without this." | Nervous → capable | High-stakes moment needs real-time reassurance. | Negotiation playbook |
| Loyalty Becomes a big sister |
"I want to be the person I needed when I was 18." | Proud, purposeful | Needs guidance on how to be a good mentor herself. | Mentor onboarding |
The design system is built around three principles drawn directly from research: emotional safety before utility, relatable over authoritative, and structure that feels like conversation. The palette — rose primary, plum secondary, sage accent — stays warm without being overwhelming.
An interactive Figma prototype walking through the core flow — onboarding, matching, and your first conversation with your akka.
Building something you personally needed is clarifying in a way that no brief can replicate. Every time a design decision felt uncertain, I could ask myself: would this have made me feel safe enough to ask the question I was too embarrassed to ask? That compass made the work more intentional — and more honest.