We did it! Thank you so much for a great semester, I've really enjoyed it and learned from you all. Our final exam is simple a final reflection. There are two parts to this:
Thank you for showing up to my class this semester and I hope to see ALL of you (yes, even you) next year!
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Tomorrow (Wednesday 12/18) we will be having our "shark tank" pitches for the startup companies! Below are the general guidelines for this. Make sure to have submitted your PowerPoint or alternative project documentation to the link in the post below the end of class today (Tuesday 12/17) Shark tank rules
For presenting teams
Rules for Investors
By the end of class on Tuesday upload either your final presentation (if you completed the startup project) or your documentation (if you are doing the alternative project). Make sure you are referencing the rubric when completing these, and submit HERE
I wanted to check in with you all on your end of year projects to make sure that no one is lost and not sure of what they are at least supposed to be doing (and deadlines).
After finishing your SGM assessment today, if every student (not every group) can please fill out this form I would appreciate it: Survey-EndofYearCheckin Rubrics for the final project are linked below. We will have the "shark tank" day next Wednesday, December 18th (the last day of regular school). For the final grade for both students completing the startup company and those doing the alternative project will be whatever final documentation you complete and both will be due by the end of class on Tuesday. For startup students, their final documentation will be their presentation; for alternative project students, their final documentation will be very similar to what you are used to (rubrics for both are below).
Rubrics for Final Project: DUE TUESDAY, DECEMBER 17 Companies create business models to clearly define to their employees, customers and investors what their value is and how they can generate revenue. For our startup companies, there is a popular variation of a business model called a Lean Canvas that is specifically designed for the needs of a developing company. Its purpose is to help you to understand and frame your problem and your solution. The importance of filling out some organizer like this is that while in your head you may feel like you know all of these aspects surrounding your company, by actually putting pen to paper and writing them down you may discover you and your team members have differing opinions. Additionally, it is absolutely imperative to be able to concretely and explicitly define criteria such as those in this organizer to potential investors if you wish for them to take you seriously.
Creating your own Business Model/Lean Canvas
After making your MVP, the next step is to test your products viability i.e. seeing if people actually are interested in your product or not and what work is left to do. What this does not mean is that you are simply seeing if anyone wants to buy your product as is and for how much. The answers we are looking for are much deeper.
When you are doing this, it is important to be honest with yourself and not just seek to find whatever evidence which validates your MVP. It is completely acceptable if what you find from this stage is that no one likes your product and that they think it is pointless and ineffective. This is not the point. The point is to determine what is valuable about your MVP, where is your MVP not aligning with our original need, and where you can go next. If we were honest with our assessment of our need (and that’s ok if we weren’t, let’s just start being honest about it now), then there is a viable need which our product can address. It’s just a matter of pivoting (a fancy word for changing) our idea, whether this means tweaking our MVP or coming up with a completely new and drastically different idea and/or need. It is expected that a startup company will go through many iterations of creating/modifying an MVP and testing its viability. This is why it is important not to stress too highly about making sure the MVP is a fully working prototype because it may just be completely scrapped anyways. In fact, having a refined MVP can even work against a company as if the individuals have spent significant amount of time/effort/money into making an MVP then they are less open-minded to the new possible ideas which address their need and require significant pivots. What you are looking to learn when you are testing your product viability:
How to go about testing your product viability:
Going forward: The next step would be to re-evaluate our need and our MVP and further iterate our product. If you do not have time for this and can only proceed with what you have, even if the evidence of the product’s viability is far from good, that is ok! After completing our initial market research, we are ready to realize our idea. This will be done by making an MVP. In startup world, this is not the Most Valuable Player! Instead, it stands for the minimum viable product. A rough synonym to this would be a prototype, however, there are few subtle differences. An MVP will often use a lot of smoke and mirrors (tricks to make the product seem like its functional when in reality it just creates the illusion of being functional). An MVP is focused on determining what potential customers want/need in your product (i.e. what is viable) with the minimum amount of effort; an MVP is less focused on determining how a final product can be made but more on the why it should be made and what should be made. This is opposed to a prototype which is more focused on how an envisioned product can be made.
The following is a great link that briefly explains what an MVP is: https://easternpeak.com/definition/mvp/ And the following link is another link worth reading about how to create your MVP: https://easternpeak.com/blog/creating-an-mvp-that-can-get-your-startup-funded/ What your MVP is will vary wildly from company to company, especially because some products are easier to replicate than others (for example, the cost and resource requirements of creating a store will vary wildly from making a phone application), so if you are having difficulties getting your head around a feasible MVP to make we can sit down and go over some possibilities. A couple meaningful questions to get yourself going though are the following (from Eastern Peak): · What is your unique value? · Which features are fundamental for the future product? · Which features will ensure the success of your product and allow you to capture your target audience? · What is going to not only help you stand out but leave your competitors trailing in the dust? · Which features should be better included in later versions to save resources during the absence of a real venture capital? Going Forward: The next step we will be taking will be to going back to market research and customer discovery, but this time with our MVP so we can further understand the need and define our product Feel like clicking buttons on your phone or computer? Fill out one of these surveys from your peers on need finding and customer discovery:
After gaining an initial idea for what need we wish to address, the next step will be to do some investigating to better understand our market and customers. IF YOU HAVE NOT TAKEN THE TIME TO THOROUGHLY UNDERSTAND AND DEFINE YOUR NEED BEFORE DOING THIS. Do not rush the process, trust it.
Customer discovery and market research will be a two-fold process: The first part is doing research (likely just online) to learn any relevant data on our market as what other similar/related companies or products exist. The second part is to go out and actually interview and talk to potential customers. For us, the easiest customers to get in contact with are other students and teachers, but I can help you get in contact with relevant industry workers if needed. Below are more details about these two parts. Do not feel obligated to answer exactly these questions or to exactly follow this outline. This is just a general framework to guide you. Do keep in mind, however, that you will expected to show evidence of your market research and customer discovery when you pitch your idea on the last day of school. When researching your market online, think of the following:
When interviewing potential customers or other individuals:
Additional Resources:
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