Global Startup Labs Day 4 Finding your Passion

Global Startup Labs Day 4: Finding your Passion Idea Generation

Order of Events • Recap • Kickstarter Pitches • Find Your Passion, Sell Your Idea • Intro to Idea Generation • Brainstorming Exercises • Market Tidbit • Announcements/HW

Recap: Identifying Opportunities What did we learn yesterday about identifying opportunities?

Recap: Identifying Opportunities IS THERE A CUSTOMER NEED/ PROBLEM? • Get customer feedback to validate pain points • Will people be willing to pay for this? IS THIS A GOOD MARKET TO ENTER? • Is it big? Eg: A new type of drug could be very effective against a rare disease but there may be too few in SL to make it profitable • Is it going to grow, stay stable or shrink? Eg: Print publishing may not be a good market to enter even though it is currently profitable • Who are the competitors? Eg: Rumba (robot vacuum cleaner) competes with a cleaner who comes to clean your house • Are there any barriers to entry? Eg: It is very hard to get a telecom license to start a mobile service DO YOU HAVE THE SKILLS? • Are you passionate about it? • Do you have the technical skills? • Do you have industry knowledge?

Kickstarter Pitch 3 minute presentation on kickstarter

Kickstarter Story: GCS

Find Your Passion, Sell Your Idea Broader Goals Passion to Solve Specific Issue Viable Product Relate them! • What broader goal or passion motivates your startup idea?

Amber’ Passion: Breaking it Down Big Personal Problems/Life Goals Travel and get to know people • Global business • Social focus (B 2 C) • Emerging markets Create happiness Maximize global impact • Basic needs, dignity • Enhance relationships • Promote altruism & job creation • Low margin, large market • Rapidly scalable Mobile • Ripple effects (wave of change)

Pitch: The Small Problem • Families in remote rural areas require outside services. • Eg: Ride to a hospital, tutoring, repairs • Young people need income • Lack of access to formal job market • Can’t build resume & reputation • Development organizations are inefficient and lack data. • Hard to identify community needs

Business Model • Early Stage Funding • Crowdsourcing • Pursuing partnerships with dev organizations • Ongoing: Pay per transaction • We take a small cut of each • Payment via partnership with mobile providers • Pay for data • Fees for data usage Room for Growth Additional platforms Global markets Data analytics for development, Small business consulting

Questions?

Our Solution: USSD App • Families with a need • Input their need • Set the urgency, timeline, & price • Receive notification on responders • Review the transaction • Young people • Submit response & availability • Gain skills, reputation, money • Development organizations • Obtain anonymous, location-linked data • Analyze to determine needs and services

Sharing Broad Goals • Think about • One idea you potentially want to work on • What is the broader goal or passion that drives it • Share with partner

Questions • How will it benefit your startup to have a mission? * MIT’s mission of action learning informs course design

Broader Goals • Tie groups together • Emotional appeal to investors • Help brand your company • Provide a clear direction growth

Specific Issues • Focus you: Target customer, minimum viable product • Clear and actionable • High potential for success

Finding Your Passion (Personal Brainstorming) • Think about… • Your personality/what you find rewarding • What you want to accomplish in life • Choose ≥ 3 life goals/big problems • For each goal: • Think of 2 -3 ways you could meet it. • Focus: How can your startup help you? • Target market, scale, business sector, etc.

Intro to Ideation (Strategies for Brainstorming Solutions)

Brainstorming in Action • IDEO • Int’l Design & Innovation Consulting • Perfecting Brainstorming Strategies • IDEO Brainstorming in Action • http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Jk. HOx yaf. Gp. E • http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=p VZ 8 pmkg 1 do&feature=relmfu

What Did You Notice? What do you think are best practices for effective brainstorming?

IDEO’s Environment • Social atmosphere: Flat, flexible • Size of group: 3 -6 people • Space: Open, relaxed • Culture: Trusting, sharing, respectful

IDEO’s Processes • Set a time limit • Choose a facilitator • Work in stages: Funnel the process • Main ideas Build on them Select a few • Details Build on them Select a few • Move forward • Prototype/Put the plan in action • Fail often to succeed sooner

IDEO’s Rules of Engagement • Don’t Judgment: Every person and idea has equal worth • Encourage wild ideas – a credit card would have been a crazy idea 50 years ago • Quantity counts • Stay focused on topic • Build on others’ ideas – be inspired

Brainstorming Practice • Here is a problem: Accessing public services in Sri Lanka is very inefficient. • For 2 minutes, try to come up with as many solutions to the problem as possible. • Try to write at least 20 solutions. • Here’s a start! • Make governmental services available online. • Hold judges more accountable. • Have citizens review service quality, etc.

Brainstorming Practice: Stage 2 • Put your list of ideas into your team’s bag. • Shuffle the bag. Draw out another person’s list. • Try to add one detail to each idea. • If an idea seems unfeasible, write ‘difficult’ next to it. • For example: • Make services available online. Create a website for mail pickup • Hold judges more accountable. Difficult • Have citizens review service quality. Create a web or mobile app. • You have 2 minutes.

Brainstorming Practice: Stage 3 • Put updated list of ideas into bag. • Shuffle the bag and draw out another person’s list. • For each idea, briefly answer the following questions: • About how long would it take to implement the solution? • Who benefits if you solve the problem? • How could the solution make money? • Then circle the top 2 -3 ideas. • For example: Put more info online using a website: • 2 -3 weeks • People who want service fast • People could pay for service, additional add revenue • You have 3 minutes.

Brainstorming Presentation • Each group has to present one idea to the class • You have 5 minutes to decide on which one and prepare your presentation • Only one person from each team should present

Homework • Select 25 Top Problems (Due Saturday) • Complete Feedback Surveys (Due Sunday) • Prepare for Discussion (Monday) • Do you know what Techcrunch is? Read techcrunch article on GSL India partnering with a local incubator. http: //techcrunch. com/2013/04/15/gsf-india/ • Do you know who Peter Theil is? Read notes on Peter Theil's CS startup class at Stanford http: //blakemasters. com/post/20400301508/cs 183 class 1 • Prepare a Speech (Monday) • Be ready to speak for 3 minutes on the difference between an angel investor and a VC (Remember what you learned about communication skills) • Optional: Think more on your passions and life goals. Which of top problems will appeal to you and help reach those goals? Email your thoughts or set up a time to discuss if you would like.