Workshop 1 - Guidelines Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Design Toolbox

A) FORMAT

IE&D Workshops: a safe environment The workshops are a safe place where mistakes are considered opportunities to learn. There is no criticism, only feedback. Workshops 1 to 3 are meant to show your evolution, research, thinking. The presentation should be to the point in a business style, although much of the content discussed is academic in the first stages. The presentation at the final workshop will be different! You will remove most of the academic frameworks and spend less time discussing your research and just focus on your conclusions: your final business case… The business plan competition is different again!

Presentation style If you have a template, use it as a guide, nothing more You should experiment with formats to build your own story, one that is appropriate for your idea The final presentation at Workshop 4 will be a more standard format Recommendations: Use pictures or visual aids (including props at the workshop) where possible, to make the message easier to understand. Be methodical but also creative and use your judgement: please don’t look at it as a ‘box-ticking’ exercise. Use your own graphics/branding right from the start – this is also part of your message Imperial College Business School ©

Time management and presenting skills Plan to present for 15 minutes at this workshop (followed by 20 minutes feedback from coaches and peers). One slide typically requires 1-2 minutes of speaking so roughly 10 slides is probably the right number for you. But your best guide is to practice in advance and see what works! Don’t overrun the time slot – the coaches may stop you mid- sentence if you do! Don’t overcrowd single slides with too much text! Guidelines are for spoken content as well as slides. Imperial College Business School ©

B) CONTENT

What to put across in workshops 1–3 Whatever format or sequence you use, in general you should put across the following things at each workshop: 1.Status of your business case. This means: present the case in its most recent form, in headings 2.What did you do? This means what is the research you have done or what are the actions you have taken to make progress. 3.What did you learn? This means what are the insights the research provided? 4.What does it mean? This means explaining how the insight now changes your view on the case, e.g. problem, solution, clients, industry, markets, channels, business model, profitability, etc… 5.Next steps? What are you going to do in the next phase? How will this help you? What is your hypothesis?

Specific Purpose of workshop 1 1. Present your idea for the first time to the coaches 2.Show the background work you did to justify your assumptions and statements (from the IE&D toolbox), e.g.. Problem observation and analysis, solution generation (Market Pull) Technology/Application analysis (Technology Push) Other... 3.Don’t do a ‘hard sell’ at this stage – your aim right now is to explore the feasibility of your idea and be open to potential changes or ‘pivots’, so present your case as objectively as you can. 4.Passion is good, but don’t let it cloud your judgment. Imperial College Business School ©

1. Introduce the idea

Introduce the idea This is your early ‘elevator pitch’, summarising your proposal at this stage, which you’ll expand on in the following slides. –Make it interesting, to the point and lively, to capture your audience’s attention. A quick and simple summary (one spoken paragraph or a few bullet points) of your business idea so far, indicating what you currently know about: –Problem/solution or Technology/Applications –Why your proposition is novel and how it’s competitive compared to other offerings In particular the advantages to user/customer (faster, simpler, easier, cheaper, etc.) –What type(s) of customer or user you envision –Possible size of the market/opportunity Since this is an introductory summary of the whole presentation, it may be most effective to write this slide after you have written the rest of the presentation. Imperial College Business School ©

2. What did you do?

How have you worked on the idea? You may have used: Observation (problem analysis or design research) Technology/Application matrix Product/Market matrix Expert interviews Other …

3. What did you learn and 4. What does it mean?

Nature of the opportunity Explain the source of your idea further, e.g.: 1.An unsolved problem or unmet need (Market Pull): Can you explain the problem in depth please? How, what, when, why? 2.A technological, design or process innovation which makes possible things which were not possible before (Technology Push) what are the applications you foresee –and in what ways is your innovation superior to alternative methods 3.A growing trend … market momentum? 4.A combination of any of above. If you have done Design/observation research > present this in a visual way If you are working on a technology/knowledge base > show what the possible applications could be Imperial College Business School ©

Market Explain: Who is your target customer (Market-Pull) or potential customers (Technology-Push)? Who are possible other customers? Why them? What opportunities or trends have you identified to define this customer and market? e.g. –‘Customer pain’ – an unmet market need or a shortcoming in competing products –A new market space opening as a result of changing trends –Chance to create improvements/pleasure for this customer (N.B.: demand is trickier in this space: is this a vitamin rather than a painkiller? (In short, why would target customers want your product/service?) Include brief facts, statistics or credible statements that you have uncovered in some initial desktop research on this opportunity. These may include: a quoted statement by potential customers with a clear need a quoted statement from an analyst or industry expert market reports on an industry or trend Background Tools: Trend Analysis, Entrepreneurial Market Research Imperial College Business School ©

Technology, design and novelty In case of Market-pull, describe the technology and/or design concept behind your idea/solution, or how technology or design will enhance your solution –Show how this is significantly novel with respect to other offerings on the market Be specific – ‘twice as fast, which can save up to X amount of time per user’ In case of Technology-Push: If you are working with a platform technology, describe what suitable applications you have identified and the industry sectors likely to adopt it (and why). (e.g. Background Tool: Technology/Application matrix) –Describe honestly any possible challenges to the adoption of your innovation (e.g.: It’s a conservative industry; not many compatible complementary products; it’s expensive, etc.)... And how you might overcome these challenges. Imperial College Business School ©

Possible business models Although you will deal with this topic in depth for the next workshop, you can say something now about your initial hypothesis. … what are the possible ways of packaging and selling your offering? –In what form (product, service, licence, subscription, company trade sale, etc.)? –Through which channels (wholesale, retail, online, consulting, partnership with another company, other)? Also indicate the mission of your project –What is the impact you intend to create: economic (e.g. financially profitable) or social? –(Remember that even non-profit IE&D projects must be economically self-sustaining.) Imperial College Business School ©

Team Names of each team member Background experience and skills/credentials –Years of experience, accomplishments, special abilities Also indicate how you have agreed on relative involvement, commitment and responsibilities between MBA, designer, engineer, idea owner and the project lead from any partnering organisation. Are there any gaps in your team? Any skills/experience that will need to be recruited into the business in future? Don’t use C-titles for each team member (e.g. CFO, CTO); it’s not sensible at this stage (read Ch. 10, The Smart Entrepreneur) Background Tools: Founding Team exercise Imperial College Business School ©

Conclusion and self-assessment Summarise what you think you know at this stage in your entrepreneurial journey: Refer back to slide 3 What has changed in your business idea as a result of your research? What are remaining gaps in knowledge or risks, as well as your advantages (e.g. with respect to your value chain and your customer segment) Imperial College Business School ©

5. What are your next steps? – Any questions?