Entrepreneurial Mindset: FSE 301 Entrepreneurship + Value Creation. 

Entrepreneurship Competency: FSE 301 – Entrepreneurship + Value Creation. 

FSE 301: Entrepreneurship + Value Creation was one of the most transformative courses I completed at ASU because it pushed me to think like an innovator, not just an engineer. The course emphasized opportunity recognition, customer discovery, value creation, and evidence-based decision‑making. Throughout the semester, I learned how to identify real problems, analyze customer needs, develop a venture concept, and communicate ideas clearly and confidently. This experience strengthened my entrepreneurial mindset and helped me understand how innovation connects to engineering, sustainability, and my long-term career goals.

What I Did and Learned in FSE 301

A major component of the course was conducting customer discovery interviews and gathering feedback from potential users. I learned how important it is to maintain a positive attitude when pitching an idea and to present consumer analysis from a neutral, objective standpoint. As I wrote in my reflection, presenting information neutrally “gives consumers an objective overview of the competition, allowing them to form their own opinions about your product.” I practiced asking guiding questions such as, “If you had $100,000 to buy a car, what would deter you from buying an electric car versus a traditional combustion engine car?” These conversations helped me understand how to frame a problem from the customer’s perspective.

Developing my venture idea was another meaningful part of the course. For the past two years, I have been involved in a research project at ASU focused on identifying the best materials for solid-state electrolyte batteries. I used this background to create a business concept centered on the societal impacts of solid-state batteries. My pitch combined theoretical insights with real research data, enabling me to justify the idea on technological, economic, and environmental grounds.

The course also emphasized the importance of thinking outside the box. As I wrote, this mindset involves “identifying something you're passionate about and examining its flaws” to find opportunities for improvement. While I haven’t yet created an entirely new business from scratch, I've discovered that I have strong creativity and quick thinking when it comes to improving existing designs. This is a skill I want to continue developing as I grow in my engineering career.

Finally, FSE 301 taught me to anticipate criticism and address it proactively. I naturally analyze both sides of a situation, and this helped me prepare for questions during presentations. For example, in my chemical engineering junior lab, I was asked about potential drawbacks of a pump system. Because I had already anticipated the question, I was able to respond quickly and confidently. This reinforced the value of preparation, critical thinking, and objective analysis — all core components of entrepreneurial thinking.

How FSE 301 Connects to My GCSP Theme: Sustainability. 

My GCSP theme is Sustainability, and FSE 301 connects to this theme in meaningful ways. My venture idea focused on solid-state batteries, a technology with the potential to transform clean energy, electric vehicles, and sustainable power storage. Through customer interviews and market analysis, I learned how sustainable technologies must be framed not only in terms of environmental benefits, but also in terms of cost, reliability, safety, and user needs.

The course also emphasized the importance of creating value responsibly. Understanding the technological, economic, and environmental implications of a design is essential for building sustainable solutions. FSE 301 helped me see how entrepreneurship and sustainability intersect;  both require identifying long-term impacts, anticipating challenges, and designing solutions that improve society.

Value of FSE 301 for My Academic and Professional Goals

FSE 301 strengthened skills that will directly support my future career in engineering and advanced manufacturing:

• Customer-focused thinking: understanding user needs and real-world constraints

• Clear communication: presenting ideas confidently and concisely

• Critical analysis: evaluating competing solutions objectively

• Creativity and innovation: improving existing designs through new perspectives

• Problem‑solving under uncertainty: anticipating challenges and preparing solutions

Even though I don’t plan to work in sales, I know I will need to pitch ideas, justify design decisions, and communicate effectively with teams and stakeholders. The entrepreneurial mindset I developed in this course will help me contribute to innovative projects, assess potential risks, and design solutions that create real value.

Overall Reflection

FSE 301 helped me grow as both an engineer and an innovator. It taught me how to think creatively, analyze problems from multiple angles, and communicate ideas with confidence. By connecting my solid-state battery research to a real venture concept, I learned how engineering solutions can create meaningful societal impact. This course strengthened my ability to approach sustainability challenges with an entrepreneurial mindset, one that values curiosity, evidence, creativity, and continuous improvement.

This experience will stay with me throughout my career, guiding how I design, evaluate, and advocate for technologies that improve the world.

Final Report: Solid State Batteries in EVs

Our revenue model focused on selling full EV battery sheets to automotive dealerships. We estimated a cost of $17,000–$18,500 per battery sheet, with discounts for EV-only manufacturers such as Tesla and Lucid. We also explored bulk‑purchase opportunities, recognizing that dealerships and manufacturers would be the primary customers for this technology. Through this process, I learned how pricing, distribution, and customer segmentation shape a business model's viability.

We then developed a go-to-market strategy by analyzing the size of the EV dealership market at local, national, and global scales. With over 12,000 dealerships in Arizona, 60,000 in the U.S., and 1.8 million worldwide, we identified a massive potential customer base. This exercise helped me understand how market size influences investment decisions, scalability planning, and long-term growth strategies.