Building Blocks I F2022

What

MGT 387, "Building Blocks," aka The Front End of Startups

11:00-12:15 TuTh, Bidgood 219, August 17-December 2, 2022.

What are the building blocks?

• identifying opportunities

• evaluating opportunities

• understanding customer needs

• empathizing through design

• prototyping minimum viable products

• communicating value creation and legitimacy claims to various stakeholders

• pitching to an audience of investors for resources

• creating a multiplicity of opportunities

• leading and working effectively in teams

Modules

You will complete multiple assignments related to using ideation and design thinking to identify opportunities, evaluation of opportunities, and iteration on aspects of opportunities; you will create at least two versions of prototypes; you will routinely pitch ideas for a new business to each other in work teams and occasionally to the entire class.

Lectures

August 25: Lateral thinking (google slides) complete worksheet on lateral thinking and design of a student career services center

August 30-September 1: Entrepreneurs and opportunities (Google slides)

Sept 1: Pitch deck review: Lunchbox Series B pitch deck (evaluating customer needs, understanding customer needs, communicating value creation) Practice pitch: create a unique game day experience for a distinct customer group

September 6 - 8: Design Thinking and Empathy

Sept 6: Design Thinking (read in advance for Thursday class: Brown T. 2008. Design Thinking. HBR. (empathizing through design, understanding customer needs)

Sept 8: Design Project Zero (in-class, a graded assignment - 5 points; instruction slides and a worksheet you'll turn in are on the Design Project Zero page under the heading "Do." (understanding customer needs, empathizing through design, prototyping minimum viable products). Please see me on Tuesday if you won't be here on 9/8) . No quiz this week.

September 13-15:

Sept 13: A longish look at Lomi; we'll extend the Design Project Zero activity and build paper/PPT/slides prototypes in class on September 13; read: The Power of Product Thinking (Zhuo, 2021) on A16Z's "Future.com" site. Follow these slides to create quick prototypes. Use this google slide deck to rip off my prototype for BAR TAP MVP

Sept 15: Lecture on pitching (google slides). No quiz this week.

September 20-22

Continue Intro to pitching (Sept 22, practice your first pitch in small groups); Quiz due September 23 (5 points)

September 27-29

Pitch a bad product idea (prepare and present in teams)(and here are the product idea slides; ) and here is a potentially useful study

September 27: Discuss assignment, form and work in teams, prepare pitch

September 29: presentations on Sept 29 in class (10 points)

October 4-6

Read: Pitch your idea with a compelling story;

Tuesday: The value of bad ideas; pitching feedback review, Magic Wand Remote Control

We'll cover: Opportunity evaluation and overview of opportunity registers - you can start writing your first opportunity register now...TURN IN BY END OF DAY FRIDAY, OCT 7

Proof Eyewear Opportunity Evaluation (5 points, in class on October 6)(separate related reading: "The $100 Sunglasses Minting Millions From1980s Nostalgia" WSJ 2022)

Complete first opportunity register; submit by 11:59 pm to MGT387BAMA@gmail.com (for a vending machine!, 5 points)(30 points total accumulated so far)

October 11-13

Organizing for early-stage opportunities (graded in-class activity this week, 5 points). Here is the starter document on early-stage organizing in startups we used in class on 10/11.

Announcement: River Pitch is coming soon

Quiz due October 14 (10 points)(40 points accumulated so far)

October 18-20

Read before class: Startups in 13 sentences, Paul Graham, 2009; <more here soon/> Baxter is calling

Oct 18: Advanced topics in pitching. Understanding pitch decks. Graded in-class activity (5 points)

Files: Autoshop 2002; Autoshop 2022; Google slides on pitching topics

Oct 20: No lecture

Oct 21: Quiz due by 11:59 pm (5 points)(50 points accumulated...)

October 25-27

Oct 25: Team pitching activity. Pitch with slides your team's revised bad product idea using the USER and CONSTRAINT cards your team chose on Tuesday (10/18). CLARIFICATION: You can use slides, but you cannot look at them while you are pitching (try try try)(DEBRIEF)

Oct 27: I am moving this to the November 1 lecture: [Pitch your idea for a crowdfunding campaign in class (5 points, individual, pairs, or trios assignment, no slides)]

Mini-Debrief: Bisociation in motion

I will go over the culminating final team project on Thursday 10/27 and discuss the second OR. Crowdfunding overview; for now, know that you will PITCH an idea on 11/1 and form into project teams for the rest of the semester.

Nov 1 (a Tuesday!): Complete second opportunity register - this opportunity register is for your crowdfunding campaign idea you'll pitch in class on November 1 (5 points)(60 points accumulated...)

Noted: Three Startup Pitch Deck Mistakes That Are Red Flags For Venture Investors

November 1-3

Culminating project for rest of semester. In addition to completing the general activities listed below, each individual is responsible for turning in a weekly "blog post." I will send out a google form at the end of each week soliciting your observations of the week's activities. I won't assign points for the week to students who do not complete that particular week's blog responses. Learning how to lead the techniques you'll learn in November is just as important as learning the mechanics of designing a winning crowdfunding campaign. Why a blog? pmarca said so.

Nov 1: Pitch your idea for a crowdfunding campaign in class (5 points, individual, pairs, or trios assignment, no slides, you can use notecards). Stand in front of your fellow students and pitch to get them to join your team. Big pain, brilliant solution, differentiation, why you, why people will support this crowdfunding campaign, etc.; you want students to join your team, so win them over with persuasion. One to two minutes, ideally closer to ONE.

Nov 3: Start crowdfunding assignment. Form into teams, create group charters. Complete user story, customer persona, value proposition statement and canvas (see below for specifics); turn in first week's reflection assignment by Friday midnight - I will send it out by email on Thursday (10 points)(70 points accumulated...)

"We" don't spend enough time trying to truly understand a problem. Instead, most of us frame the problem using the first model that comes to mind and then try to solve that particular version of the problem. We need to break down complex problems into their components and learn from the problem before we solve it. Use the problem you are trying to solve as a source of learning before you try to solve it. We'll do this in part with the Unpack Your Problem Activity, Following that, each member of the team will create a customer persona (no group work or shoulder surfing) based on how s|he views the problem and solution.

November 8-10

Nov 8: Complete personas (individual warm-up) and map activity (individual, *then* team)

Nov 10: Complete solution sketches and determine appropriate MVP; turn in second week's reflection assignment by Friday midnight (10 points)(80 points accumulated...)

November 15-17

Nov 15 and 17: Continue crowdfunding pitch project: Produce MVP and create video; turn in third week's reflection assignment by Friday midnight (10 points)(90 points accumulated...)

November 29-December 1:

Finalize end-of-course presentations on Nov 29; present pitch presentations in class on Dec 1; turn in fourth and final week's reflection assignment by Friday midnight (10 points)(100 points accumulated...)

Resources