Summary of Entrepreneurial Problem Solving and Venture Development

## Introduction This Startup Curriculum Guide outlines a 14-week venture journey that takes a student from problem discovery to a polished pitch and orientation for scaling. The program emphasizes customer insight, rapid prototyping, market assessment, business modelling, marketing and finance practices, and team formation. Each week has focused learning objectives and practical activities to build a viable startup. > Definition: A startup is a temporary organization designed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model under conditions of extreme uncertainty. ## 1. Problem Identification (Weeks 1–2) ### Goals - Build a macro view of industry-level problems - Identify and select real-world problems worth pursuing - Examine and analyze chosen problems for underlying causes and constraints ### Activities - Orientation to the program and expectations - Construct an industry-problem map: list major sectors, then common pain points - Problem analysis: root-cause mapping, stakeholder mapping ### Practical example - Industry: Urban mobility. Problems: high commute time, last-mile connectivity, parking scarcity. Root-cause: urban design, vehicle ownership incentives, inadequate transit integration. > Definition: A root-cause analysis systematically identifies the underlying reasons a problem exists rather than treating symptoms. ## 2. Customer Identification & Needs Validation (Weeks 2–4) ### Goals - Identify distinct customer segments - Define customers’ jobs-to-be-done and pain relievers - Create customer personas and run validation interviews - Achieve customer-problem fit and iterate based on feedback ### Activities - Map segments (demographics, behavior, context) - Build 3–4 customer personas with goals, frustrations, and metrics of success - Conduct at least 20 qualitative interviews or 50 survey responses for triangulation ### Practical example - Persona: "Commuter Clara" — 28, uses public transit, values reliability. Job-to-be-done: arrive at work on time with minimal transfers. ## 3. Solution Idea Generation (Week 4) ### Goals - Learn ideation techniques and select promising solution concepts - Generate multiple solution alternatives before narrowing scope ### Techniques - Brainstorming, SCAMPER, problem reversal, constraint-based ideation - Use decision criteria: feasibility, desirability, viability, novelty > Definition: Jobs-to-be-done is a framework that focuses on the tasks customers hire a product to complete. ## 4. Opportunity & Competition Mapping (Week 5) ### Goals - Identify global and local competitors - Review industry trends and estimate market size (TAM) - Introduction to basic financial planning ### Activities - Competitor matrix: direct competitors, indirect alternatives, substitutes - Estimate TAM, SAM, SOM with logical assumptions ### Table: Competitive mapping example | Type | Examples | Why it matters | | --- | --- | --- | | Direct competitor | Company A (same solution) | Pricing and feature benchmarking | | Indirect alternative | Public transit | Understand non-consumer threats | | Substitute | Micro-mobility services | Potential disruption or partnership | ## 5. Prototype Development & MVP (Week 6) ### Goals - Learn prototypes vs MVP concepts - Build a prototype to validate core assumptions quickly ### Activities - Create low-fidelity prototypes (paper, clickable mockups) - Run early validation tests to check usability and core value proposition > Definition: A Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is the smallest set of features needed to validate a key business hypothesis with real users. ## 6. Opportunity Feasibility Assessment & Sizing (Weeks 7–8) ### Goals - Map relative market position compared to competitors - Estimate the opportunity size using assumptions and simple models ### Techniques - Top-down and bottom-up market sizing; sensitivity analysis of assumptions ### Practical math example - If TAM = $1{,}000{,}000{,}000$ and targeted SAM is $5\%$, then SAM = $1{,}000