Lesson 2.2: Develop Ideas for Your Startups
Brainstorm Your Business Idea (2 Hours)
1. Empathize Phase (30 Minutes):
- Students define their target audience and explore their needs, challenges, and opportunities using an Empathy Map.
- Guiding questions:
- "Who is your target audience?"
- "What specific problems do they face, and how can your business address them?"
- "How do competitive forces (e.g., substitutes or rivalry) impact their experiences?"
2. Ideation Phase (1 Hour):
- Students brainstorm solutions to meet their audience’s needs while applying Porter’s Competitive Strategies to differentiate their business idea.
- Guiding prompts:
- "Will your business compete on price (Cost Leadership), uniqueness (Differentiation), or a specialized market (Focus)?"
- "How does your idea address key competitive forces, such as rivalry or substitutes?"
- Encourage creativity with brainstorming techniques like Mind Mapping or SCAMPER to generate diverse ideas.
- Students evaluate their ideas based on feasibility, alignment with audience needs, and competitive advantage
Note: SCAMPER: Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Magnify, Put to Another Use. Eliminate, Reverse.