Assignment 1A: Face Cards and Submit Three Ideas & Resume Online
Face Cards
At the beginning of class, turn in 2 face cards to your TA that include your first and last name, course number, graduation year, past experience and a picture of you.
Short Summary of Three Business Ideas
Go to the class page and click on Forum on the left. Create a new discussion for each of your three ideas. Give your ideas a name, a one-paragraph written summary pitch, and (if you are brave) post an elevator pitch via YouTube. Your creativity will be rewarded. Remember, you are posting ideas for brand-new ventures, or early-stage ideas you may already be working on. Your ideas should employ an application or development of technology. No consulting businesses or McDonald’s franchises please. In your summary you should address the following points:
- What is the problem your product or service is going to solve?
- What types of people or what types of companies suffer from this problem?
- How widespread is this problem? How critical is it that customers solve this problem?
- What is the innovation or competitive advantage behind your product?
Submit Your Resume Online
Go to the class page and upload your resume (or even better, modify your resume to show entrepreneurial experience, strengths and interests) so others in the class may view it. Then, look at others’ resumes and look for complementary people who could be good candidates for your team. Note them and then seek them out at class or outside of class to further investigate potential teaming arrangements. The makeup of your team, having diverse skills but also people of similar commitment levels and interests—as well as good personal chemistry—will be a major factor in your learning experience in this course, so spend the time up front to try and make the best team possible.
Assignment 1B: Elevator Pitch
Decide on your top idea for a new company and develop a 60-second “elevator pitch” to summarize the idea. The elevator pitch should convey the overarching problem you are trying to solve and the solution your idea presents. Assume that you are stuck in an elevator with a VC and only have 60 seconds to pitch—what would you say? You will present the elevator pitch in class. Review & comment on at least three other ideas online.
Assignment 1C: Team Formation
Email your TA with the list of team members and the idea (include idea name and description) your team will pursue. Each team can have up to 3 individuals from the same section. We encourage cross-campus/disciplinary teams. Teams cannot have members from different sections. The team should have met at least once by the assignment due date.
