The teams have been doing an excellent job with their presentations to the class and I was extremely impressed with the concept test that was developed during class. I asked students to come prepared on how to conduct a concept test. They were peer graded on this so many came with a good understanding. We broke into teams by question types. At the end of class the questions were collected and one of the project manager put together the final test with me. We got 180 responses (mostly students friends and family and my grad students) which allowed me to do some segmentation.
The marketing team presented the results of the concept test, including some perceptual maps. They did a nice job overall.
The finance team presented the next week and this may be why we are losing momentum. This team determined that there is not a valid revenue model for the product. Great insights!! But this means that the teams have started to lose interest because there is no money to be made! How do I regenerate enthusiasm for the project? Ownership of the product after the class is over is another problem that needs to be figured out. Some students suggest giving each student a 'share' of the company. These shares can then be bought and sold, but that does not bring in seed funding for the project. Is this what needs to happen to get them motivated again??
I like the lesson of the ebbs and flows of energy in a start-up that we are experiencing as a class. I wonder if the students are getting this as a lesson. Maybe I can have Drew or Christian talk about this.
My concerns are on the success of (1) the indiegogo campaign. This needs to be good to generate funds to move forward. This may also generate energy again if we are successful; (2) finding a developer that can write the app for the students. We need a prototype to take out to get additional funding. Students seem to be lagging here. I need to get them to 'network' to find the right person. Again, lack of motivation? or lack of knowing what to do next?
Because the indiegogo campaign is so crucial, the Funding team asked the class to collectively come together to help with the campaign. It took a while and some reminders that this is class participation before we got full cooperation. Again, another sign that students are losing momentum.
Having project managers is one of my best decisions. These three students are crucial for making things happen. Here is the minutes from my last meeting with them:
We will be switching to a
kickstarter, because if we do not raise enough money we will not be able to
complete the project and would not collect the money anyways.
-As to ownership, we will
equate $250 with a purchase of one share within the company. There will be the
option of half-shares for $125.
-As we launch the Kick
campaign, we will express to the class that if everyone involved could come up
with 10 friends who give $10, we will be well on our way to our goal. We want
to make sure the class knows that even though they are skeptical we actually
can achieve a successful fundraiser!
-If the Kick campaign is not successful we will continue
working on the project, but it will be as a hypothetical launch.
-Keary is now in charge of the Design and Global teams
-Grant is now in charge of the funding, finance and legal
teams
-Danny is now in charge of the
marketing and distribution teams
-Danny will e-mail Dan Gregory,
head of idea for Northeastern to inquire about ways to get money from outside
of the kickstarter.
-Professor Garcia will e-mail
Professor Kaeli about people willing to code a Facebook web app.
-The three project managers
will work together with the relevant teams to find a developer and get a quote
ASAP. We want to have this done by Monday/Tuesday.
-The class format will be changed in the future. Mondays
will be lectures and assignments for the first 80 minutes with 20 minutes for
group work at the conclusion. Wednesdays will be a quiz or an assignment or
attendance for 15 minutes at the beginning of class. Then the project managers
will address the class for 5 minutes so that we will all be on the same page in
terms of project progression, deliverables, and group work for class time.
-When we reach a point where brainstorming is needed we will
create a poll everywhere so that everyone in the class can submit their
suggestions. We can then choose off of the list which items will be important
to address and carry the discussion from there.
