Within six sessions the coordinators Laura Körner and Martin Giese guided the students through the different stages of creating their own roadmaps. With Bill Aulet’s ‘Disciplined Entrepreneurship’ as a theoretical foundation, the key element of the course was to create innovative ideas and quantify them.
One of the first steps was the refinement of value proposition, the calculation of market size as well as an in-depth assessment of the competitive situation. This was especially helpful for increasing the persuasive power of sales arguments, as the teams learned to base their proposed value on quantified facts. Another focal point of the sessions was the acquisition of customers. With the help of different techniques adapted to the business type as well as the respective target groups, the teams developed their own acquisition strategies.
However, as an entrepreneur is not able to live from ideas and inspiration alone, the revenue model and financing of the business were the focal points during the last sessions of the course. Among other things the students familiarized themselves with terms such as 'COCA’'(cost of customer acquisition) or LTV (life-time value) and learned how to thoroughly calculate expected cost and profit not only for the present but for several years in advance.
Upon completion of the course, the students and their respective teams are not only able to apply their newly acquired skillset to the development of their businesses, but they are also provided with an individual business plan based on realistic requirements. Thus, some teams are already looking forward to utilizing this as part of their applications for various start-up funding programs. Equipped with the right tools they can now start their respective journeys towards building successful start-up companies.