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Learning objectives:
- Practice methods of critiquing and improving the startup ideas you already have
Discussion (45m):
- Introduction to the practicum
- Why "ideas are cheap":
- Ideas are starting points
- Ideas aren't unique
- Ideas grow when shared
- Ideas come in fragments
- Ideas are hard to defend
- Ideas are unpredictably good and bad
- "It’s all about execution"
- Where ideas come from:
- Ideation as a toolkit
- Ideation as a muscle
- Ideation as storytelling
- Ideation as speculation
- Ideation as combinatory play
- Ideation as inspiration
- Ideation as expertise
- Ideation as problem solving
- Organic vs inorganic ideation
- Individual vs networked ideation
- Ideation is personal
- Our idea culture
- Unicornucopia
- Demo (Adrian Vatchinsky)
- Critiquing and Improving startup ideas:
- Evaluating startup potential with the product/market map
- Early adopters (high value)
- Imagining disruptive startups with the innovation/market map
- Existing vs imagined markets
- "That’s a great idea, but how can it be bigger?"
- How to critique
- Threat vs embrace
- Evaluating startup potential with the product/market map
Exercise (75m):
- In assigned groups, practice applying the product/market and innovation/market maps to each other’s startup ideas. Also practice applying these maps to a few existing startups.
- Share "best of" ideas (10m)
Guests: none
Readings:
- Paul Graham, "How to Get Startup Ideas"
- Geoffrey Moore, "Early Adopters: The Visionaries" (p25–28)
- Jason Goldman on debate: part 1, part 2, and part 3
- Michael Arrington, "Odeo Releases Twttr"
- Ryan Glasgow, "Every startup needs a story"
Homework:
- Add at least one idea to Unicornucopia
- Improve at least three ideas in Unicornucopia by applying the maps used in class
Learning objectives:
- Practice a speculative approach to imagining startup ideas
Discussion (30m):
- Startups and science fiction (guest lecture by Josh Wolfe)
- Startup ideas vs science fiction
- Adjacent possible vs adjacent probable
- In a world...
Exercise (90m):
- "Remember when..." brainstorm in assigned teams
- Share "best of" ideas (10m)
Guests:
- Josh Wolfe, Co-Founder of Lux Capital
Readings:
- Neil Gaiman, "Where do you get your ideas from?"
- David Lynch, "Where do ideas come from?"
- Maria Popova, "A 5-Step Technique for Producing Ideas circa 1939"
Homework:
- Add at least one idea to Unicornucopia
- Improve at least three ideas in Unicornucopia by thinking about adjacent probabilities
Learning objectives:
- Practice a gamified approach to inspiring startup ideas by recombining existing startups, platforms, and use cases
- Gain familiarity with up-and-coming technology platforms, markets, and investment theses
Discussion (30m):
- Market size (guest lecture by Thatcher Bell)
- Innovation as confluence, recombination, bisociation, combinatory play
- Raw material, curiosity
- Open networks
- Connecting the dots
- VC bait ("the X of Y")
Exercise (90m):
- Play VC Bait in assigned teams
- Share "best of" ideas (10m)
Guests:
- Thatcher Bell, Investor-in-Residence
Readings:
- Marc Andreessen, Product/Market Fit
- Gerry Campbell, "Demand Horizon"
- Tod Francis, "What did Billion Dollar Companies Look Like at the Series A?"
- Maria Popova, "What Is Creativity? Cultural Icons on What Ideation Is and How It Works"
- Michael Simmons, "The No. 1 Predictor Of Career Success According To Network Science"
Homework:
- Add at least one idea to Unicornucopia
- Improve at least three ideas in Unicornucopia by reflecting on market size
Learning objectives:
- Practice developing startup ideas based on cutting edge technology and business models
- Give students a window into what cutting edge concepts their classmates are learning about in different classes
Prework:
- Bring startup ideas sourced from or inspired by your classes (some classes will have dedicated time for this)
Discussion (15m):
- Cutting edge
- Domain expertise
- Cutting edge vs bleeding edge
- Execution risk
- Technology in search of a problem
- Working backwards...
- Timing
- Speed vs timing
- Why now?
Exercise (105m):
- In assigned groups, practice applying the product/market and innovation/market maps to each other’s startup ideas based on other courses (90m)
- Share "best of" ideas (15m)
Guests:
- Cornell Tech faculty
Readings:
- Nat Turner, "90% of Feedback is Crap: How to Find the Next Big Startup Idea"
- Aileen Lee, Welcome To The Unicorn Club
- John Lasseter, "Technology and The Evolution of Storytelling"
- UX Launchpad, "Steve Jobs Insult Response: An Analysis"
Homework:
- Add at least one idea to Unicornucopia
- Improve at least three ideas in Unicornucopia by relating it to a cutting edge technology (for help, see list of cutting edge technologies)
Learning objectives:
- Practice an interrogative approach for deriving startup ideas from personal experience
- Learn about the characteristics of effective startup teams
Discussion (20m):
- What makes a good team (lecture by Aaron Holiday)
- Approaches to deriving startup ideas from personal experience:
- Being an expert, being on the edge, and riding the wave
- Reducing friction, pain, effort, and ugliness
- Fulfilling wants, plugging holes, and blowing up features
- Doing what’s fun and interesting
- All the above, for a friend
Exercise (100m):
- Interview each other in assigned groups to surface aspects of personal experience, then brainstorm inspired product and startup ideas (90m)
- Share "best of" ideas (10m)
Guests: none
Readings:
- Claire McGregor, "The Perfect Co-founder Checklist"
- First Round Capital, "First Round 10 Year Project"
- Startup Genome Project, "Startup Genome Report: A new framework for understanding why startups succeed"
Homework:
- Add at least one idea to Unicornucopia
- Improve at least three ideas in Unicornucopia by relating them to personal experiences
Learning objectives:
- Practice constructing a product narrative, and responding to critique
Prework:
- Self-organize into teams focused on a specific startup idea and prepare a short product narrative
Exercise (120m):
- Teams present their startup ideas, team members, and product narratives (5m/team). Instructors and peers provide critique.
Guests:
- David Tisch, Head of Startup Studio
Readings:
- Ben Wiener, "Does Your Startup Give You Goose Bumps?"
- Andy Raskin, "Storytelling for Startups: ‘What do you guys do?’"
Homework:
- Improve at least five ideas in Unicornucopia by rewriting their product narratives
Learning objectives:
- Practice constructing a product narrative, building a pretotype, and responding to critique
- Rally your team for Startup Studio
Prework:
- Self-organize into teams focused on a specific startup idea, and prepare:
- A short product narrative
- A pretotype of the startup idea
- Where the idea came from
- Why this team
- A statement about the team’s ambitions for next semester’s Startup Studio
Exercise (120m):
- Teams unveil their team selections and startup ideas, including a product narrative, pretotype, and initial thoughts on what they plan to build in Startup Studio the following semester (5m/team)
Guests:
- Thatcher Bell, Investor-in-Residence
Readings:
Homework: none