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Shad Valley Entrepreneurship. Brainstorming / Mission Statement/ Innovation. What I learned from my parents. Grandfathers were soldiers, labourers Father is an white collar aerospace designer
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Shad ValleyEntrepreneurship Brainstorming /Mission Statement/ Innovation
What I learned from my parents • Grandfathers were soldiers, labourers • Father is an white collar aerospace designer • “get your skills built, get in with a company after you graduate from college, and work that job for the rest of your life. All you have to do is be good at what you do, and loyal!” • Do you think this approach works nowadays?
A Little About Me.. And our world • 1800s-1980s: The Industrial Era • 1920s: Wave of Immigration to Canada • 1930s: Depression • 1940s: War • 1950s: Baby boom • 1990s-now: The Post Industrial Era • Fuel is expensive • Factory jobs? Not so many…. • Globalization Lots of factory jobs!
Be adaptable Don’t stay “wed” to the strategy or product. These will “pivot” (change) even if the vision is good
Vision • “formal declaration of what the company is trying to achieve over the medium to long term”* • This is your company’s BASE • WHY THE COMPANY EXISTS • Source: Hill & Jones (2004). Strategic Management Theory (6th ed.). Houghton Mifflin
What makes a good vision • Not too short, not too long • Focuses a big problem, but not something that is unrealistic • Includes generally “how” the vision will be achieved • Clearly understood and concise, but not too limiting • May evoke some emotion, but realistic “we can do this!!!!” • Sees beyond the strategy or product, but you can still tell basically what the company does
Some (good? bad?) Examples • Our vision is that every student in every school should have the opportunity to learn computer science. We believe computer science should be part of core curriculum, alongside other courses such as biology, chemistry or algebra. • to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. • To help make every brand more inspiring, and the world more intelligent • It is our mission to continue to authoritatively provide access to diverse services to stay relevant in tomorrow's world. • http://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/9-worst-mission-statements-all-time.html
Strategy • “action a company takes to attain superior performance”* • “a pattern or plan that integrates an organizations major goals, policies, actions into a cohesive whole.”* • What will you do? • What do you need to be good at? • More on this Saturday • Source: Hill & Jones (2004). Strategic Management Theory (6th ed.). Houghton Mifflin
Product (or service) • Strategy, manifested. • The “thing” that will be offered by your company, or “stuff” that you do. • It will be the best “thing” or “stuff” that will: • solve your customers problems • Fulfill your vision • make the world a better place • Result in a profit for your company
Be adaptable (again) Don’t stay “wed” to the strategy or product. These will “pivot” (change) even if the vision is good
What product/strategy? Generate ideas based on what you now know Develop your product a little bit, to remain relevant Collect data that you think will answer your questions Minimize the total time through the loop! *adapted from http://theleanstartup.com/principles
The Lean Startup Process • Don’t ask “can this product be built?”, but “should this product be built?” • Fail fast, fail cheap! Learn when you have made a bad assumption about what to build • Get close to your customer! Get feedback! • Develop an Minimally Viable Product (MVP) to begin learning • Spend time validating the business model instead of planning too much!
Tools • Websites: wordpress, wix • Mobile: squarespace • Social Media: facebook, twitter, youtube • Data Collection: surveymonkey • Commerce: shopify, paypal • Crowdfunding: Indiegogo, kickstarter • Free Graphics: creativecommons • Startups startupweekend, /r/leanstartups, /r/startups
Your class “assignment” • Work on your mission/vision statement • Should include • Problem that you are focusing on, or a new “state” that you want to bring about • “generally” how you will address it (product/service?) • Use the advice from the previous slides • Iterate between vision -> strategy -> product for now • Don’t worry, this will still change, even after today! • Write it out, I will critique it!
Need help? Got a question? • msdohan@lakeheadu.ca • @mhealthphd • Is there Shad hashtag? #shadtbay? • Reddit: /r/shadvalley • Contact me ANYTIME!