ENES 461 Startup idea: An AI-driven platform that automates the process of legal document analysis for law firms, reducing the time lawyers spend on reviewing contracts and increasing accuracy.
The Startup Analysis Canvas Project
As the term project for the course, you will integrate and enhance your ideas and notes to develop a comprehensive, research-based analysis for your new startup company. This is an individual assignment.
The problem that you are defining is the basis of the technology-based startup company that you will design this semester. Be sure to consider problems that can be solved with technology-based product that you can create, or lead the creation of with a team that you can build. Startup ideas may include mobile apps, software, hardware, or related technologies that serve as the foundation, or key differentiation factor, of the startup. A café that has a website is not considered a technology-based startup. A startup company that is creating inventory management software for cafés would be considered a technology-based startup for the purposes of our course.
Focus on a problem for which you can develop and launch a solution within 12 months. Your solution should leverage your skills and relationships, and require initial funding of no more than $25,000 to bring the product to market.
The total length of this analysis should be approximately 4,000 words in total for questions 1 through 11. Be sure not to exceed 4,200 words in total.
This is a substantial assignment that should be developed throughout the course. I encourage you take a moment today to review the questions.
We suggest that you copy these questions and author your responses in a Google Doc before submitting them into the Canvas fields for submission by the due date.
Your responses should not be bulleted, but in paragraph form.
This will also provide you with a copy of your ideas and plans that will live beyond your access to this course.
Sample of How the Questions and Responses Are Displayed in ELMS
Be sure to include in-text citations
(Links to an external site.)
for each response that aligns with your references to support your analysis for this question.
There should be at least 10 unique reference sources (i.e. 10 different article, reports, etc.). While you may repeat a citation (i.e. reference one report multiple times), referencing one source multiple times counts as one citation.
As these references should be specific to the industry, competitors, market, etc. for your new venture, do not include the textbook, articles, lectures, or lecture slides for the course as references.
Also be sure to include a breath of references; at least ten different references should used in this project.
In your response to question 12 at the end of this assignment, list the full reference in APA format (Links to an external site.)
.
You do not need to include a title page or abstract.
1. The Problem
What is the problem?
What evidence supports that the problem exists?
Is the problem urgent, underserved, unworkable, and/or unavoidable?
Is the problem conspicuous and/or critical?
2. The Customer
Who is the target customer?
What are their needs and wants?
What is the market size?
3. The Value Proposition
What gains will customers experience? These are the benefits which the customer expects and needs, what would delight customers, and the things which may increase their likelihood of adopting your product.
What pains will customers experience? These are the negative experiences, emotions, and risks that the customer may experiences in adopting your product.
4. The Minimum Viable Product
Who are the competitors and their customers?
What are our minimum viable features?
Are our features valuable and rare?
What is our prototype? Insert all of the images of your wireframes Links to an external site.
if you are creating an app or software, or a diagram Links to an external site.
if you are creating a physical product. Create these with one of the software options discussed in the course such as Balsamiq, InVision, Figma, or another software. Hand drawings are not acceptable. As the first version of most apps or software are 5 to 10 screens, you should submit 5 to 10 wireframes to align with one per screen.
5. The Price
What are the competitors’ pricing strategies and prices?
What is our pricing strategy and prices?
6. The Placement Strategy
What are our distribution channels?
Who are our intermediaries?
7. The Promotional Strategy
What is the advertising plan and budget?
What is the public relations plan?
What is the personal selling plan?
What is the direct marketing plan and budget?
What is the sales promotion plan and budget?
8. The Sales Process?
What is our sales process?
9. The Revenues and Costs
What are our itemized estimated costs in year one and year two?
What types of revenue streams are used by competitors?
What types of revenue streams will we use?
What are our estimated revenues in year one and year two?
10. The Funding Plan
What are our funding requirements?
Who are our candidate sources of funding?
11. The Team
Who are the founders?
Who are the advisors?
Who are the key partners?
12. Reference Page APA
