ENTREPRENEURSHIP & LEADERSHIP PROGRAMS
NIMBLE MINDSET
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NIMBLE MINDSET SKILLS
The World Economic Forum study concluded that over the next 5 years, the top skills (that NIMBLE has been promoting in its workshops and programs) are the following:
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IKIGAI ('a reason for being') is a Japanese concept referring to something that gives a person a sense of purpose, a reason for living.
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This brain model incorporates a neuroscientific approach to self-awareness and understanding dominant thinking styles. Understanding which quadrants of the brain are primarily relied upon, whether analytical or data-driven (represented here in blue), imaginative or investigative (yellow), practical or sequential (green), or empathetic and interpersonal (magenta) will help colleagues developed teams that are balanced
in problem-solving abilities.
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A NEUROSCIENCE APPROACH TO SELF-AWARENESS
DATA-DRIVEN
• ASSESSING FACTS
• LOGICAL/ANALYZING
• DIAGNOSING
• LIKES CHALLENGE
INVESTIGATIVE
• INVENTING SOLUTIONS
• CREATIVE
• INTEGRATING IDEAS
• BRINGING CHANGE
PRACTICAL
• ORGANIZED
• PRECISE/PUNCTUAL
• DETAILED PLANNER
• ESTABLISHING ORDER
EMPATHETIC
• INTERPERSONAL
• FEELING BASED
• GREAT TEACHER
• TEAM MEMBER
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UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
Use these goals as a guide to prioritize which challenges to tackle
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DESIGN THINKING
Design thinking, or human-centered design, is a globally acknowledged leading-edge process for complex problem-solving.
Design thinking is a radical shift in innovation. It is a human-centered, systematic approach to problem-solving, in which customer observation and rapid prototyping are central. Key to the process is a holistic, uninhibited, collaborative, iterative method of innovation proven extremely effective worldwide. At the heart of design thinking is truly and deeply empathizing with the people you serve.
EMPATHIZE
Develop a sense of empathy towards the people you are designing for, gain insights into what they need, what they want, how they behave, feel, and think.
DEFINE�Unpack your findings from the empathy phase and frame the challenge with your point of view. Explicitly state the problem.
IDEATE
Generate radical design alternatives, beyond obvious solutions. Harness collective strengths of your team.
PROTOTYPE
Build to think. Develop alternatives. Use a physical prototype, even sticky notes, to fail quickly and cheaply from input.
TEST
Get feedback on your prototypes and refine solutions, which might mean
going back to the drawing board.
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HOW TO CREATE A MINDMAP
Use color
Don’t take sides
Group ideas with color
Embrace both sides of your brain
The Creative
The Analytical
Go deeper
When you finish, share it with others
This will help you get a fresh perspective
Share it
Every node on a mindmap can be its own mindmap
Nobody’s perfect
Don’t focus on perfection
Tidy up later
Let your ideas explode
Break the ‘on the page’ mentality
Your brain isn’t confined to one page
So your mindmaps shouldn’t be either
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PROBLEM VALIDATION TECHNIQUES
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INTERVIEW POTENTIAL USERS
In-person or video interviews, not on features desired but to gain insights
ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH
Observe how people are currently operating and what changes could help based on your observations
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SURVEYS
Google Forms, Typeform, embedded website forms, Telegram/WhatsApp
TRENDS ANALYSIS
Look at sub-Reddits and other social media forums on your topic
MARKET VALIDATION
There's no point building a product if nobody will buy it!
Once you've spoken to users and validated that the problem exists, you need to make sure there is a large enough market to justify taking the idea further.
Where will your users come from and how much revenue might lie in the market opportunity?
This can be tricky. You'll need to research existing and sibling markets to analyze their volumes and gauge potential demand for your idea.
By gathering as much information as you can about the potential market, you'll be able to make an educated guess as to the size of your target audience and the number of customers you can acquire. It'll also help you to figure out potential pricing for your product, which will be valuable as you start to make other financial projections.
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MARKET SIZING
COMPETITOR RESEARCH
GOOGLE TRENDS / ADWORDS
ADJACENT MARKET SIZES
SALES VALIDATION TECHNIQUES
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VALIDATION WEBSITE
AD CAMPAIGNS
CONCIERGE SERVICES / START SMALL
LANDING PAGES
CUSTOMER PROBLEM
SOLUTION
UNIQUE VALUE
PROPOSITION
UNFAIR ADVANTAGE
TARGET CUSTOMER
SEGMENTS
What customer or market problems does your business solve?
�Examples: �
What are the key features of your solution?
If it’s a service, how does it work?
If it’s a product, what is it?
How are you better meeting customer needs compared to competition?
What is different about your solution and worth paying for?
�Examples:�
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What about your solution can’t be easily copied or bought?
�Examples:
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Which segments of the total market are most likely to purchase your product or service?
Create a “persona” or description of the typical customer (for example, middle-aged woman with children or 20-something single person or retired businessman). If you sell to a broad range of customer segments, you can define multiple segments (70% women, 20% men, 10% children). This will help with your marketing strategy since the way you sell will be different for various types of customers.
COST STRUCTURE
�What does it cost to build and sell your product/service?
What are the variable costs that change based on volume such as materials?
What are the fixed costs that do not change based on volume, including upfront capital costs such as machinery; monthly Internet hosting fee; rental costs?
If you currently don’t have a product or service, what will it cost to build a prototype that you can get feedback on?
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CHANNELS
�How will you reach customers?
�Examples:�Word-of-mouth, Email or text marketing, Website, Social media Partnerships, Advertising�
KEY METRICS
�What will you measure to see if your business is succeeding?
�Examples:�Profits, Growth in revenue
Number of customers, Customer satisfaction�
REVENUE STREAMS
�How will you make money?
�Examples:�Selling in a marketplace
Selling online
Through partnerships
Door-to-door sales
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BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS
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FINANCIAL STATEMENT PROJECTIONS
Pro forma, or future-looking financial statements, are useful for business planning. Create monthly projections for the year ahead based on prior year and current and anticipated business trends.
�Cost of goods (or services) sold are the direct costs you incur, such as materials. Revenues minus costs of goods sold are your gross margins. Once you deduct operating expenses, you can identify your potential profits. Creating a document in a spreadsheet (or on paper) helps you to experiment with various options to determine impact on profitability.
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COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
Research your competitors and map their positions in the market according to specific, meaningful metrics for your business. What elements of performance matter to your customers (responsiveness, selection, speed of delivery, freshness, something else)?
Use this as the metric you evaluate your firm and your competition.
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COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
COST LEADERSHIP
• ECONOMIES OF SCALE
• PROPRIETARY TECHNOLOGIES
• PREFERENCIAL SOURCING
• PROCESS EFFICIENCIES
DIFFERENTIATION
• UNIQUENESS & EXCLUSIVITY
• ACCESS TO LEADING
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
COST FOCUS
• COST ADVANTAGE IN
TARGET SEGMENT
• HIGH DEGREE OF LOYAL CUSTOMER
COST LEADERSHIP
• DIFFERENTIATION IN
TARGET SEGMENT
• DISRUPTIVE INNOVATIONS
Lower cost to gain market share
Differentiation to develop niche market
Broad Target
Narrow Target
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SWOT ANALYSIS
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FIRM STRUCTURE
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INTRODUCTION (15 SEC):
Describe your service or product in one sentence. Use an emotional hook.
OPPORTUNITY (20 SEC):
Describe the pain point/need for your solution and your vision. What is the size of the market? Any evidence of willingness to pay?
SOLUTION (25 SEC) & GO TO MARKET:
Demonstrate how you will solve the problem and market it. Which segments?
UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION (30 SEC):
What is your source of unique advantage?
COMPETITION (25 SEC):
Identify your competitors and explain why your solution is easier/faster/better/cheaper/safer, etc.
BUSINESS MODEL (25 SEC):
Explain your plan to generate revenue.
OPERATING COSTS / FINANCING (30 SEC):
Cost to get to the next milestone (MVP, proof of concept)? How will you raise funds (friends & family - pre-seed, seed; crowdsourcing, fundraising plan for non-profit)
TEAM (15 SEC):
Describe your team and what each person adds to execute the idea.
THE ASK (10 SEC):
What are you asking for? State the amount of funds you seek & debt or equity terms.
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FOUR MINUTE PITCH
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