1. MIT GSL
2018
week 1 | tuesday

2. Agenda Review of Design Thinking Ideation
Learn how to fill the top of the funnel with ideas
Learn to choose the best idea
Get to know your classmates and have FUN!
Wrap-Up

3. Thinking of Design…
Know your user → Understand the problem → Ideate → Prototype → Test
user centric NOT product centric
Do you really understand the problem?
Why is solving the problem important?
How many different crazy ways can you solve the problem?

4. Ideation

5. 3 Types of Founders

6. How to come develop an idea

7. Fill the top of the funnel with ideas
Find a problem that (1) needs to be solved and (2) you’re passionate about solving
User defined innovation - you as the user & your own problems
Close family or friends facing problems
Interests & Passion for a specific industry
Knowledge - focus of education or career
Connections - expertise in industries
Market pull vs. Tech push vs. Hybrid
Market pull  best type (unfilled need, willing to pay) BUT hard (covered more in Step 1)
Tech push  Tech Innovation or Tech-enabled Business Model or Process Innovation (Uber), use with caution

8. How do I choose a good idea to start a company

9. Sifting out GOOD ideas from BAD

10. 1. Personal Filter The idea won’t go away You really, really care
You can explain it
Will making it happen be fun to you?
Can you see yourself doing it for 5+ years? 10+years?
Can you get the other people you need excited about it?
Is it within your domain of expertise?
Does it fit with your overall personal goals?

11. 2. External Filter Do the people you need to convince get the idea?
How about your idea?
Do the people you need to convince get the idea?
Can you recruit the team you need?
Do the customer buy the idea?
Do the business partners you need buy the idea?
If you need investors, do they buy the story?
Is the timing right?

12. 3. Execution Filter Market adoption rate and issues
How about your idea?
Market adoption rate and issues
What things need to go right? How many?
What things, if they went wrong, would kill you?
What competitors will you have as soon as you launch your new venture? How will they react?
How do you assess the overall risk?
What did you miss? Did you ask experts in this area?
Does the idea continue to motivate you and others when honestly facing with the downside?

13. Let’s Ideate!

14. But first, let’s get in the right mood ...

15. Improvisation Takeaways
Listen actively → Willingness to change
Yes to EVERYTHING → takes us somewhere
Play the game → rules in the system that guides us to improvise & create
Relax & have fun → letting yourself fail
Fail

16. Rules for Brainstorming I
“Yes and …”
Play
Have fun
Follow some simple rules
Everyone gets to speak
One person at a time
Keep it short

17. Rules for Brainstorming I
Questions to answer:
Do you really understand what the problem is?
Why is the problem important to solve?
How many ways can you brainstorm to solve it? Diversity is good. List top 10.
Get at least a little crazy … open up the aperture!

18. Homework

19. Ideation Journal – Due Tomorrow
Example: UPEKLQZB3Y7ePN9AVbJOMwtQ/edit#gid=

20. Wrap-Up
Review of Lecture
Overview of Next Steps
Homework