Event Details

Join the Work in Progress Team for our KickStarter Challenge - a series of interactive workshops to develop an idea, business or improve your entrepreneurial skills! Taking place online via Microsoft Teams, the challenge is divided up into interactive sessions throughout the week beginning August 10th. The challenge will give you the chance to walk through the process of developing an idea into a well rounded business plan. At the end of the week, you'll have the chance to pitch your ideas for a

Join the Work in Progress Team for our KickStarter Challenge - a series of interactive workshops to develop an idea, business or improve your entrepreneurial skills!

Taking place online via Microsoft Teams, the challenge is divided up into interactive sessions throughout the week beginning August 10th. The challenge will give you the chance to walk through the process of developing an idea into a well rounded business plan. At the end of the week, you'll have the chance to pitch your ideas for a cash prize!

Monday 10th August | 10am - 12pm | Session 1 - Introduction to the KickStarter Challenge

In this introductory session we will get to know each other as a community and about what we aim to achieve throughout the Challenge. You will learn about what to expect from each session, what you will take away and the value of this in the real world.We will give you an overview of the steps you will take and introduce you to tools, features and benefits that you will embrace for the journey. You will be introduced to the software to be used this week to ensure that you have an interactive, informative, inspirational experience that is action orientated in true entrepreneurial style. We are also honoured to have a Keynote Speaker, Kevin Walls the Founder of Plasma Business Ltd to kick off our week.

Monday 10th August | 2pm - 4pm | Session 2 - Expansive thinking to find your niche

Your goal as a start up is to make something that enough users love. If you think about the really successful companies of today they all started with a product that their early users loved so much they told other people about it. They identified one market and dominated before expanding out to others.In this session we walk you through a process aimed to help you to start the work of searching for:

• Groups of people who have similar characteristics
• To aim your customer development efforts towards them

Because they are most likely to buy into your solution.‘The man who chases two rabbits catches none’ Confucius

Bring your imagination and an open mind to spot many new market opportunities and start filtering for most promising ones, towards finding your niche.

Tuesday 11th August | 10am - 12pm | Session 3 - Who is my Customer?

There are many ways to do market research to understand potential customers. This session looks at doing Primary Market Research (PMR) under Covid lockdown, hence with focus on online interaction and social media. On the previous night, you've brainstormed a wide array of potential customers who might be interested in some application of your product or service.You narrowed down to 2 market segments through Secondary Market Research (SMR). This session involves learning how to do Primary Market Research (PMR). It includes the purpose of PMR, PMR tools and approaches, recruiting and motivating interviewees, interview best practice, use of visual timelines to drive interviews, and uncovering unspoken user needs.

Tuesday 11th August | 2pm - 4pm | Session 4 - Land and expand in a Beachhead Market

As a new project or startup you have limited resources. Focusing your resources is essential. Startups that succeed start the process with a focus on a a target market, a target customer; a user with a ‘name’; a persona. It’s crucial to dominate a narrow, carefully defined market that serves a particular user. Everything else about your start up or business will be built on that focus.Your attention on a single market segment will help you make better and faster progress. This session walks you through experimentation with the process to identify and commit to a ‘Beachhead Market’. This helps you throw a sharper focus on a target customer profile and a deeper understanding of one representative customer.

Wednesday 12th August | 10am - 12pm | Session 5 - What is my Offer?

This session builds on the knowledge you have gained to determine how you can best serve your ideal customer. Now that you better understand who your ideal customer is, what probblems they want to solve or which desires they want to fulfill, you are ready to create a solution that meets the customers expectations.This session will guide you through the process to design and create your value solution for your ideal customers, imagining the customer experience and the features and benefits your product or service will aim to deliver. We will examine some well known examples of problem/solution fit to help us.

Wednesday 12th August | 2pm - 4pm | Session 6 - Prototyping and High Level Specification

Now you have an overview of your high value offer, the features and benefits, we will begin to make this real. In this session we explore the different types and methods of prototyping available to you that may be relevant to your customers that they will find. You will be given time in groups to present your ideas for your prototype and get some feedback before making a Prototype Plan for your product/service or a part of it, that you will launch and gain feedback for.

Thursday 13th August | 10am - 12pm | Session 7 - Social Media Content Creation (Part 1)

In this session, Dan Marrable from 448 Studios will work with you to create content for a social media page where you can test out your prototype. https://www.448.studio/You will discover the ingredients of good content creation. There is a formula for creating engaging content on social media. Understand why certain content performs well and the optimal formats for creating and publishing video on different channels.

Thursday 13th August | 2pm - 4pm | Session 8 - Social Media Content Creation (Part 2)

This is a hands-on workshop that covers the core skills needed to create effective content on social media. Brainstorm, storyboard, film, edit, and publish quality video on your phone. This practical workshop is dedicated to helping you create content with the tools you already have! You will:

• Create interesting stories from scratch and brainstorm content ideas
• Story board and develop a shot list
• Film ad edit a short video on your phone
• Publish on social media, feel confident in front and behind the camera

Friday 14th August | 10am & 2pm | Session 9 & 10 - Pitch to the Panel

Now you have completed the Kickstarter Challenge and will have taken action to develop and launch your prototype, Work in Progress invites you to the 2 sessions where you are given the opportunity to pitch to a panel of entrepreneurial experts to gain feedback and be in with a chance of gaining an award recognising your progress and to help you take the next steps in making it real. Cash Enterprise Awards provided by Santander will be up for grabs to those Lancaster University Students and Graduates who present the best pitches.

Want to join?

Let us know: workinprogress@lancaster.ac.uk