Entrepreneurship 2022
Session 4: Solution Ideas
Dr. Sudeh Dehnavi
10.17.2022
Good Morning
Who did at least one interview with a person potentially affected by
the problem or involved in the problem?
2?
4?
“If I had an hour to solve a problem I'd spend 55 minutes
thinking about the problem and five minutes thinking about
solutions.”
Albert Einstein
quality of the solution you generate is in direct proportion to
your ability to identify the problem you hope to solve.
Agenda for today
• Problem Statement (15 min)
• Innovation opportunities (15 min)
• Exercise and group work: Tools to Develop Solution Ideas
Part 1: rapid brainstorming (1 or 2 rounds of 40 min)
• Break (15 min)
• Exercise and group work: Tools to Develop Solution Ideas
Part 2: clustering (10 min)
• Exercise and group work: Tools to Develop Solution Ideas
Part 3: evaluation (20 min)
•User Segments and Value Proposition (15 min)
Exercise: World of Intention (45 min)
Problem statement
How can
(user)
change or improve
in order to
(behavior/action/insight)
?
(goal)
Source: CEWAS
Feed back for Problem statement (10 min)
• Write the problem from the user perspective. While
descovering the root problem, user may change. Is „in order
to …“ a matter for the user or for you?
• Be precise with the problem statement. Others should
understand the problem by reading your sentence. Describe
the user group, …
• Focus on one behaviour/action/insight (to chage, reduce,
improve)
• Is it the problem to be addressed? Root problem?
• Try to avoid imposing restrictions at this starge
• Do not go for any potential solutions
Problem Statement Example
How can
Tunisian animal farmers (cattle, goat,..)
improve
their continuous access to locally produced animal feed
in order to
ensure animal health and productivity while minimizing
operational costs ?
Source: CEWAS
Innovation Opportunity Example
-
Produce feed with minimal inputs
-
Produce feed from waste inputs
-
Provide a logistic solution to feed producers
-
Provide technical or knowledge services to farmers for feed
production
Turning Challenges into Opportunities
Discover and address markets needs. Understand the potential of challenges:
Scarcity:
makes a resource precious;
opens avenues for alternative resources;
makes effective supply chains more important
Pollution:
social pressure makes individual/public solutions necessary;
can polluted be cleaned or reused?
are pollutants resources?
Source: CEWAS
Factors that affect your innovation potential
$
Market/user size
Value offered
Innovation/business
strategy
Competition
Source: CEWAS
Some sector challenges you research(ed)
Source: CEWAS
Where do opportunities for innovation lie?
Medium-size innovative
water & sanitation
services & techs
Biomass, Small Hydro
Energy Recovery
Water Stewardships,
Integrity, Knowledge
Management
Wastewater Irrigation,
Waste Nutrient
Recovery
Food-waste,
Food processing
Source: CEWAS
Write down the innovation opportunities for
your problem statement (5 min)
123-
4-
Part 1: Developing your
solution
Part 2: Positioning and
defining the value of your
solution
Part 3: Using innovation
strategies to increase the
value of your solution
Source: CEWAS
Part 1: Developing your solution
Develop Solution Ideas in 3 Steps
Rapid Brainstorming
Collect as many solution ideas to your problem as possible
Idea Clustering
Create solution packages
Evaluation of Idea Potential
Value, Feasibility, Scalability, Creativity
Step-by-step Rapid Brainstorming (40 min)
5 rounds of rapid barnstorming, each for 8 minutes
Size of the group: 5 participants
Brainstorming team:
Problem owner
Moderator
Other participants
Step-by-step Rapid Brainstorming (40 min)
Step 0: Open the GoogleDoc file:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sCu_ZpDtw8ZPDEoJ9ZXptnWrC9n7nUj8fsoUcyDdts/edit?usp=sharing
Step 1:
Problem owner: Ask the others if they have read and understood the problem statement
and to clarify any questions that might arise
Moderator: keep time (max 3 min)
Step 2:
All: use mentimeter to write down as many thoughts of ideas that each of you have.
Moderator: keep time (exactly 5 min)
•
During this time do not discuss the issue and don’t talk. Just focus on whatever crosses
your mind.
•
•
Don’t limit the number of ideas – we want to maximize those.
If you feel there was not enough time, you can come back to the mentimeter during the
break.
Step 4: Once you have finished this round, change to a new moderator and repeat the
process.
Develop Solution Ideas
Rapid Brainstorming
Collect as many solution ideas to your problem as possible
Idea Clustering
Create solution packages
Evaluation of Idea Potential
Value, Feasibility, Scalability, Creativity
Clustring of Ideas
Title of the cluster
Title of a cluster
Title of a cluster
Title of a cluster
Title of the solution
package
Title of the solution
package
Title of the solution
package
Title of the solution
package
Develop Solution Ideas
Rapid Brainstorming
Collect as many solution ideas to your problem as possible
Idea Clustering
Create solution packages
Evaluation of Idea Potential
Value, Feasibility, Scalability, Creativity
Evaluation of Idea Potential
Evaluation of Potential Idea
Value
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
2
3
4
5
6
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8
9
10
Feasibility
1
2
Scalability
1
Creativity
1
Strategies to create value with innovations
FUNCTIONALITY instead of
conventional approach
UNDERSTAND desires, anxieties
and jobs of USERS & CUSTOMERS
create economies of
SCALE
assemble existing services
and products into
something new
use what is abundantly
available
create more resources
(RRR)
shorten value chain (cut out
middle men)
make services or products
CHEAPER
Source: CEWAS
What makes a solution innovative
New REVENUE
MODELS (e.g.
subscriptions instead of
sales )
New PRODUCT or
product combinations
Innovative
PRODUCTION (to
make products
CHEAPER or BETTER)
Innovative
PARTNERSHIPS
26
!
Different SALES
CHANNNELS (e.g. social
media)
New USER & CUSTOMER
SEGMENTS
Innovative CUSTOMER
RELATIONSHIP Models
(e.g. platforms)
Source: CEWAS
Part 2: Positioning and defining the
value of your solution
Who are your users?
For whom are you creating
value?
Who are your most
important users?
Segment 1
Segment 2
Segment 3
Give your segment a
name:
Common characteristics of the segment?
- Behaviour
- Gender
- Income
- Values
- Location
- Needs
- ……….
Picture
Segment:
Your most ideal user
Name:
Age:
Profession:
Where does he/ she ........................
Fears:
Goals:
Challenges
Values:
Why does he/ she want to use/ buy your product/ service? What does he/ she like?
What does he/ she dislike about your product/ service? Where oes he/ she see weaknesses or problems?
Value Proposition of a Solution
Unique value proposition (UVP):
-
Core benefit or solution
Differentiates your product or service from the competition
Positions your product or service as the best possible option
on the market
Value Proposition of a Solution
What are your value propositions to your customer segments?
-
-
-
What added value do you deliver to the user?
Which one of your users’ problems are you helping to
solve?
Which user needs are you satisfying?
What bundle of products and services are you offering to
each user segment?
What is unique about your offer (compared to the
competition)?
Example of Value Propositions
[My business] ‘s
(products / services)
help(s)
(customers)
who want to
(jobs/tasks to be done)
by
.
(own verb)
Source: CEWAS
Example of Value Propositions
[My business] ‘s _organic waste treatment service produces insects
(products / services)
that_ help(s)
poultry and meat farmers in the North of Jordan
(customers)
who want to _feed animal proteins_ by _ affordable and accessible
(jobs/tasks to be done)
(own verb)
means.
Source: CEWAS
Part 3: Using innovation strategies to
increase the value of your solution
Business Model Canvas
KEY
ACTIVITIES
KEY
PARTNERS
KEY
RESOURCES
COST STRUCTURE
VALUE
PROPOSITION
CUSTOMER
RELATIONSHIPS
CHANNELS
R E VE NUE STREAMS
CUSTOMER
SEGMENTS
Where does Ideation stand in the Innovation
Process?
Source: CEWAS