"SolarSpark: The Solar Entrepreneurship Bootcamp"
This Bootcamp will be run as part of an afterschool program at John F Kennedy High School on 4 days: 2/28/24, 3/1/24, 3/6/24, 3/8/24
*Bootcamp split into 4 sections for afterschool program at John F Kennedy High School*
TOPICS: What is solar power, how does it work and why is it important as a renewable energy source? What is the status of solar power in our region?
PROJECT: Participants will be building their own robots that run on solar power.
Overview of Bootcamp Model:
The all-day bootcamp will follow the flow of a typical early stage innovation entrepreneurship accelerator program consisting of 7 sessions: (1) Program “Launch Day”, (2) Problem-Solving, (3) Minimum Viable Product, (4) Customer Value Proposition, (5) Business Financials, (6) Startup Pitch Essentials, (7) “Demo Day.” Simulating these essential steps in innovation entrepreneurship will give participants an overall understanding of concepts involved in innovation entrepreneurship while also teaching sustainability-focused STEM subject matter content. The participants will be introduced to and use various technology tools throughout the bootcamp so they will gain hands-on experience with Google Docs, Google Sheets, Trello for project management, Canva for graphic design, and ChatGPT Generative AI as an assistance tool.
Bootcamp Outline:
Module 1: Program “Launch Day”
The importance of embracing your unique perspective to attain environmental equity & the role diversity plays in increasing innovation
Seeing yourself as an entrepreneur and the elements of an Entrepreneurial Mindset
You can do this! What is Continuous Learning & Just-in-time Learning
Overview of Innovation Entrepreneurship Process
Bootcamp Orientation: We will be using a Kanban board via individual Trello accounts for the bootcamp project flow so participants will see the Innovation Entrepreneurship steps setup on their Kanban board and will use this board as their project management tool as they work their way through the bootcamp.
Module 2: Problem-Solving
Overview of Bootcamp STEM topic
What’s New: Overview of several innovative startups working on this topic
Module 3: Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
You are actually going to build your product! Hands-on project [See individual Bootcamp for specific project description]
Module 4: Customer Value Proposition
You’ve built your MVP and now you need to figure out if there is an actual market for your product before you spend a lot of time and money manufacturing your product. You’ll learn the importance of customer feedback & iteration in the startup process. You’ll also learn to use ChatGPT as an assistant during this module.
You’ll develop your ideal customer profile (who would buy your product? Is the customer a consumer or a business?).
Now let’s find out if your assumptions about your customer are correct through customer interviews. You’ll develop key questions to ask your ideal customer.
We’ll do simulated interviews. After the interviews, you’ll analyze the feedback you got and determine what changes, if any, should be made to your MVP.
Module 5: Business Financials
Business Revenue models. How will your business make money? Are you selling a subscription, selling the whole product, etc. What are the costs you need to consider? You’ll gain an understanding of income and expenses in a business and complete your own budget in Google Sheets based on a model budget.
Module 6: Startup Pitch Essentials
You will design your company logo in Canva. You design your own 8 slide pitch deck in Canva based on a model deck. The information you’ve been collecting during each module is the basis for the information in your pitch deck.
Module 7: Demo Day
Using your slide deck, you will pitch your company concept to a panel of community judges.