Start-up and innovation project

What it covers

What does it take to build something from nothing? How do founders make decisions under uncertainty, move fast, and create products and solutions that real customers want? In this industry consulting project unit, you will work directly with a start-up founder on a live business challenge. There are no weekly classes. Instead, you will meet regularly with your industry-based academic supervisor and work hands-on with your founder client, taking ownership of your project from brief to final deliverable. You’ll also have access to several industry masterclasses to help you develop your project and consulting skills. The challenge will vary by start-up and could span go-to-market strategy, product pricing, customer research, product launch, or the creation of an entirely new product or solution. You will not just advise, you will build. Your output will be something the start-up can use directly, whether that is a live website, a pitch deck, a financial model, a prototype, or another tangible artefact. You will think and work like an entrepreneur, navigating ambiguity, making decisions with incomplete information, and using a wide range of contemporary digital tools to get things done. If you thrive in fast-moving, unstructured environments and are curious about entrepreneurship as a career path, this is the project unit for you. By the end of this unit, you will have experienced first-hand what it means to innovate under real constraints, working alongside a founder to create something that did not exist before.

Assessment

When and where