How to evaluate business opportunities and build scalable ventures


Syllabus

Credits: Midjourney.com

Syllabus

In an ever-changing world, where the speed of innovation and the amount of external forces and drives is constantly growing, the capability to quickly evaluate opportunities and innovate is paramount for the creation of successful businesses. 

The Business Innovation Seminar is designed to provide students from architecture and design backgrounds the key understanding of what makes a project a viable business idea, how to analyze markets and industries, how to validate ideas early on and how to iterate and innovate on business models to build the basis for an economically sustainable venture. Based on the Lean Methodology and mixing together theory, real-life examples, practical exercises and 1-1 feedback, it gives students a toolbox and a mental mindset to approach opportunities during their professional careers as well as the foundations to set up a business. 

All the content will be directly applied by students on a final Venture Starting Package, that will be presented during a final pitch.

Learning Objectives

The aim of the seminar is to provide students with the tools to understand and evaluate business opportunities based on their own research projects. It provides a framework to analyze ideas, tools and references to understand the market and guidelines on how to understand whether a venture can be successfully created. The core competencies are complemented with an introduction to business model innovation and practical exercises. 

Specific Objectives

  • Learn how to evaluate business opportunities 
  • Understand and apply the concept of Product Market Fit 
  • Understand and apply the concept of Unit Economics 
  • Recognize the core elements of a successful venture 
  • Develop and Iterate on a Business Model for a specific idea 

Keywords

Business Model, Business Model Innovation, Lean Startup, Product Market Fit, Unit Economics, Business Angels, Venture Capital. 


Faculty


Faculty Assistants


Projects from this course

Finsa-composite

Initial Investment: €1000 as starting capital. Revenue Growth: Starts at €1000 in Month 2, increases by €250 monthly, reaching €3500 in Month 12. Expenses: None recorded, keeping them at zero throughout the year. Cash Flow: Matches revenue, peaking at €3500 in Month 12. Total Cash: Rises steadily due to no expenses, reaching €25750 by Month … Read more

SimplifAI

Changing architecture with AI Market study Architecture as a profession is well know for its long work hours and less pay. Because as an industry in general is the least optimised industry just above agriculture and hunting in 2020. This results into more work load and less output. Hence the productivity rate is negative 1.4,which … Read more

Crafted Carbon

00_Introduction Crafted Carbon is an innovative startup that promotes the cultivation of bamboo, leveraging its rapid growth characteristics. This venture aims to harness bamboo’s multifaceted potential, particularly in the realm of construction, while simultaneously generating carbon offsets or credits. By doing so, the initiative focuses on revitalizing depleted land, offering a sustainable and eco-friendly solution … Read more

CORNER

A City’s Revolution has come!Uplifting its community by changing the perception and usage of modern cities through Hygiene Barcelona’s lack of public toilets can lead to unhygienic situations such as relieving oneself on the streets of the city but also having to find another solution without the guarantee of knowing if the facilities will be … Read more

Building Therapy

Building Therapy is a project of IAAC, Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia developed in the Master in Advanced Architecture 02 – 2022-2023 by the student(s) aishwarya.arun during the course MAA02 & MRAC02 22/23 Business Innovation with Davide Rovera.

Ovolo

Picture this: Its sunday morning and you are taking a shower after a long saturday night. You have the water running, still trying to wake up from the night before then Crash! You are now having a mini panic attack, scrambling to get the soap out of your eyes and turn off the water all … Read more

UrbanCork

Cities nowadways are built for cars, but cars dont live in cities. More and more cities are moving away from the car centric design but that leaves us with a barren asphal landscape with some colour and a few elements here and there The Future – Sustainable Cork Tiles WHY NOW FINANCIAL PROJECTIONS COLLABORATORS AND … Read more

ArchiMationAI

Revolutionizing Architectural Animation with AI ArchiMationAI is revolutionizing the architectural animation industry by providing AI video visualization for architectural projects. By transforming the way architecture is presented and marketed, our solution caters to the needs of architects, real estate developers, and designers who seek to create visually engaging content that stands out in today’s highly … Read more

Timber Tailor

Furniture has become an essential part of modern day society. Problem Currently an average consumer has a two choices, one to either shop at IKEA and get a generic furniture that every household has or to go for a designer furniture that breaks their bank. With the consumers increasingly looking for products that represent their … Read more

Planterium

Juan is a young professional working in Barcelona at an office with a common work space which he describes as loud, grey, boring and uncomfortable. Juan is not alone… 6.3M employees in Barcelona work in a similar work environment. Our solution to them is: What is the solution? A modular vertical smart pot system which … Read more

PRINT POINT

The reference marking system for 3DP processes Problem Traditional 3DP processes lack accurate and reliable reference markers, which can cause errors and inaccuracies in the final print. This can be especially problematic for cyber-physical set-ups that require precise calibration and location of physical geometries on the 3D model. Solution This issue is resolved by Print … Read more