• C4: Startup Overview: Google video chat with Tobin Fisher, CEO and Co-founder of Vantage Robotics vantagerobotics.com (rescheduled to C8 on Feb 4)

•Why did you pick this idea and market? What else did you consider? How did you look at competition? What’s it like to start a startup? What are the challenges you’ve faced thus far? What's your vision for the company?

  • C8: The Lean Startup

•Book - Eric Ries, author of Lean Startup (2011), Read the Introduction, pp. 1-11, Feedback loop pp. 75-78, Dropbox pp. 97-99, and Aardvark pp. 103-106 http://theleanstartup.com/book (20 min)
•Activity – Large Group exercise: What is Eric Ries’s feedback loop? (10 min)

  1. Build – MVP: Minimally Viable Product
  2. Measure – data, success metrics
  3. Learn – interview customers for ideas
  • C5: What is the Problem?

•Activity –  First iPhone; Large Group talk (10 min): What problem did Steve Jobs solve?

•Handout - Formulate the design challenge: page 165 of IDEO’s Guide to Human-Centered Design

•Startups need to solve a problem, so what is the critical problem you’re trying to solve?

•Activity – Divide into Small Groups of 3-4 students and go through the following (15 min):

  1. Write out a single-sentence question that conveys what you want to do
  2. Now state the ultimate impact you want to have
  3. What are some solutions? Think broadly and allow for many possible outcomes
  4. Write down the context and constraints you have
  5. Tweak the original question and revise to fit points 2-4

• Activity - Large Group Discussion (15 min) – Student groups present their Design Challenge

  • C10: Winter Break - no class
  • C2: Guest Speaker - Dr. Gary Krahn, LJCDS Head of School

•Thursday 1/14 @ 2:45pm-3:30pm, with 20 minutes for talk, then 20 minutes for Q & A

Dr. Krahn is the head of school here at La Jolla Country Day. He was previously the head of Trinity Valley School in Fort Worth, Texas. Before that, he taught Math at the US Military Academy and led the Math department there. Dr. Krahn has his PhD in Applied Mathematics from the Naval Postgraduate School and his BS from the US Military Academy at West Point, NY.

•What’s an issue that needs to be addressed at LJCDS?
•What would solving that problem mean to you? To LJCDS?

  • C6: Guest Speaker - Jeff Church, CEO and Co-founder of Suja Juice

•Thursday 1/28 @ 2:45pm-3:30pm, with 20 minutes for talk, then 20 minutes for Q & A

•Jeff Church is the CEO and Co-Founder of Suja Juice. Last year, Suja was chosen by Forbes magazine as the third most promising company in America. Previously, Jeff was the CEO and Co-Founder of Nika water, which donated 100% of its profits to clean water and poverty alleviation projects throughout the world. Jeff received his MBA from Harvard University and a BA in Accounting from Michigan State University.

•What problem were you trying to solve and how did you come up with the solution? Why juice? What other ideas did you consider?

  • C3:  Team and Execution

•Video – Sam Altman of Y Combinator (16 min): The Team

https://youtu.be/CVfnkM44Urs?t=2m21s stop at 18min40sec

•Activity – Large Group discussion (10 min): What to look for in your co-founders? How to find them?


•Video – Sam Altman of Y Combinator (10 min): Execution

https://youtu.be/CVfnkM44Urs?t=29m stop at 36m

https://youtu.be/CVfnkM44Urs?t=41m30s stop at 45m

•Activity – Large Group discussion (10 min): What are the top 2 attributes of a great startup?

  • C1:  The Idea and Product

•Video – Sam Altman of Y Combinator (15 min): The Idea – Solving a Problem

https://youtu.be/CBYhVcO4WgI?t=25s stop at 15m:06s


•Activity – Small Group discussion…Divide into groups of 3-4 students and discuss (10m): Why is the idea itself so important? What type of market should you focus on?

•Video – Sam Altman of Y Combinator (10 min): The Product – Building the Solution

https://youtu.be/CBYhVcO4WgI?t=15m6s stop at 25m:25s


•Activity – Large Group discussion…Discuss the following (5 min): How should you develop the product?

  • C9: Building Product for Users

•Photos – LJCDS Courtyard, US Cafeteria vending machines, Peet’s Specialty Cafe, Starbucks Costa Verde Mall
•Activity – Large Group Discussion: What do you think about solutions today? What works and doesn’t?  (10 min)

•Handout – Mid-course feedback survey
•Introduce Torrey Stand – Pitch MVP concept for summer launch (10 min)

•Video – Kevin Hale, Wufoo / Survey Monkey: Build Products Users Love (33 min)

https://youtu.be/sz_LgBAGYyo?t=40s stop at 33min

C7: Idea Generation

•Video – HBR (2 min): Design Thinking http://hbr.org/video/4443548301001/the-explainer-design-thinking
•Video – Stanford design students (8 min): How to (and not to) Brainstorm?  https://youtu.be/cmoWCSyujPY
•Handout – IDEO’s 7 rules for brainstorming (5 min):

  1. Defer judgment – and let the ideas flow from everyone
  2. Encourage wild ideas – which give rise to creative leaps
  3. Build on ideas of others – use “yes, and…” not “but…”
  4. Stay focused on the topic – keep the discussion on target
  5. One conversation at a time – keep focused and pay attention
  6. Be visual – use post-it notes and felt pens to sketch ideas
  7. Go for quantity – 30 ideas in 30 minutes is our target output

•Activity – Conduct a class brainstorming session to address the design challenge: “How can Torreys (students, teachers, staff, and parents) connect on campus?” The Torrey Stand (30 min)