Business Idea and Discussion
Two-part activity: 10 points for business idea + 5 points for critiques/discussion
Two deadlines: one for Part 1 and another for Part 2
Part 1–Purpose: Apply the concepts learned so far to come up with a new business idea
Part 1–Assessment: 10 points (2% of course grade). Rubric available from gear icon on top right.
Instructions:
This is an individual activity.
Create a post by using the reply button below. Its better to type it in a text editor and then copy/paste here.
Use the readings for this week and/or previous weeks, the buzzwords of #IOT (Links to an external site.), #3dprinting (Links to an external site.), #bigdata (Links to an external site.), and #AI (Links to an external site.) or any other readings on the web to come up with a new business idea. A good TV series on #IOT also aired on CNBC. You might want to consider business ideas relevant for the CU community and/or the campus, but that is not a requirement. You might also consider B2B applications, building on some experience you might have had in internships or casual summer jobs.
This idea should leverage the participatory nature of the ‘Social Web’ and some of the principles discussed in the readings, such as network effects, developing platforms, crowd-sourcing, creating value from data, increasing switching costs, selling to the long tail of demand, collaborative consumption etc.
Consider this an idea challenge. This can also be considered a form of crowd-sourcing, with me being the VC, who is looking for ideas to invest in. The business idea must have some scope of monetization. This monetization need not be from direct sales or even from advertising. Think from a perspective of leveraging the data that you collect, if you can’t monetize the idea directly.
Your idea could be a digital product/ service based on the data from “things” or even about printing “things”, web based (website and/or an app) and/or SMS based, to apply the concepts we have learned. It could be a physical product as well, but with significant discussions of the digital aspect.
Your report should be prepared as an essay, 600 words (+/- 10%). It should have the following information in it:
The Idea
What need does it fulfill? What goals does it serve? Why do you believe there is a demand for it?
How will you leverage some of the concepts discussed in the course to enter the market. How will you leverage what you have learned to grow this business. If there is some competition for your idea, why is your idea better?
How will you make money $$$$$ ?
Information Systems : A Managers Guide to Information Technology Version 8.0 by John Gallaugher (book)
Chapter 9: Social Media
Chapter 10: The Sharing Economy, Collaborative Consumption, and Creating More Efficient Markets through Technology
