Summary and application

This topic has taught you all about the potential value you can create. Now we’ve got our final set of activities that will help you apply your learning. For these activities you’ll need to choose an opportunity to focus on, this could be something you identified in the interviews from the application activities in the previous topic, an opportunity that  Eli or Ingrid have explored, or something else that has been mentioned or you’ve been thinking about.

Apply your learning

Vicarious learning

Find a research report or reliable news article that confirms this opportunity has some level of value. It’s ok if it’s not exactly the same opportunity, but should be similar to it. Seeing others pursue similar opportunities provides independent validation that they see value in providing a solution.

The report could be a report from a university, government or lobbyist or other group or a Gartner or Forrester report. For example, if you were exploring an opportunity related to refugees settling into Australia you’d need to find a research report identifies that there are many refugees coming to Australia and that there is an opportunity that needs to be addressed.

News articles about the opportunity might include interviews of the entrepreneur pursuing the idea and their perceptions and portrayal of the personal, financial, social or environmental value being created.

Try to imagine what a cover story in the media about you would look like.

• Would you be proud or embarrassed?
• Would it help or harm your business’ reputation?
• Likewise, imagine talking with a role model or idol, and asking them what they would do about the opportunity?

Virtual learning

Talk to someone else about the opportunity. This could be another peer, but could include someone who is informed about the opportunity, like a potential customer, mentor/advisor, supplier or another entrepreneur with a complementary service or product. Letting them know that your primary motivation is learning, and that the opportunity is just an idea (for coursework) may aid you when talking with people who like to help students learn. Others may have a strong preference for only meeting with you if you are authentically pursuing the opportunity.

Try and get their perspective on the opportunity and explore which forms of value they think there might be in addressing the problem. How does their view differ or align with yours? Do they see the same value as you? Do they care about this opportunity in the same way you do?

Authentic learning

Talk to someone who has some expertise in this area. Don’t just select someone out of convenience that you already know them, but try contacting a perfect stranger related to the opportunity. Ideally, you are genuinely interested in the opportunity. If you are, then often demonstrating such an interest comes naturally and they will take your enquiry seriously.

If you’re looking at an opportunity about refugees this could be an advocate or someone from a charity that supports refugees. If you’re looking at the opportunity of increasing the accessibility of technology you could talk to someone who works with or markets technical products. Try and understand their perspective of this opportunity.

• Do they think it’s valuable?
• What kind of value do they see?
• What motivates them to play their role in addressing the problem?