Business Design Masterclass

Learn how to de-risk your new ventures in this learning experience on customer-centric and experiment-driven business model innovation.

What it is

We could have also called this training “Lean Startup Masterclass”. Because this is what it is, an intense three-day to one-week learning experience on customer-centric and experiment-driven business model innovation. Participants will learn to discover and validate a customer, an attractive offering and a business model around it. A special focus of the masterclass is put on value proposition and business model design and experimentation. Reflect the implications of agile development for your own work. Depending on your business environment we tailor the masterclass to a B2C, B2B, or B2B2C focus.

Why it is needed

Many of our clients — especially from the German Mittelstand or from IT and mechanical engineering industries — create technical solution without prior validation. Often even with development cycles of several years with no customer contact. We think this is crazy. When we are then called in, it usually is too late and we are tasked with the impossible mission to find a problem for which their solution might apply to. More often than not, this is not possible because customers use more cost-efficient alternative solutions already. So, why not run “Business R&D” and “Tech R&D” in parallel? This masterclass shows how.

Why our clients love it

It provides participants with both, the latest methods and tools but also a concise language to better talk about ways of de-risking new ventures and business ideas. This professionalizes the work of internal product/innovation teams and gives executives an idea of how to better reorganize processes, org structures, and leadership support for their evidence-based workgroups.

Video Call

Book an initial free consultation. We will be happy to guide you through this program’s details and assess whether it is right for your current situation.

Book Demo »

Some Impressions (Online & IRL)

For whom did we design this course?

We developed this masterclass for organizations whose product, research or innovation teams struggle to find customers for their ‘inventions’ or who have a hard way of monetizing their technology solutions.

Product Managers, Owners and Teams
  • Learn to de-risk your product ideas and business models
  • Proof your portfolio’s problem-solution-fit
  • Get to know ways to identify true value propositions
  • General Innovation Professionals
  • Experience an end-to-end process for business design
  • Learn how to run better experiments for validation
  • Better understand the “fake it till you make it” attitude of lean entrepreneurs
  • Entrepreneurs
  • Identify risky assumptions about your business ideas
  • Systematically develop customers and validate solutions
  • Find ways to ensure willingness-to-pay
  • s

    Agenda of the day

    • Understand the innovator’s dilemma and digital disruption
    • Realize the importance of business model innovation for corporate innovation
    • Experience an intro to the business model canvas and value flow mapping
    • Discuss best practice business model innovation case
    • Refresh your knowledge on value proposition design
    • Learn about the cornerstones of customer development
    • Understand where to play and how to find an entry market or customer segment
    • Define the building blocks of your business model
    • Understand the why, how and what of lean startup
    • Familiarize yourself with assumption mapping
    • Understand hypothesis- and data-driven risk minimization (build-measure-learn)
    • Experience how to de-risk business ideas most effectively
    • Experience how to run tests and simulations
    • Learn the why, how and what of decision-making in pivots
    • Become board-savvy through our pitch training
    • Discuss how lean experimentation and business design will impact your daily work

    Possible Add-in Modules:

    • How to sprint
    • Backlog prioritization
    • Team composition
    • Innovation accounting

    How we balanced the design of this course:

    • Theory
    • Doing/Experimentation
    • Case Studies/Peer Learning
    • Reflection/Discussion

    What's in the package?

    Onboarding Session

    Our support team will do a tech and logistics onboarding session with all participants before the masterclass starts.

    Extensive Learning Materials

    You will receive PDFs of presentations, posters and templates we use in the masterclass.

    Lean Experiment Playbook

    You will receive a printed copy of our lean experiment menu with more than 50 lean experiments as inspiration for own test designs.

    Pre-Configured Miro Templates

    You will get access to pre-configured Miro boards with lean experiment frameworks for your own business design process.

    Post-Masterclass 1:1 Coaching

    If you want, you can make use of a 45 min one-on-one coaching session with one of the facilitators in the weeks after the course.

    Certificate of Completion

    You will receive an electronic letter and certificate of completion.

    Next-Level Online Learning

    Our IRL trainings are always full highly interactive team work and experiential learning. That's why it was our ambition to create such a cutting edge experience remotely as well. To do this, we set up a live-streaming studio environment that allows us to create engaging, TV-like interactive learning experiences for you. So, we promise: you won't experience those standard and boring screen-share Zoom or Teams presentations with us.

    Frequently Asked Questions for This Course

    Yes. We are happy to tailor the masterclass together with you. Get touch and we walk you through the details how this might work.

    Yes it is. The digital space will — of course — feel different to interacting IRL. But as many teams these days are remote only, or in parts are dispersed around the world, it is a welcome opportunity to get used to this ‘new normal’ of collaboration. We promise: it is also very rewarding and fun to master the details of digital collaboration tools. And you can just copy and paste all the tools and templates we use during the days for your further work. This is very convenient and really speeds up things.

    Tailored to your organization

    All of our courses and trainings are designed with internal innovators in large and mid-sized organizations in mind. We can tailor a version of the “Business Design Masterclass" that suits your organizations situation, needs, and industry context.

    For details please get in touch with us.

    Video Call

    Book an initial free consultation. We will be happy to guide you through this program’s details and assess whether it is right for your current situation.

    Book Demo »

    Companies which trusted our in-house training expertise

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