Startup Essentials: Discover
Knowing your customer enables you to develop products that address their needs, pain points, and preferences, ideally resulting in product-market fit and paying customers!
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4 weeks, 2 hours/week
$99/person + GST
In-Person, Virtual
After completing Discover, you will be able to:
- Conduct meaningful customer interviews to inform your startup's development
- Identify and gain a better understanding of who your early adopters are
- Perform a competitive analysis to better understand your market positioning
- Introduction to the concept of Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
- Understand and validate the Problem Statement Canvas
- Navigate the Lean(er) Canvas with confidence
Understanding your customer is key to building a strong foundation for your business.
Knowing your customer lets you develop products and services that address their needs, pain points, and preferences, ideally resulting in product-market fit and paying customers!
The goal of this course
Our goal is to get you well-versed, comfortable and confident identifying customers and talking to them. Talking to your customers means better targeted product development, market differentiation, effective marketing and communications, customer acquisition and retention, and sustainable growth.
Course Schedule
Week 1: Startup Basics and Customer Discovery
January 22nd | 6-8 PM (MT) - Online
- Review the fundamentals of startups, including team dynamics and culture.
- Understand how to validate your startup idea and achieve product-market fit.
- Explore Essential aspects of business models and the art of customer discovery, segmentation, and conducting impactful interviews.
Week 2: Lean(er) Canvas and Early Adopters
January 29th | 6-8 PM (MT) - Online
- Conduct customer discovery and reflect on your findings.
- Utilize the Lean(er) Canvas to structure your startup's vision.
- Identify early adopters and understand their key characteristics.
- Develop a compelling value proposition and establish an effective feedback loop.
Week 3: Competition and Problem
February 5th | 6-8 PM (MT) - Online
- Determine the process of defining your problem statement, conducting market research, and validating your identified problems.
- Gain insights into your market landscape through competitive analysis.
Week 4: Summary & Final Presentations
February 12th | 6-8 PM (MT) - Online
- Summarize your findings and insights from the program.
- Showcase your entrepreneurial development by sharing a Final Presentation.
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Knowing your customer enables you to develop products that address their needs, pain points, and preferences, ideally resulting in product-market fit and paying customers!
This course is for
Founders
People who have identified a problem or have an idea for a business that uses technology.
Startup Employees
Employees of an early stage startup looking to contribute to the development and growth of the company they work with.
Students
Students looking to start a career in tech or launch a startup.
Program Alumni
Frequently Asked Questions
Registration Information
Discover is a 4-week course. You'll work alongside other founders and a dedicated Startup Advisor.
Week 1: Introduction and startup basics
Week 2: Customer discovery and early adopters
Week 3: Competition & problem
Week 4: Summary & final presentations
Stay tuned for upcoming dates!
Alumni Testimonials
“Discover provides a solid framework for engaging customers to better understand the market potential and needs. It has saved us months in the process of starting our new business.”
Derrick Keoing
Founder & Chief Product Officer, Ontopical
“You have to be willing to be very wrong. Critically assessing the data gathered is key to getting benefit from this program. Doing it right may result in robust discussions among partners - and it’s worth it!”
Nora Brittney
Senior Manager, KPMG Canada
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Knowing your customer enables you to develop products that address their needs, pain points, and preferences, ideally resulting in product-market fit and paying customers!
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Land Acknowledgement
We honour and acknowledge Moh’kinsstis and the traditional Treaty 7 territory and oral practices of the Blackfoot confederacy: Siksika, Kainai, Piikani, as well as the Îyâxe Nakoda and Tsuut’ina nations. We acknowledge that this territory is home to the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region 3 within the historical Northwest Métis homeland. We respect all Nations who live, work, play, innovate and build things on this land, and in so doing honour and celebrate the territory.