Hip-Hop Connections

Bridging the gap between aspiring rappers and college since 2016…

I am on a startup team. We are creating a startup. A fake one, but a startup nonetheless.

Hip-Hop Connections is a mentorship program that encourages high school students whom aspire to be musicians to also attend college. The number one answer students gave when asked what they wanted to be when they grew up was: famous. The odds of becoming a famous rap star are pretty slim. We’re not here to defer dreams, ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶r̶y̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶c̶a̶n̶’̶t̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶B̶e̶y̶o̶n̶c̶é but it’s important to have a backup plan in case one doesn’t make the big time.

The program will allow students to increase writing, communication, and public speaking skills through rap. In order to access the studio, students have to participate in “study tables,” which is about an hour to complete homework or receive tutoring. We hope to get the support of famous producers and musicians.

In order to “get out of the office,” Hip-Hop Connections will visit high schools and find students that are interested in becoming musicians.

Last week, I blogged about the Design Sprint process. Those 5 days will be crucial to our startup. Since the idea was created by a member of our team and the rest of us went along with it, there are definite holes in the business. Sketch days would be important to obtain ideas from everyone and also the customer feedback on the last day would be significant.

Speaking of customer development (transition sentences are overrated!), this ideal includes creating a product or service around a customer. Compare this to product development in which one creates a product (or service) and has to find a customer. Which one is more beneficial? *Insert Jeopardy music here*

That’s right! Customer development. Congratulations, you are smarter than a p̶r̶o̶d̶u̶c̶t̶ ̶d̶e̶v̶e̶l̶o̶p̶e̶r fifth grader.