On the Road Again…for Customer Discovery!

We’re currently launching the first 3DS program in Austria with the U.S. Embassy Vienna. As our five teams are out to do customer discovery, we wanted to share with you the assumptions that we are challenging through our own customer discovery for new 3DS programs aimed at workforce development.

The problem we’ve identified and believe to be solving for our customer is that the hiring process is inefficient, and unfilled or poorly filled positions exacerbate that inefficiency. The hiring process is long and risky, causing an unnecessary use of resources for employers. Some questions we have been asking hiring experts include:

• What is your biggest pain in the hiring process?
• For unfilled positions, is it more a result of poor candidates, lack of candidates, or something else?
• What are the essential skills your company seeks in hiring for entry-level positions?
• What platform do a majority of your candidates apply on? Does that accurately reflect where the majority of hires come from?

As we continue our conversations to learn more about the hiring process, we’ll discover whether our assumptions are correct or incorrect. The sustainability of our venture relies on whether we are solving a legitimate problem for our customer, hence the importance of taking our time with this process. Stay tuned for next week when we focus on the solution and how we can best address the needs of our beneficiaries.

Throughout this accelerator, we will continuously be asking questions, adapting them, and reevaluating our ideas. If you have any hiring insight or suggestions, please reach out! We would be happy to hear from you.

Otherwise, the Austria to Austin Roadshow is well underway! We had the official kickoff party at the U.S. Embassy Vienna, launched the first ever 3DS program in Austria, and met with the Impact Hub Global team. After a tour of the beautiful Impact Hub Vienna coworking space, we discussed the challenges of connecting global networks, the barriers to entrepreneurship ecosystems, and how to leverage the international community to solve local issues. It’s inspiring to see Impact Hub committed to its mission of driving social change, while remaining cognizant of the local environment at each location.

Our Austria tour continues next week, with stops in Linz and Innsbruck to bring together the entrepreneurial community. We’ll continue customer discovery and grapple with the specifics of our solution abroad planes, trains, and automobiles. We’re lucky to be on this journey and thanks for following along!