Accelerate your company from the comfort of your own sofa!
That is right, you read that correctly! Take a seat, grab your cup of coffee, and join us for the recap of our Bootcamp I Autumn 2020 at Nordic Startup School.
After a very successful COVID 19 style virtual Bootcamp last spring, we continued with an even better version of our e-Bootcamp for the new NSS Autumn startup batch.
On the morning of Friday 30th of October, 7 awesome startups and the whole NSS team got together to start an incredible 2-day adventure and rock on.
Day 1 of Bootcamp I was all about getting to know our customers, refining our value proposition, defining and measuring our goals, and going international.
On this first day of the camp, startups poured their hearts, souls, and minds into refining their value proposition, creating a 2.0. value proposition that is all about customers and their needs.
With the guidance of the NSS team, startups set all their assumptions aside and stepped into the customer’s shoes to think about who the customer really is, what struggles she/he is facing, and how can the company provide a solution to solve the problem and make the customer’s life easier.
When you feel the pain of your customer’s struggles, you can connect with them emotionally and provide them with a solution that they love and are grateful for.
“As a startup you must get your customer right, find that group of early adopters that will become the cheerleaders of your brand.”— Morgan M.
In order to validate your value proposition and make sure you set the right goals, you NEED metrics! Metrics help you measure your progress and evaluate how close or far you are from your goal. Remember: both goals and metrics should be actionable, realistic, and achievable! There is nothing more discouraging than not achieving your own objectives.
Day 1 is coming to an end and last but not least, it’s time to talk about going international. Our world is getting smaller, it is more important than ever that startups step up their game and think internationally. When it comes to internationalization, startups must dream big or go home! No pun intended.
The morning of Saturday 31st of October is here, and joining our amazingly hard-working batch of startups and the NSS team, 12 extremely wise mentors arrive at our little Halloween tea party.
On this second day, startups identify and validate their assumptions, plan for the future, and meet with their mentors. Our incredible mentors take the spotlight for Day 2 of Bootcamp I.
What assumptions are these people talking about? You might ask.
Assumptions are all the things you assume to know about your customer, their willingness to buy your product or service, and the capabilities of what you are offering.
To get your assumptions right you must first define the special traits of your brand’s personality and define how you want your brand to be perceived.
“Make sure that your value proposition automatically makes your brand pop up in the customer’s mind.”
— Tugberk D.
After identifying all your assumptions, especially the risky ones, you must validate them.
“Validation is one of the most important things for startups, otherwise they run out of money before finding out what they are selling and to whom.”
— Morgan M.
Now that you are making the right assumptions, you are ready to go to the following stage: planning out your next steps!
You need to question everything you know and keep an open mind when planning your strategy to get rid of the risky assumptions that might bring your business to the ground.
“Don’t jump into the assumption of what the solution is too quickly, analyze all your options and choose carefully”
— Hanna-Maria A.
“Strategy is just a fancy word for choice.” — Hanna-Maria A.
When making the choices that shape the future of your company, remember to jump out of your own perspective! It is very common that when people focus on something for too long, they tend to overlook the bigger picture. Don’t lose perspective.
Thank you for joining us till the end of our recap! Remember that you can always be part of this amazing experience by joining Nordic Startup School.
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