Concept Note on the

Planned Entrepreneurial Mindset Training

Through Customer Discovery for USTP

Background:

In a 2017 study(1) the majority of the Philippine higher education institutions (HEIs) consider the inclusion
of entrepreneurship into their institutional strategy as relevant. Coupled with the desire to develop the
university entrepreneurial ecosystem is the establishment of internationalization in the university. In
order to be entrepreneurial, the university must embed entrepreneurship in every part of the
organization, from its leadership through to its teaching and student impact.

In relation to student impact, the University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines (USTP) has
recognized its role in shaping the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs. It continuously
develops and implements strategies in fostering innovation and entrepreneurship within the USTP
community. Entrepreneurship is integrated into the curriculum across all course offerings; this deliberate
strategy means steps need to be taken to transition the organization of teaching professionals to
understand the entrepreneurial mindset.

To develop understanding of the entrepreneurial mindset, the most effective and proven approach is
In 2015, the OECD released a report (2) that outlined experiential and immersive tools, methods
and approaches from various fields that have proven to be successful. The approach emphasizes the
use of evidence, data, and experimentation to arrive at informed decision-making and minimize risk.
The approach also encourages a flexible and iterative approach to product development and customer
feedback. This has been the most effective way to appreciate the fundamental skills needed in the
early stages of the entrepreneurial journey.

The OECD report also stated the need for entrepreneurship educators to work with various stakeholders
because interaction with the outside world is a key aspect in entrepreneurship education. Thus
entrepreneurship educators need to develop skills to organize interaction with the outside world, the
simplest approach is through networking.

The objectives:

1. The objective is to help the learners (in this case teaching professionals) develop a customer-
centric approach to idea generation, business development and creating products and services
that solve real customer problems and generate long-term value.

2. Learners will understand customer needs, develop empathy, formulate hypotheses, validate
assumptions, refine ideas, craft value propositions and build customer relationships. They will
also gain awareness of the importance of originality and the basics of intellectual property
protection. They will experience how to create value for customers while minimizing waste and
maximizing efficiency.
 3. Learners will be exposed to story telling by entrepreneurship educators and persons in the
academe who are involved in technology transfer. They will also experience networking with
these personalities.

4. At the end of the program, the learners should be able to develop an appreciation and be
able to comfortably use the tools of customer discovery: interviews, data analysis, value
proposition canvas, business model canvas and stating a business thesis. They will also know
who and where they can take steps towards intellectual property protection.

The participants:

Majority of the participants will be instructors from USTP who have not been exposed to
evidence-based entrepreneurship and lean innovation. For diversity there may be other
participants who come from other roles in the university. Identified participants will
become the pillar of entrepreneurship and innovation on their Campus and will be trained
as trainers.

The approach:

This approach has been used across research teams, corporate innovation programs, and by many
entrepreneurship support organizations. It involves team teaching as well as team learning.

Participants will not need to have their own technology or business idea.

1. Selected participants should ideally be a team with a chosen customer segment.

2. An experienced team of instructors will conduct the training. Team teaching is key because it
provides the importance of exposure to diversity of thought - an essential perspective successful
innovators must take all throughout the entrepreneurial journey. The team of instructors have a
mixed set of expertise - from research, intellectual property, executive roles and to entrepreneurial
pursuits.

3. The participants come to the program as a team who have agreed on common times for
collaboration and coursework. Each member of the team is given a role to play. Ideally
assigned roles are aligned to the individual’s strengths. Through the course of immersing in
these interdependent roles, the participants learn the dynamics and challenges faced by a team
(or lack of) in the early stages of the entrepreneurial journey. It would be ideal that participants
come from different campuses to allow diversity of thought. However, if the latter is not possible
and if teams come from the same campus, it would be best if they are not within the same
department.

4. Ideally the course will involve the first 3 stages of the entrepreneurial journey:
- The first stage is the ideation stage. This is where the entrepreneur develops the business
idea that is formed through identifying a gap in the market or a problem that needs to
be solved. Essentially this is the customer discovery stage, the majority of the time will
be spent in developing interview skills, hypothesis statements and developing insights
which are greatly needed in this stage.
 - The second stage is research and validation. This is where the entrepreneur investigates
the possible viability through market research, identifying potential competitors, and
assessing the feasibility of the business.
- The third stage is articulating the value proposition and taking the initial steps towards
intellectual property protection.

The tools:
The program uses a few tools and it is the aim of the instructor that participants will exhibit
demonstrable skill at the end of the program. It is ideal that they are able to teach their students how
to use these same tools.

1. Interviews allow the participants to have in-depth conversations (appreciative inquiry) with
potential customers. The objective is for the participants to develop the ability to ask
open-ended questions and probe for more information about the customer's needs, pain points,
and preferences.

2. Data analysis from a variety of sources (though mainly from the interviews) participants will
learn to identify patterns and trends. This will provide them inputs into gaining insights into
customer behavior, preferences and needs.

3. Value Proposition Canvas (VPC) is a tool used by innovators/entrepreneurs to understand and

design a product or service that will be highly valued by customers. The VPC provides
understanding of target customers and the offering, and identifies gaps or opportunities to
improve their product or service. By using this tool, participants will be able to take a
customer-centric approach to their product or service design, and increase the chances of
success in the marketplace. With the aid of this tool participants can assess the potential value
of their unique value proposition and the likelihood of competitors copying it.

4. The Business Model Canvas (BMC) is a strategic tool used by entrepreneurs to design, analyze,
and communicate their business model. The BMC provides a visual representation of the key
components of a business and how they interact with each other. It provides a framework for
businesses to explore and iterate on their business model, identify areas for improvement, and
communicate their business model to stakeholders.

5. The business thesis statement is a clear and concise statement that summarizes the main
argument or focus of a business.

6. Story telling has the power to inspire and motivate learners. Stories also provide contextual
learning. Entrepreneurs can illustrate the intricacies of running a business and entrepreneurship
educators can share how they overcame challenges of navigating through the academe.

7. Networking is a desired skill of both the entrepreneur and the entrepreneurship educator. It is
through networking where expanded opportunities are explored, access to resources are
identified, collaboration and partnerships can be forged, and accelerates professional
development of the entrepreneur and the entrepreneurship educator.
Planned program:
Learning sessions will entail lectures, demonstrations, case studies through story telling, gamified online quizzes,
networking and group activities and a majority of the time focused on hands-on activities.

Sessions will be conducted throughout a 5-week period. The program will be book-ended by face to face sessions.
In between these weeks will be one online activity to check on progress or activities to reinforce learning. The
first batch of lectures and workshops will be 3 full-day sessions. The subsequent 3 weeks will be laboratory work
that will be done without instructors supervision but checked on by mentors. The 3-week period will also contain
a virtual networking and storytelling session to show learners how it can be done at the same time provide
inspiration and motivation. The last activity will be a presentation where the entrepreneurship educators will
experience how to pitch an idea. The closing ceremony will also be held after the pitching activity.

Week 1 (in person):

Day1, November 6, 2023 (8 hours)
8:30am Introduction
9:00am to 10:15am Lecture on evidenced based entrepreneurship
10:15am to 10:30am Morning break
10:30 to 11:30 am Workshop on building rapport and asking open-ended questions
11:30am to 1:00pm Lunch break
1:00pm to 2:00pm Crafting the customer profile
2:00pm to 3:00pm Exercise on appreciative inquiry, asking open-ended questions
3:00pm to 3:15pm Afternoon break
3:15pm to 4:15pm Story telling - entrepreneurs journey and an entrepreneurship educator’s story

Day2, November7, 2023 (9hours)

8:30am Recap of the previous day
9:00am to 10:15am Lecture and exercise on value proposition canvas
10:15am to 10:30am Morning break
10:30am to 11:30pm Workshop on personal value proposition
11:30am to 12:00pm Lecture on business model canvas
12:00nn to 1:30pm Lunch break
1:30pm to 2:30pm Workshop on business model canvas
2:30pm to 2:45pm Afternoon break
2:45pm to 3:45pm Story telling: the advantage of unique value proposition and intellectual
property protection
3:45pm to 5:30pm Networking session

Day3, November8, 2023 (8hours)

8:30am Recap of the previous day
9:00am to 10:15am Team formation and interviewing workshop: get out of the building exercise
(GOTB)
10:15am to 10:30am Morning break
10:30am to 12:00pm Story telling workshop: sharing results of their GOTB exercise and feedback
12:00nn to 1:30pm Lunch break
1:30pm to 3:00pm Lecture: the role of intellectual property in cultivating innovation
3:00pm to 3:15pm Afternoon break
3:15pm to 4:00pm Way Forward: what do I want to discover, what problem do I want to solve, team
roles
Week 2 (online):
Day4, November 17,2023 (2hours)
9:00am to 9:30am Plenary and sharing of experiences
9:30am to 10:15am Breakout rooms and mentoring, team will share reports and data analysis on first
set of interviews and insights from initial set of feedback
10:15am to 10:25am Break
10:25am to 11:00am Lecture on refining the value proposition canvas
Assignments: Writing a business thesis statement, updating the team’s Miro board

Week 3 (online):
Day5, November24,2023 (3 hours)
9:00am to 9:30am Plenary and sharing of experiences
9:30am to 10:15am Breakout rooms and mentoring, team will share reports and data analysis on their
second set of interviews and insights from initial set of feedback
10:15am to 10:30am Break
10:30am to 12:00nn Virtual networking
Assignments: written reports and progress will be documented on each team’s Miro board

Week 4 (online):
Day6,December 1,2023 (2.5hours)
9:00am to 9:30am Plenary and sharing of experiences
9:30am to 10:15am Lecture on pitching
10:15am to 10:30am Break
10:30am to 11:30am Breakout rooms and mentoring, team will share reports and data analysis on their
third set of interviews, insights and draft of their pitch

Week 5 (in person):

Day7,December 8,2023 (8 hours)
9:00am Registration
9:30am to 10:00am Welcome remarks and acknowledgement of panel of reviewers
10:00am to 10:15am Break
10:15am to 12:15pm First set of presentations
(first 4 teams, 7 minutes pitch, 10 minutes review, 3 minutes for logistics)
12:15pm to 1:15pm Lunch break
1:15pm to 3:15pm Second set of presentations
(next 4 teams, 7 minutes pitch, 10 minutes review, 3 minutes for logistics)
3:15pm to 3:30pm Awarding of certificates of completion/participation, special awards/winners
3:30pm to 4:00pm Closing remarks

References:
(1) This 2017, study was by a consortium of universities and funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the
European Union, BEEHIVE: Building Entrepreneurial Ecosystems to Enhance Higher Education Value-Added
For Better Graduate Employability
(2) This 2015, report was released by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
and authored by Martin Lackéus, a PHD researcher at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden.
Lackéus has focused on action-based entrepreneurship education for the past 13 years.