The goal of this project is to generate an entrepreneurial idea for an information website and related mobile or social app that somehow meets the needs of an audience that aren’t currently satisfied in our information environment. Your idea must be marketable in our local community, but it could be a franchise of something more national in scope.
The lab as a whole will brainstorm and narrow ideas submitted by each member and decide together on a focus. From there, four smaller teams will take over, with each student in the lab serving on one team. Each team will have one student leader, who will work as a coordinator with your lab’s TA.
Strategy and Project Management Team
Three students on this team will:
- Develop an overall strategy for the project.
- Write a 2-to 3-page strategy memo detailing audience, goals, revenue streams and timeline. Send it (PDF format) to the instructor, the lead TA and your TA by the assigned deadline.
- Meet with the instructor, the lead TA and your TA for feedback on strategy and revise accordingly.
- Develop and deploy a market research survey using Qualtrics to test and support your strategy and execution.
- Create and maintain all tools for project management, such as deadlines, processes for submitting content, etc.
- Gather feedback from other teams as their work develops and adjust the overall strategy. Communicate between the TA and team leaders, making sure the project stays on track and on deadline
Platform Team
Four students on this team will:
- Develop the visual identity (e.g., color schemes, logo, etc.) of the project in consultation with other teams.
- Envision and create a WordPress site to hold all content created for the project, including architecture, navigation, design and usability.
- Consult with the Content Team and Pitch Team to ensure plans for text, images, audio and video fit with platform plan.
- Envision and mock up other proposed platforms for your pitch (e.g., wireframe sketches of a mobile app to serve as a companion for your site).
- Develop a plan for promotional material on the site (such as “About Us” information).
- Post all site content — it must all be posted within the site (meaning you can’t just link to Google Docs).
Content Team
Four students on this team will:
- Meet with each labmate to review and revise informative, alternative and multimedia stories.
- Work with the Platform Team to ensure content is sufficient for site.
- Meet with the Pitch, Promotion and Revenue Team to develop a multimedia plan and assign students accordingly (the multimedia plan will be 15 total packages that cut across informative and persuasive and include magazine layouts, audio, video and slideshows).
- Edit the content of all submissions for effective leads, transitions, sourcing, etc.
- Copy edit all submissions for grammar and style.
- Write headlines and subheads.
- Consult with labmates on acquiring and captioning images.
- Copy edit and test the website after your lab’s content is posted.
Pitch, Promotion and Revenue Team
Four students on this team will:
- Work with the Strategy and Project Management Team’s revenue strategy — please think beyond “the university would pay for this site/project” when it comes to finding revenue to back your idea.
- Consult with the Platform Team and develop a plan for advertising on the site.
- Develop a plan to promote the site to its target audience.
- Assign each student in the lab to one specific piece within these two plans (such as creating a banner ad for a specific business or writing a press release for the launch of the site).
- Meet with the Content Team to develop a multimedia plan and assign students accordingly (the multimedia plan will be 15 total packages that cut across informative and persuasive magazine layouts, audio, video and slideshows).
- Design and deliver a two- to three-minute pitch video, along with a one-page advance backgrounder, by the time the site is completed (that’s 5 p.m. on Friday, May 1).