Courses/Technology Product Entrepreneurship

Technology Product Entrepreneurship

CS9.424

Ramesh Loganathan + Prakash Yalla•Monsoon 2025-26•4 credits

Formulas & Diagrams

High-ROI section — formulas improve marks, diagrams improve recall.

Formulas

Startup definition

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Startup = Innovation \cap Scalability \cap Structured Uncertainty

All three jointly necessary; missing any one yields a different kind of organisation.

Hexagon — Generalize

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neXt = X^{d}

Lift the concept to a higher dimension or adjacent domain.

Hexagon — Fusion

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neXt = X + Y

Combine with a dissimilar concept (Phone + Camera = smartphone).

Hexagon — Find the Nails

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neXt = X ↑

Solution looking for problems — map all applications of one capability.

Hexagon — Find the Hammers

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neXt = X ↓

Problem looking for solutions — map all ways to hit the same nail.

Hexagon — Add an Adjective

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neXt = X + +

Modify with a descriptive quality (Banking → AI Banking).

Hexagon — Do the Opposite

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neXt = \overset{ˉ}{X}

Invert the core assumption (office to people → remote work).

Painkiller test

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Painkiller = High Frequency \times High Magnitude

If either is low, you have a vitamin not a painkiller — investors won't fund it.

Value equation

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Customer Value + Marketer Value = Total Value

Price = the transfer line splitting Total Value between customer and firm. Price < NBA → customer leaves.

Maximising value

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Value = \frac{Benefits}{Cost of Securing the Benefits}

Grow value by adding benefits, cutting cost, or both.

BMC viability

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Inflow (Revenue Streams) > Outflow (Cost Structure)

The Box Office equation. The arithmetic justification for every block above it.

Phase 1 funnel

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3 seeds Hexagon \times 6 18 variants Oxygen + 5 Filters 3 hypotheses

The arithmetic of Phase 1's generate-and-filter pipeline.

Diagrams

Startup DNA three-pillar Venn

Three circles (Innovation, Scalability, Uncertainty) intersecting at 'Startup'. Each two-way overlap labelled with the failure mode of the missing third.

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Four-phase journey timeline

Arrow left-to-right with four phases and deliverables; capstone Investor Pitch at the end.

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Gartner Hype Cycle

Curve with five stages labelled and the founder's sweet spot starred on the Slope of Enlightenment.

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Idea Hexagon

Central X with six labelled vertices and their formulas; arrows pointing outward.

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Crucible funnel

18 variants → Oxygen Test → Five Filters → 3 surviving hypotheses.

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Levine's Tree

Product (leaves) → Solution (trunk) → Problem (roots). Weak roots → tree falls.

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5Ws spoke with Why as keystone

Five labelled spokes; Why highlighted in the centre or in a different colour to mark the keystone.

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Stakeholder Ecosystem orbit

Concentric rings around the organisation with seven role labels (Decision Maker, Influencer, Buyer, Manager, Operator, Evaluator, CFO).

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Old Map vs New Compass

Left: linear pipeline of traditional product dev. Right: customer-development loop with pivot arrows.

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Build-Measure-Learn loop

Four-corner loop IDEA → BUILD (MVP) → MEASURE → LEARN → (Persevere or Pivot) → IDEA.

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Validation Board

Top-left zone tracks pivots (rows: Customer/Problem/Solution Hypotheses; columns: Start + 4 pivots). Bottom-left zone holds experiments. Right zone columns: Invalidated / Validated. 'GET OUT OF THE BUILDING' stamp.

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Earlyvangelist Pyramid

Five-tier pyramid from base (You-know they have a problem) to apex (Have Budget).

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Value Proposition Canvas

Left square (Products & Services / Pain Relievers / Gain Creators) interlocking with right circle (Jobs / Pains / Gains). Numbers 1-6 in fill order. Arrows showing relievers→pains and creators→gains mapping.

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Experience Economy ladder

Five rungs ascending: Commodity → Goods → Service → Experience → Transformation. Coffee example labelled on each rung.

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Value Perception three-layer

Baseline Value (bottom) → Next Best Alternative (middle) → Our Offering (top), capped by Value Ceiling. 'Your value potential' is the band between NBA and your offering.

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Business Model Canvas (nine blocks)

Standard nine-block canvas: Back Stage (left half — KP, KA, KR), VP (centre), Front Stage (right half — CR, CS, CH), Box Office (bottom strip — Costs, Revenue). Three-zone shading.

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Lean Canvas

Nine-block Ash Maurya canvas. Highlights the four substitutions vs BMC: Problem (vs KP), Solution (vs KA), Key Metrics (vs KR), Unfair Advantage (vs CR).

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STP five-petal segment flower

Five overlapping petals with the business at the centre. Adjacent petals show overlap regions (boundary competition).

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AHA Grid 2×2

Benefits (vertical) × Price (horizontal). Four quadrants labelled Leaders / Contenders / Challengers / Laggards. Star drawn at top-left to mark the disruption sweet spot.

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Competition Matrix

Rows = competitors + 'New Organization'. Columns = traits. Checkmarks for capability presence. Highlighting on traits the customer cares about most.

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USP Defensibility four-tier ladder

Bottom (Tier 4 Easy to imitate) → Top (Tier 1 Cannot be imitated). Arrows showing the founder's journey upward.

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SWOT 2×2

Internal vs External × Helpful vs Harmful. Four quadrants (S/W/O/T) with diagonal arrows showing cross-quadrant SO/ST/WO/WT connections.

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Find Your USP four-zone Venn

Three overlapping circles (Brand / Consumer / Competitor). Four zones labelled: Winning ✅, Risky ❓, Losing ❌, Who Cares.

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FOMO/FOLS pitch architecture

Two-act pitch diagram. Act I (FOMO ignition: market, vision, traction). Act II (FOLS calming: team, defensibility, unit economics).

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