Opportunity identification & analysis for a Retail Value Chain venture studio

The Problem:

A venture studio in NWA needed a way to quickly discover, evaluate, and test a variety of opportunities within key areas of the retail value chain as potential startup concepts.

Our Process & Solution:

I conducted 8 weeks of top-down “assemble” research–starting at the highest level of “sector discovery”–to identify 27 opportunities for further analysis. These opportunities were uncovered through a mix of industry analysis and qualitative research with potential target personas and SMEs.

This research approach was based on the need to quickly understand macro-economic factors within the RVC and pinpoint specific user pain-points that could be solved by the studio’s technology strengths. I also wanted to create a strong research foundation that could be revisted throughout the life-cyle of the grant, allowing the team to easily revisit and reevaluate opportunities in the innovation funnel.

Customer personas, JTBD, barriers, and HMW statements were created for each of the 27 opportunities. They were then prioritized based on a standard evaluation rubric (pictured below) and a prioritization matrix of Unmet Need vs. Willingness to Buy. The top 3 opportunities were brought forward into the studio’s “test” phase for additional research and the remaining opportunities were deprioritized and put back in the innovation funnel.

A 4-week version of this process was repeated every 3 to 4 months, with additional research and opportunities being added to the innovation funnel as potential startup concepts.

The Results:

This early stage research has yielded 67 opportunities, 22 tested business concepts, 10 validated business concepts, and 4 company launches. To date, this studio has deployed $3M of early stage capital into NWA startups based on this research.