Academic Working Capital groups participated in the third and final Online Interaction of 2019 this Saturday, 10/26. With prototypes in their final stages of production, college students turned to prospecting for investors and customers, pricing their services and products, and developing strategies to improve their operating models.
With the question “How to do as little engineering as possible and deliver maximum value?,” coach Diogo Dutra, program coordinator and master in Engineering Design, has given rise to a reflection on the importance of a simple operating model to reduce costs. Diogo introduced concepts such as ROI and breakeven, as well as tools such as Business Canvas, revenue models, and Income Statements so that groups understand what value they should charge for their product without losing money.
Coach and entrepreneurship master Artur Vilas Boas deepened the concept of sales funnel and showed how inbound and outbound marketing and frequent follow-up are essential to growing the customer base and building a long-term relationship. “The sale is no longer magical, it is no longer a big deal and it is basically the result of hard work,” said Arthur.
At the end of the day, teams received tips from former AWC participant João Macedo, one of the founders of E-lastic, who produces portable artificial intelligence devices to assist physiotherapists in tracking patients, recording their progress and generating graphs and reports. João talked about common hurdles for new entrepreneurs, such as product pricing, family issues and partnering, and how to build a good business model.
The next face-to-face meetings of AWC participants will be on December 16th and 17th for Workshop III, in São Paulo, the last stage before the Investment Fair, which will take place at the Cubo Technology Entrepreneurship Center on 12/18.
