Beachhead Selection for a Direct-Air-Capture University Spinout
Overview
What this challenge is about.
You generate eight application concepts for a climate-tech spinout, then converge on one using a scoring model. You get a verifiable certificate.
The scenario
The client is an early-stage climate-technology spinout (two technical/strategy co-founders, pre-seed stage, European Union) commercializing a low-temperature regenerating sorbent for capturing carbon dioxide directly from the air. The business tension is acute: limited runway and no near-term fundraising mean they can fund only one go-to-market motion, yet three credible paths each pull the company toward a different product, customer, and cost structure.
The Brief
What you'll do, and what you'll demonstrate.
Which single beachhead application should the spinout commit to in order to reach €500K of annual recurring revenue, or a binding strategic letter of intent, within twelve months?
Earning criteria — what you'll demonstrate
- Generate a broad concept set using structured divergent techniques rather than first-idea bias
- Build a transparent weighted scoring model that survives sensitivity testing
- Size an addressable opportunity from partial market signals and stated assumptions
- Assess founder-market fit and translate it into prioritization weight
- Convert a strategic choice into an executable, falsifiable 90-day plan
Program Fit
Where this fits in your program.
Sharpens the same skills your degree expects you to demonstrate.
Aligned coursework coming soon.
Skills
Skills you'll demonstrate.
Each one shows up on your verified credential.
- Opportunity Evaluation
Apply opportunity evaluation to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
- Ideation
Apply ideation to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
- Market Sizing
Apply market sizing to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
- Founder Market Fit
Apply founder market fit to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
- Strategic Prioritization
Apply strategic prioritization to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
Careers
Career paths this challenge builds toward
Completing this challenge demonstrates skills that transfer directly to these roles:
Founder's Strategy Associate
Mirrors the day-one work of an early-stage strategy hire: turning founder ambiguity into a defensible market choice. You practice running ideation, sizing opportunities, and writing the memo that lets two founders commit capital with confidence.
This challenge sharpens
- ideation
- opportunity-evaluation
- strategic-prioritization
Go-to-Market Strategy Analyst
GTM analysts pick where a product lands first and justify it with numbers. This challenge builds the muscle of sizing segments from partial signals and pressure-testing assumptions before a company pours its runway into one motion.
This challenge sharpens
- market-sizing
- opportunity-evaluation
- strategic-prioritization
Venture Associate
Venture associates judge whether a founding team fits the market they are chasing. Here you weigh founder-market fit explicitly and translate a startup's constraints into a recommendation, the same diligence lens used to back or pass on early deals.
This challenge sharpens
- founder-market-fit
- opportunity-evaluation
- ideation