Art of the Start/Blog 8

  1. List five compelling take-aways from the Art of the Start.                                                                    The 10/20/30 rule is perhaps one of the most important aspects of a good presentation. A good presentation shouldn’t be overly-distracting visually. The attention should be on the presenter, not the screen itself (i.e. the screen needs to be an aid, not a central feature). To capture the attention of your audience, you need to find ways to be engaging. Humor, when used in the appropriate context, is an excellent attention-getter. However, depending on your audience, this can change what is the most appropriate attention-getting method. Building on the previous point, knowing one’s audience is incredibly important, too. This is because knowing your audience will allow you to tailor your presentation. For example, a presentation/pitch to an investor will likely be very different from a presentation to an audience for purely educational purposes in an academic setting. Investing in worthwhile efforts is always a good way to remain focused. For example, Mr. Kawasaki spent a great deal of time discussing the pointlessness/generic aspects of a “mission statement”. In the grand scheme of things, a mission statement needs to be a “mantra” and effectively/precisely communicate your venture’s goals and reason for existence in a unique/memorable way. Be unique. Do not use generic statements such as “our team is proven/effective”. This is a very generic statement that does not actually show why your venture is worthwhile
  2. Articulate your value propositions for your diverse customer segments.

For mothers in Sierra Leone, our Ukweli Test Strip is a simple, affordable testing strip for UTIs and preeclampsia that could save their lives and increase their quality of life by identifying potential health issues.

  1. Discuss your total available market and total addressable market. List all assumptions/hypotheses.

The total available market includes any mother within a low- and middle-income within Africa. However, our total addressable market is currently ~250,000 and we will reach about 3 million people by next summer. The addressable market is within Sierra Leone, but we will also cover a greater addressable market in a realistic/sustainable manner by expanding our operations into Liberia, too. 

 

Our targeted market overwhelmingly consists of women who would not normally have access to affordable healthcare services. Although these services are supposed to be free, they are often unable to fully realize these benefits due to limited resources/capabilities at peripheral health units located outside of the main hospital within Makeni. Although the average person in Sierra Leone lives on just $2 per day, in the rural areas where our venture is targeting consumers, this number is usually lower. Because of this extreme poverty, our target population is spread thin.

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