1. What are the common personal goals within the members of your team, and how can you leverage those goals to build collaboration?
   1. I want to make this project sustain itself once we finish it at the end of this year and get published -George
   2. Get stuff done -Nick
   3. Do cool lab stuff and make an impact -jing
   4. Get started with lab work and make some progress – Maeve
   5. We all want to work on the project and we all share the same project goals
2. What are the common project goals within the members of your team, and how can you leverage those goals to make progress?
   1. Make a bioplastic prototype
   2. Finish a research paper draft
   3. Form partnerships in the Philippines
   4. Manufacture bioplastic in the Philippines
   5. Go to conferences and improve our 
3. What are some biases that might become a barrier to your project goals?
   1. We are all engineers so we may not be as well-equipped when it comes to the business side of our model
   2. People believe that we should reach for something more achievable.
4. What type of decision-making system will you use and why?
   1. Team decision making: We are a small team so it is still effective for us all to make decisions together, and we can include everyone in our consensus.
   2. As a team of engineers and people from varying backgrounds, we may see things differently, such as different ways to solve a problem or different levels of knowledge on certain things.

1. Identify FIVE specific things in your slides that you could have done differently.
   1. We should have had a slide on the micro problem our project is trying to solve. This could be a specific person’s story and how plastic pollution in the Philippines affects them.
   2. We should have been more in depth on our research publications we are working on. We mentioned that we are working on one publication currently and plan to have 3 done by the end of the year however we didn’t mention that our first publication is building on the one from our previous semester, so we are well-along in our first draft for it. 
   3. We should have shown how some people have already made biodegradable packaging. Some of our referees mentioned that our project is ambitious so we could have shown that we are not making a brand new lab process, we’re just building on previous knowledge and applying it to an important field.
   4.  We should have shown what companies are out there and how our approach is different. One referee commented that there are big companies working on our project and asked what makes us different.
   5. We should have been more in depth of our business cycle and less in depth of our lab process, because referees cared more about details of our business cycle rather than our lab process. 
2. Identify FIVE specific ways that you could have delivered your presentation better.
   1. We could have included a story or hypothetical scenario that would make the presentation more personal, and also likely keep the judges attention better.
   2. We could have focused more on the work that we have already completed like going more into depth with the research and papers so that the judges could have seen that we are making progress towards our goals. They may have been less likely to say that our project was too ambitious this way.
   3. We could have also talked more about the micro problems because we skipped over that part more quickly. 
   4. For the questions, we could have better broken up who specifically was going to address each type of question. Also next time we can prepare what to do if we get comments instead of questions.
   5. We could have given a very brief description of what our project is working on at the beginning, so that while we are explaining the background information the judges would have more context for why the information is relevant, and not just guessing what we are working on. 
3. Identify FIVE specific ways you could have built your credibility further.
   1. More detailed plan and what we’ve already done to set up how we plan to achieve our goals in our timeline
   2. We could have built our credibility further if we explained more of the work that we already accomplished. Specifically, if we talked about our research, the judges would know that we were knowledgeable in what we were presenting on.
   3. Could have expanded more on our partnerships and potential partners to show that we are working with other groups and building on their credibility as well as our own.
   4. We could have included more pictures of us actually working to show what we have accomplished. This may be more applicable for the next presentation.
   5. We could have mentioned more that we are working with Professor Pearson in the lab because he is a trusted faculty member on campus. 
4. Identify FIVE specific questions that you could have answered better. What were the questions, how did you respond, and how should you have responded to each?
   1. Not a question, but a comment: addressing whether our goals are achievable
   2. A question that was brought up was if we were “trying to reinvent the wheel,” to which we responded no because things have been done before similar to our product which were found in literature review. We could have expanded more on this and should have further explained how our product fit into the bigger picture.
   3. A question came up about the bigger companies being our competitors. We should have answered that we don’t necessarily need to be competing with larger companies doing the same things, and we can even work with them. A lot of what’s occurring in the Philippines in terms of biodegradable products are outsourced, so we are trying to make it so it can be done locally.
   4. Could’ve explained better how our product would be different: sourced locally, transparent about the process and ingredients used, affordable and would feed into the local economy.
   5. Many of our questions were asking how our project was not too ambitious. We should have clarified that we are not trying to solve all of the plastic pollution issue, but instead are trying to start efforts in the right direction.

1. Identify three different primary stakeholders on your project, and come up with a list of 10 distinct questions you would ask each of them. Remember the aspirational / emotional /functional categories of needs and desires and try to find a balance of questions that might give you information in each of those areas.
   1. Plastic manufacturers 
      1. How will our bioplastic work with your existing manufacturing processes?
      2. Is there room for us to work with your company compared to other competitors?
      3. Do you think your customers will agree with this change?
      4. Does the process of making plastics have to change to accommodate our product?
      5. How much and what products (ex. agricultural waste) will they need us to supply?
      6. How much will it cost to convert the waste into bioplastics?
      7. How long does it take to produce a batch of bio pellets?
      8. What are they currently using to make their current type of plastic?
      9. What companies do they sell their plastic products to?
      10. Has the Philippines ban on plastic affected them at all?
   2. Farmers 
      1. What do you do with your agricultural waste?
      2. Would you be willing to sell your agricultural byproducts?
      3. How much waste do you produce on average per day/week/harvest/year?
      4. When do you produce your agricultural waste (e.g. harvest season)?
      5. Do the crops you grow vary based on the season?
      6. Would you be willing to bring your agricultural waste to some drop off location, or would you only be willing to sell it if it was picked up from your farm?
      7. Where does most of your agricultural waste end up if you have any?
      8. Is there a certain crop that results in more waste or unused products?
      9. What parts of each crop are left over/not used including corn, coconuts, coffee beans, and sugar cane?
      10. How do you feel about using biodegradable packaging at restaurants?
   3. Restaurants (or other businesses that use single-use packaging) 
      1. Does it matter much how eco-friendly your packaging is?
      2. How much do you pay for your packaging?
      3. Would you be willing to pay a little more for a biodegradable packaging?
      4. Would you feel differently about locally sourced bioplastic packaging versus outsourced biodegradable packaging?
      5. How has your restaurant been impacted by the governmental bans on plastic packaging?
      6. What changes have you made recently regarding the packaging and utensils you use?
      7. What is the customer’s frequent reaction to biodegradable packaging?
      8. What types of utensils or packaging does your restaurant use (to-go box, bowl, plate, spoon)?
      9. Do you care more about the quality or cost of the packaging?
      10. Where do you currently buy your packaging materials from?

 

       2. Identify all of the key customers for your product/service/creation/solution. List specific ways that you will ensure                   that your product will meet their aspirational, emotional, and functional needs and desires.

1. 1. Packaging manufacturers
      1. Our bioplastic will allow manufacturers to not need to change up too much of their process to switch to a biodegradable material
      2. Biodegradable alternative to work around the single-use plastic bans in big cities
      3. Will be cost-competitive and not cost much more than regular plastic
      4. May ease the guilt of their contribution to the ginormous amount of plastic waste in the ocean and their effect on climate change
   2. Business owners
      1. Can be something to market: “our products use biodegradable packaging!”
      2. Cost-competitive
      3. A solution to single-use plastic bans reducing the use of plastic
   3. People who use packaged products
      1. Will still provide a single-use packaging
      2. Will not change much or at all how they use their products
      3. Will maybe make them feel better about using biodegradable stuff
      4. Can compost after use

 

     3. Articulate your value propositions for each of your customer segments (using the format presented in class).

1. 1. Packaging manufacturers – Repurpose for a better future
      1. This value proposition statement tells packaging manufactures that the biopellets we will be selling them were made completely out of excess agricultural waste. It also sends the message that they are playing a crucial role in positively helping the environment. 
   2. Business Owners – Serve your customers sustainably
      1. This value proposition statement tells business owners that the packaging is a more sustainable and healthier option for the environment. 
   3. People who use packaged products – Enjoy, Guilt Free
      1. This value proposition statement emphasizes that our packaging is biodegradable and will not leave as much impact on the environment.

 

     4. What are the technological, social, economic, and political trends that will impact (help or hurt) your ventures?

1. 1. The Philippines government is also working to reduce their plastic pollution and has tried to implement several plastic bans in big cities.
   2. Technology is improving, and we are closer to finding solutions for reducing single-use plastic pollution
   3. The Philippines loses millions of dollars per year in potential market value from mismanaged plastic waste

 

     5. What is the Total Available Market and Total Addressable Market for your product or service?

1. 1. For our product, the total available market is all consumers of single-use plastic packaging in the Philippines Since most of the country used single-use, the total available market is close to 113 million people. We want to first implement our product in Manila, and according to an article from breakfreefromplastic.org, 7/10 Filipinos favor a national single-use plastic ban. Thus, it can be assumed that about 7/10 of the population in Manila would be interested in our product, so about 1.25 million people.