The Top Gun Curriculum

The Top Gun Curriculum Top Gun will offer a weekly curriculum of business-building sessions designed to help entrepreneurs think through every aspect of their business, from the core idea to the revenue model. Each weekly session is led by mentors who share their unique and often differing opinions on the topic. Participates may be given assignments to build key aspects of their business model between the sessions. The curriculum will cover such topics as:

• Goal and milestone setting and tracking
• Problem identification refinement
• Business model development and analytics
• Strategy development
• Product – features, functionality and problem solving
• Marketing: Distribution, Viral, Social Network Applications
• Legal:  IP, Financing, Term Sheets
• Team Building/ Recruiting/Compensation
• Showcase preparation

You’ll learn how to develop a solid business planning foundation, design an effective fundraising strategy, and work one-on-one with experienced business executives and successful entrepreneurs. Outcomes from the program will include:

• Well thought out business plan
• Concise positioning statement (Elevator pitch)
• Executive summary – 1-3 pages
• PowerPoint presentation – eight minute summary form
• Road map to the next company milestone

Mentoring:

There will be at least a one-to-one ratio of mentors to entrepreneurs. Mentors will consist of experienced CEOs or founders of a successful venture or high level executive working with early-stage companies. Mentors are recruited based on their ability to convey knowledge and help participants by sharing their relevant experiences.

Presenters:

Experienced and successful entrepreneurs with practical experience in the application of the subject matter.

Weekly Sessions:

Each week there will be multiple mentoring opportunities, both as a group and 1-on-1. One evening we'll host all of the companies together for an interactive workshop with speaker(s) and plenty of Q&A.  In addition to the group sessions, each company will be working with mentors during one-on-one sessions to help with specific challenges they are facing. Along the way, each company will constantly be practicing and improving their pitch. Weekly learning sessions for participants will be held on Wednesday evenings beginning at 5:30pm and lasting approximately two hours.  All weekly learning sessions will be held on the Portland campus of USM at the Wishcamper Center in room 133 (Lee Hall) with the exception of the first 3 sessions which will be held in room 102.  Each session will highlight a topic relevant to the participating companies, and will also serve as a valuable networking opportunity.  We require all entrepreneurs to attend all scheduled sessions. 

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Program Schedule - For the 2010 Class

Top Gun Orientation (July 29th, 5:30-7:30pm)

Social gathering of all participants, lead mentors, and Top Gun 2009 Grads. Hosted at TechMaine.

Top Gun Cocktail Reception (August 5th, 5:15-8:00pm)

Social gathering of all participants, mentors, sponsors and service providers. Brief company presentations and reception, with keynote speaker David Miley. Hosted at The Woodlands Club.

Weekly program

We feel that it’s important for Top Gun participants to deliver a well thought out business plan at the end of the program. Therefore, the curriculum will have significant focus on the "how to" of developing a better business plan. Not how to write it better - but the fundamentals: is there a good market for the product, who's the competition, what kind of a management team do they need, etc.

We will have at least one topic for each of the ten weekly learning sessions (every 4th week will be an informal roundtable with no planned topic). Note: we could have more than one topic being covered per session based on the needs of the participants. For example, if IP protection is not relevant or the participants(s) have passed that developmental stage, then we would incorporate an additional topic to be covered that week. Sessions will be relevant to stage of development; specific to participants needs and interactive i.e. content geared to the audience.

• Each session will begin by having 3 participants give their elevator pitch: (20 min total) 

• The audience will be required to jot down feedback
• Feedback will be collected, quantified and provided back to the respective participant.
• 5-10 minutes allotted for Q&A

• The next 20 min is for presentation by a panel experienced with the subject matter;

• Prior to each session, the participants will be provided with required reading to ensure that they are familiar with the subject matter of the topic to be discussed.

They will be asked to develop questions as to how to relate this information to their own business model.

They will be asked to provide a draft of their work as it relates to the topic.

• Finally, we will separate into small groups of 3-4 by stage of development or need, and have a session leader working with each group.

• Session leaders will be indentified once the topic is set and the make-up and number of the work groups have been determined.
• Small group discussions will include identifying what others are doing and the problems they are currently facing.

At the completion of each weekly session, participants will be expected to meet with their mentor sometime during the week to continue to work on development of that session’s topic.

Informal roundtable discussions will be offered every 4th week (no learning session that week). These roundtables will provide the participants an opportunity for free exchange in a safe, confidential environment. Each roundtable will be run by an experienced facilitator. These will be just for TG participants – no mentors.

Week 1 (August 11th)

The BIG Picture:  This first session offers two approaches to zooming way out. The first is an introduction to a graphic approach to thinking about business models, which will be used throughout Top Gun as a common vocabulary. The second is a high-level discussion of your core business idea, and why thinking bigger is better.

Week 2 (August 18th)

Market Research & Opportunity Assessment:  Markets and customer segments lie at the heart of every business, and business model. Within the graphic business model, customer segments are defined as sets of (potential) customers who respond to predominantly similar value propositions. But many entrepreneurs think first and foremost about their products and services, which for many start-ups is putting the cart before the horse. This session is designed to help you think deeply about customers and markets, and walk you through the process of learning all you can about them.

Week 3 (August 25th)

Product Development and Value Propositions:  Converting raw business ideas into a specific set of features and functions can easily go astray when entrepreneurs become too inwardly focused on technical issues and lose track of why they’re doing things. Development schedules can drag on and precious resources dwindle if you’re not rigorous in focusing on what’s essential to early customers. This session is designed both to help you crystalize what your initial product will be, but also to challenge your assumptions about how features and functions translate into value propositions.

Week 4 (September 1st)

Roundtable facilitated discussion for Top Gun Founders only:  These roundtables will provide the participants an opportunity for free exchange in a safe, confidential environment. Each roundtable will be run by an experienced facilitator. These will be just for TG participants – no mentors.

Week 5 (September 8th)

Revenue Streams, Channels and Business Model Innovation:  There are many, many different ways to make money other than using an industry’s “conventional” revenue models and channels. This session will walk early stage companies through the process of working out the basics, and all participants will be challenged to think out of the box. Revenue streams are intimately related to channel strategies, and both need to be compatible with your value proposition.

Week 6 (September 15th)

Bootstrapping and Building the Financial Model:  Building the financial model is often the most foreign part of a business plan for entrepreneurs, yet understanding if (and how) “the numbers work” is critical. A good financial model will help you raise financing, but until then, knowing where your cash is flowing (and parking), and how to make the most of what cash and other resources you’ve got, will be key to survival.

Week 7 (September 22nd)

Marketing, Sales and Competitive Strategies:  What is the story of your company and your offering? Who are you trying to reach with the story? Do you solve a problem, create controversy, offer something new? Are you a pain killer or a vitamin? What is your brand? What are the best tactics for your outreach: publicity, guerilla marketing, advertising? How do you position yourself against the competition? How will you launch your product?

Week 8 (September 29th)

No Formal Sessions Scheduled for this week

Week 9 (October 6th)

Financing Your Business:  For many entrepreneurs, how to finance their business is the number one question. This session will touch on several options, but focus on private equity including angel investors and venture capital.

Week 10 (October 13th)

Building a Winning Team - Outsourcing, Partners and Suppliers:  What is the right mix of skills that you need to launch your company? Should you be looking for co-founders, team members, freelancers or interns? When should you plan to bring on people to help? Should you form an advisory board? If so, how should you go about it? How do you select the best vendors for your business on the best terms? What guidelines should you use? How do you evaluate the economics? How do you recruit and interview to find the best resources? What are the compensation guidelines in the beginning for co-founders and other various roles? How do you set expectations, measure results and remove or fire under performing resources?

Week 11 (October 20th)

Creating a Winning Presentation:  How do you present your business to target partners and investors? What are the tricks to captivate and retain attention? What makes for a great presentation, and what makes for a bad one? How do you convey enthusiasm, conviction, and success? How does your meeting reflect on your company culture? How can you innovate in your meetings to reflect your culture and be more productive? How do you survive tough meetings and tough questions?

Week 12 (October 27th)

Roundtable facilitated discussion for Top Gun Founders only

Week 13 (November 3rd)

Protecting Your Crown Jewels: Legal and Business Strategies:  There are a variety of legal and business tactics and strategies for ensuring that the fruits of your hard work aren’t misappropriated. Some are legal tools – you’ll learn some of the nuts and bolts on copyrights, trademarks, patents, non-disclosure agreements, and confidentiality. The breakout discussion will also provide an opportunity to focus on strategies to deal with copycats, pirates, as well as the delicate balance between trust and good communications on the one hand, and the legitimate need for protection on the other hand, in all your business relationships.

Week 14 (November 10th)

No Formal Sessions Scheduled: Meet with your mentors to prepare for the Showcase Celebration

Week 15 (November 18th)

“Showcase Celebration”

Company presentations.

Note:  Curriculum is subject to change without notice.