Venture Ideation And Validation

This subject is available under ICMS undergraduate degrees, please click the button below to find an undergraduate course for you.

Subject Code:

ENT102A/ENT102B

Note: Both A and B code subject versions are displayed as they are approved equivalent in content, assessments and learning outcomes. As ICMS courses are reaccredited, the subject is updated to a B-code suffix. Students studying a Bachelor of Business, Bachelor of Business (Sports Management), Bachelor of Business (Entrepreneurship and Innovation), Bachelor of Business (Marketing), Bachelor of Business (International Tourism) and Bachelor of Hospitality Management will be enrolled in ENT102B in 2027. Students enrolled in all other courses at ICMS with this subject will complete ENT102A.This arrangement applies to the nested Diploma qualifications of these courses also.

Subject Rationale:

ENT102A

The aim of this subject is the brainstorming, researching, ideation and validation of business ideas. It must be both about the development of a viable business but also the market research, testing and feedback to validate and confirm its viability. There is a strong focus on market and customer research towards clarifying the merits of a strong value proposition and minimally viable product.

This subject will also strengthen the grasp of what the student’s business brand is based on their customer/target audience research findings and business purpose, goals and values.

Venture Ideation and Validation is designed to help students navigate the earliest stages of starting a new venture beginning with the identification of a problem in the market that is worth solving. The class teaches students tools and techniques to translate these problems into viable business concepts, with an emphasis on enabling an aspiring entrepreneur to get as far as possible, with as little as possible, as fast as possible.

Student teams begin the quarter with nothing more than a series of hypotheses about a new venture, then design and execute a series of in-market experiments that either validate these assumptions or force them to iterate aspects of their business model in real time. The objective of the course to guide students toward the achievement of “product-market fit” as a crucial first step in the creation of a start-up.

Here students will focus on how to structure a series of tests to gather ‘learnings’ around customer engagement. To accomplish this, students can develop a product/service (wireframe, landing page, video, physical prototype) that tests customer engagement or obtain a sale or commitment to purchase, broker an exchange or partnership, or anything else that indicates that customers value your business concept and mitigates the biggest near-term risks of the venture.

Continue to validate the value proposition, customer funnel, and key metrics of success. Research, define, prototype and implement an MV_ (products, tests, etc. (or a series of MV_s) that demonstrates customer engagement at each step of the funnel. Obtain experiential learning in the process of testing and refining a business concept.

ENT102B

This subject develops a student’s ability to shape purposeful new ventures that support inclusive and sustainable futures. This is an engaging and practical subject designed to ignite students’ entrepreneurial potential and guide them through the process of transforming innovative ideas into viable business ventures. This subject empowers students to explore creativity, identify market opportunities, and validate entrepreneurial concepts using customer-centric and evidence-based approaches.

Students begin by exploring creative tools and techniques, unlocking their innovative thinking and developing the confidence to conceptualise compelling business solutions. A key focus is placed on understanding diverse customer needs including those of indigenous communities through market research, analysis of industry trends, and the development of target customer personas. Students will apply design thinking methodologies, structured frameworks such as the Business Model Canvas, foundational knowledge of startup economics funding options, and cost structures  Students examine revenue models, cost structures and funding options to ensure commercial strength while aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals linked to quality education, reduced inequalities, sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production, and peace, justice and strong institutions.

Students will explore strategies for growth through the diffusion of innovation and assess how social, cultural and environmental considerations influence customer adoption. By the end of the subject, students will have the mindset, practical skills and confidence to progress a concept from idea to validated venture while contributing to inclusive economic participation and sustainable development.

Learning Outcomes:

ENT102A

a) Explain ideas for an entrepreneurial opportunity.
b) Estimate the feasibility of a new enterprise in terms of funding, the target market and growth.
c) Identify product/service value proposition opportunities through research.
d) Indicate how to assemble and lead multidisciplinary teams to operate in uncertain and unknown business and/or professional environments.
e) Summarise the value proposition associated with a creative idea based on data insights and other relevant evidence.

ENT102B

a) Explain ideas for an entrepreneurial opportunity.
b) Estimate the feasibility of a new enterprise in terms of the target market, business model and growth.
c) Identify product/service value proposition opportunities through research.
d) Collaborate with a team to determine the desirability, and viability of a new business opportunity.
e) Persuade potential stakeholders of the veracity of the new business opportunity.

Student Assessment:

Note: (G) = Group Assessment

*This assessment is a hurdle assessment. Hurdle requirements are a condition other than the overall mark that must be met for students to pass (50%) a subject. Failing a hurdle requirement will result in a fail grade for the subject.