On June 22nd, 2021, DifferenceMaker held the fourth Summer Boot Camp Session. Holly Lalos, Director, Rist DifferenceMaker Institute, welcomed the student teams, advisors, and guest speaker. Then, each team presented their homework deliverables.

This week, the 2021 Idea Challenge winning teams shared their research findings on channels, customer relationships, and revenue. Each team presented on the channels in which they would engage with their target markets, the methods in which they would do so, and the expected outcome of using these channels, like social media or word of mouth. Teams then explained the ways in which they plan to get, keep, and grow customers. Lastly, the teams presented on their revenue streams.

Knowing the channels that will be used, customer relationships, and various revenue streams aids in understanding potential outcomes, planning for the future, and developing a more robust business model. For example, Tommy Vi’s Gelato, a team aiming to blend Asian flavors into classic Italian gelato, presented on using social media and word of mouth as their channels in hopes of targeting millennial and Gen-Z generations.

In terms of how they plan to get, keep, and grow their customers, this team will post quality pictures, surveys, and weekly stories, and will advertise social media handles through flyers and on their website. Tommy Vi’s Gelato revenue streams will be through serving and catering hours.

Each team presented their findings and received constructive feedback from the advisors which helped further their research and development. Additionally, the student teams continued to interview customers through various methods, such as, surveys and Zoom interviews. Many teams researched and read research papers to gather more information about their ideas.

Jack Wilson, President Emeritus of the UMass System, Distinguished Professor of Higher Education, and founder of the Jack M. Wilson Center for Entrepreneurship, guest spoke about funding new ventures and the importance of being a leader and asking for help.

Professor Wilson sponsors the Jack M. Wilson First to Market Award at the Annual $50,000 DifferenceMaker Idea Challenge. Professor Wilson explained the need for funding and how to find financing to start and grow a new venture.

Thank you to Jack Wilson for guest speaking at the boot camp and for guiding the student teams in the right direction when it comes to funding their projects and understanding all the funding opportunities within and outside of UMass Lowell!

Watch a recap of this Boot Camp session.

Read about Boot Camp session 1.

Read about Boot Camp session 2.

Read about Boot Camp session 3.

On June 15, 2021, DifferenceMaker held the third Summer Boot Camp Session. Holly Lalos, Director, Rist DifferenceMaker Institute, welcomed the student teams, advisors, and guest speakers. Then, each team presented their homework deliverables.

This week, the 2021 Idea Challenge winning teams shared their research findings on value propositions and customer segments. Once teams identify their customer segments, they can then discover the customer’s pains per segment. Once pains are understood, a value-added solution can be developed to solve the pains for each customer segment.

Value proposition can include both functional and emotional benefits. Additionally, it is important to understand customers (buyers) versus users. For example, Digital Life, a team that’s developing an affordable finger prosthetic for kids with congenital deformities, presented about how their buyers may not be the same as their end users. In their case, parents may be the buyers (customers), and children may be the end users. Understanding these concepts are important because it could change price points, marketing, needs, wants, and more.

All the teams presented their findings and received feedback from the Boot Camp advisors which helped deepen their research and development. Teams used various interviewing methods to gain information from their potential customers, such as Zoom. Surveys were also used. For example, VieVest creator Alexander Frawley, sent out surveys to local gyms to gather their current pains and needs while performing barbell exercises.

Chris McKenna ‘89, Francis College of Engineering and David Kantaros, both partners at Foley and Lardner, LLP guest spoke about business formation and intellectual property. Foley and Lardner, LLP sponsors $15,000 of in-kind legal services at the Annual $50K Idea Challenge.

Chris and David went into detail about the types of legal business entities students can pursue, such as a C-Corp or LLC, as well as the laws around intellectual property.

Thank you to Chris and David for being guest speakers at the Boot Camp and for teaching future entrepreneurs about the importance of business formation and intellectual property.

Read about Boot Camp session 1.

Read about Boot Camp session 2.

On June 8, 2021, DifferenceMaker held the second Summer Boot Camp Session! Holly Lalos, Director, Rist DifferenceMaker Institute, welcomed the student teams, advisors, and guest speakers. Then, each team presented their homework deliverables.

Each presentation lasted around five minutes. During the presentations, teams mentioned the problem that they are solving, along with a clear description of their solution. Problems ranged from children with hand deformities, food insecurity, and no secure way to seal a face mask.

To follow up with the solution, teams also presented the size of the market opportunity, as well as the target market for their product. This included their total addressable market, served available market, and target market. This information was collected through surveys, interviewing potential customers, and market research resources. Some teams also showed a summary of their business model canvas, which will be updated throughout the Boot Camp.

Then, advisors provided feedback, tips, and advice, and asked questions. Some advisors offered to make introductions based off their connections and the student ideas. This was a great networking opportunity for students to make connections with people in similar industries.

Following the homework presentations, Katie Muise, co-founder of Ambulatory Innovations, guest spoke about her product, the CAT Mat, and her experiences with DifferenceMaker. She also spoke about the various opportunities she received following the $50K Idea Challenge in 2019, and problems she encountered and overcame. Katie also provided informative, helpful tips to the student audience, such as, to always overestimate the amount of time a task will take to complete and dedicating time each week for a team meeting.

Thank you to Katie Muise from Ambulatory Innovations for being a guest speaker at the Boot Camp Speaker Series and for inspiring future entrepreneurs!

Read about Boot Camp session 1.

To learn more about Ambulatory Innovations, please visit their website and social media platforms:

Website: https://www.ambulatoryinnovations.com/

Email: info@ambulatoryinnovations.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ambulatoryinnovations

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ambulatory-innovations/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ambinnovations

On June 1, 2021, DifferenceMaker held its’ Kickoff Boot Camp session!

Holly Lalos, Program Director, DifferenceMaker, led the session. The session started with introductions from each advisor. This years’ advisors are:

• Rajia Abdelaziz, ’16, Francis College of Engineering and Kennedy College of Sciences – CEO, InvisaWear
• Michele Holland, ’87, Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences – Co-Founder, Performance Rehab. Inc.
• Glenn Morgan, ’86, FAHSS, Chief Operating Officer, Fuseideas
• Brian Rist, ’77, Manning School of Business – Chairman, Rist Family Foundation and created the Rist DifferenceMaker Institute
• Brent Shell, Assistant Teaching Professor and DifferenceMaker Faculty Fellow, Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences

Then, introductions from each of the 2021 Idea Challenge DifferenceMaker Teams took place. The teams participating in this summer’s Boot Camp are:

• Apple a Day
• Concept Project
• Digital Life
• Green Fertilizer
• NavLens
• Terminus
• Tommy Vi’s Gelato
• TrueFIT
• VieVest
• Wonder Wheel

Following the introductions, Holly went through the outline of what to expect during future Boot Camp sessions. For example, there will be various guest speakers who will share advice and their entrepreneurial experiences. Each week, homework is assigned, where each team will create a presentation and receive real-time feedback from the advisors during each session.

Additional exciting opportunities were presented to the students. The teams are being offered $15,000 of in-kind legal services from Foley and Lardner, LLP. There is also an opportunity to collaborate with the Manning School of Business, where teams will be connected to sales/marketing students who will assist in creating marketing/sales plans. Both opportunities are great for the DifferenceMaker student entrepreneurs!

To end the session, there was a brief recap, followed by a Q&A session.

Congratulations to all winning teams! DifferenceMaker is looking forward to seeing your progress and growth.

The DifferenceMaker Preliminary Pitch-off took place in a virtual format on April 7th. The event engaged 24 student teams from all UMass Lowell academic colleges, each with different backgrounds and ideas. On April 8, ten inspiring student teams were selected to move on and compete for a portion of $50,000 in funding at the Idea Challenge.

On April 14th, from 5 p.m. – 8:30 p.m., DifferenceMaker held its 9th Annual $50,000 Idea Challenge! Holly Lalos, Entrepreneurial Initiatives Program Director, welcomed all attendees and provided the agenda for the evening. Then, she introduced Chancellor Jacquie Moloney who provided opening remarks.

After the remarks, Professor Neil Shortland, who was emceeing the event, was introduced. Each team received five minutes to pitch their ideas, followed by five minutes of judge Q&A after each presentation.

Thank you to all the judges for taking their time to attend the event and assist the student teams!

Lorna Boucher ‘86, Manning School of Business – Chief Marketing Officer, Instinet Holdings Incorporated

Cindy Conde ‘87 ‘91, Francis College of Engineering – CEO, CondeCo

Roger Cressey ’87, Fine Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences – Partner, Liberty Group Ventures, LLC

John Pulichino ’67 ’14 (H), Manning School of Business – Chairman and CEO, Group III International, LTD

Jim Regan ’88, Manning School of Business – President and CEO, Digital Federal Credit Union

Brian Rist ‘77, Manning School of Business – Chairman, Rist Family Foundation

Mark Saab ‘81 ‘13 (H), Francis College of Engineering – Founding Trustee, Saab Family Foundation

Jack M. Wilson – President Emeritus, UMass System and Distinguished Professor of Higher Education, Emerging Technologies, and Innovation, UMass Lowell

CONGRATULATIONS to the 2021 winning student teams!

Rist-Campus Wide DifferenceMaker (sponsored by Brian Rist ‘77), $7,000: TrueFIT – Siddhant Iyer, Justin Marcouillier, Pranav Ramaswamy.

– TrueFIT is a novel fail-safe mask fitting and sealing solution that significantly reduces exposure to infectious aerosols, improving filtration efficiency & saving lives. This product is reusable, secure, and can be used in all types of face masks!

Contribution to a Healthier Lifestyle, $4,000: Apple A Day – Emily Philpot, Jack Ryan, Param Rajeshbhai Patel.

– Apple a Day is a weekly pill case that is appealing for kids. The product consists of an apple shape, and it breaks out into seven individual slices for each day of the week. The portability of having your medications being contained into slices, combined with the unique fruit shape, makes children (and adults!) more willing to take their daily medications.

Significant Social Impact, $4,000: Digital Life – Smriti Kumar, Alejandra Luna Juarez, Tina Thuy Nguyen Hoang, Amy Nguyen.

– Digital Life is a prosthetic device for kids with digital congenital deformities. People with these deformities struggle with daily activities, and the current products on the market are not affordable for many families. This device is adjustable, low-cost, and can be used for a lifetime.

Commitment to a Sustainable Environment, $4,000: Green Fertilizer: Standalone On-demand Production System – Samuel Alpert, Visal Veng, Benard Tabu.

– Green Fertilizer is an idea to design, build, and characterize a standalone on-demand fertilizer production system. This is done with renewable energy – creating a synthetic fertilizer that reduces waste and emissions, while managing to innovatively grow healthy, fresh food.

Sutherland Innovative Technology Solutions (Sponsored by Andrew Sutherland ‘94), $4,000: NavLens – Asa Losurdo, Daniel Giuliano, Alden Giedraitis, Christina Haugh, Edwin Meriaux, Jack Houle.

– NavLens is a wearable device that enhances the spatial awareness of the visually impaired. This will be accomplished through the development of cost effective methods for converting visual-spatial information into audio-spatial sounds. This is a futuristic and technical pair of glasses!

Jack M. Wilson First to Market (sponsored by Jack Wilson, President Emeritus), $4,000:

Wonder Wheel – Sanskriti Sharma, Rasha Ghazal, Khang Nguyen, Alexander Hoefer.

– Wonder Wheel is an affordable wheelchair power assist device, with a unique design and low cost that similar products on the market can’t compare to.

Honorable Mention, $2,000: VieVest – Alexander Frawley.

– VieVest is a product carefully engineered to protect athletes from impact and abrasion sustained from common barbell movements. The mission is to provide peace of mind, comfort, and safety during the dynamic Olympic lifts regularly programmed for athletes at all skill levels.

Honorable Mention, $2,000: Terminus – Ariel Shramko, Brian Cleavitt, Michael Pottorff II, Rohan Goyal, Renin Jose, Eliot Pirone.

– Inspired by VEGGIE and Biosphere II, Terminus is a terrarium that can be used to grow food everywhere (even on Mars)! With its unique shape and design, the product can be placed in any room, making it possible to grow food in places never thought possible.

Honorable Mention, $2,000: Tommy Vi’s Gelato – Tommy Vi. – Tommy Vi’s Gelato introduces a new food concept to Lowell, where Asian flavors are combined with Italian machinery & technique to create a unique version of Gelato. The gelato is non dairy, with flavors such as matcha, thai tea, and jasmine tea.

Honorable Mention, $2,000: Concept Project – Garret Roberts, Adrian DelliCollo. – The Concept Project is a multi-media startup that creates awareness for various social issues while completing mental & physical challenges outdoors. This gets the community involved and inspires others to do the same!

Thank you to everyone who attended. View the 2021 DifferenceMaker $50,000 Idea Challenge. Best of luck to all teams’ future entrepreneurial journeys! Questions? Email us at differencemaker@uml.edu.

On March 24, DifferenceMaker held its’ second annual High School Idea Challenge from 2 – 5 p.m.

To kick-off the event, Gina Mustoe, a teacher at Westford Academy, gave opening remarks. She then passed the stage to Holly Lalos, Entrepreneurial Initiatives Program Director of the DifferenceMaker program. Holly presented an overview of DifferenceMaker, sharing the benefits and opportunities that the program offers.

Then, Tom O’Donnell, Senior Director of Innovation Initiatives at the UMass Lowell Innovation Hub, provides welcoming remarks as well. He introduces the opportunities that UMass Lowell provides, and explains additional resources related to entrepreneurship, such as the Makerspace, Innovation Hub, and various networking opportunities. Tom also introduced the judges, each of whom were former DifferenceMaker Idea Challenge Finalists.

The judges for the afternoon were:

– Rajia Abdelaziz, Innovative Technology Solution, a $4,500 prize, at the 2016 $50k Idea Challenge. She is now the CEO of invisaWear.

– Tyler Cote, Campus-wide DifferenceMaker, a $6,000 prize, at the 2017 $50k Idea Challenge. He is the Founder of Operation250.

– Tatiana Tompkins, Honorable Mention, $2,000, at both the 2019 and 2020 $50k Idea Challenge. She is a member of two teams, Protected Pin & NoSno Mat.

After the judge introductions, the event begins! Everyone was looking forward to hearing the creative ideas from each high school student team. After each presentation, judges asked the team questions to help them further understand the idea.

Abby Eastman, representing Nashoba Regional High School, went up first. Her idea is Pandemic Pack. Many students have anxiety about the lack of resources due to COVID-19, which inspired her for this idea. Her product is an all-in-one pack containing essentials such as hand sanitizer, face masks, cough drops, etc. This way, you have all the resources you need during a pandemic in one package. Bonus: your pack can be customized with products with your school logo!

Next, Mia Gaglione and Ava Gilligan, representing Tewksbury High School, pitched. Diabetes is a huge problem, and they noticed how the condition impacted their loved ones’ day to day lives. Their idea, InsulWatch, is a modern-day watch designed to monitor and regulate the effects of insulin in your body.

The bottom of the watch has built-in space for insulin patches and replacement needle trays, making it accessible to manage your blood sugar levels anywhere. This product can also sync with an app. With the app, it alerts users when their blood sugar levels are low.

Next, Ganesh Danke, a student from Chelmsford High School, presented. His idea is known as “Clean Crate.” He noticed that ordering healthy food online is not possible, and that there are many commission fees associated with current options. However, Clean Crate is a revolutionary food delivery service specializing in providing clean, healthy food from local farms. Deliveries will be scheduled weekly, with no high commission fees – just a monthly subscription. This business model supports local farmers, helps people eat locally grown produce, and is a convenient option for anyone, even busy people.

Finally, Westford Academy students Prasanna Edpugani and Aashi Akare pitched their idea, “Signal Map.” Signal Map is an application that works alongside a product known as a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B, which provides live data about your WiFi signal. This can eliminate the frustration of slow internet when sharing with others, allowing you to recognize spots with the strongest/weakest WiFi signals in your home.

After all the presentations and judge Q&A, the judges went into a separate room to discuss the winners. While in the main event room, Tom encouraged everyone to network and asked the student teams what inspired them to create their idea. Many of the teams noticed issues in their day to day lives and thought about solutions that could solve them. They utilized what they learned in their classes and applied it to their projects. Very impressive!

Then, after deliberation, the judges came back to announce the winners. Congratulations to all teams that presented this afternoon!

1st place – $500, Aashi Akare and Meghana Edpuganti, Westford Academy – “Signal Map”

2nd place – $300 Ganesh Danke, Chelmsford High School – “Clean Crate”

3rd place – $200, Mia Gaglione and Ava Gilligan, Tewksbury Memorial High School – “InsulWatch”

Honorable Mention – DifferenceMaker gear (t-shirt, pen, lanyard, water bottle, notebook) – Abigail Eastman, Nashoba Regional High School – “Pandemic Pack”

Huge thank you to DECA Inc. for sponsoring the prizes for this event. And, another huge thank you to all of the partnership schools and teachers involved in this exciting collaboration effort.

On March 2nd, from 5:30 – 7 p.m., DifferenceMaker held its’ fourth, and final Workshop Session; Delivering Your Rocket Pitch!

Holly Lalos, Entrepreneurship Initiatives Program Director, kicked-off the event. Then, she introduced the guest speakers for the evening: Professor Cathy Levy, College of Fine Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, and Professor Kevin Willett, Manning School of Business.

Next, Professor Levey spoke about the various components that makeup a rocket pitch. She also recapped the previous workshop sessions and thanked all previous guest speakers and attendees.

Then, Professor Willett presented and spoke about the important points regarding an idea and the development of a rocket pitch. He stated that most people don’t like change. Because of this, they may not purchase an innovative product/service since they may be content with what they already have and may be resistant to change. He provided an example about his favorite foods – pizza and Mountain Dew. If he is content with the foods that he enjoys, why would he need or want to try something new?

Professor Willett also emphasized the importance of an opportunity and conducting research. A product may be useful and reasonably priced, however, determining whether there is a customer base is imperative. In order to move forward with an idea, customer research is needed.

An interesting point Professor Willett brought up was in regards to “fads,” like fidget spinners – they were being purchased at one point, but the novelty has since worn off. It is a product that still sells, but at a much lower rate. Thinking about the value a solution has is important. For example, is your product/service unique enough to last through the ever-changing market? If not, what could be changed to make it relevant and needed over time?

Then, resources were discussed – the costs, tools, and materials that are needed to create the product/service. If the product/service costs more than what it’s sold for, it will not be sustainable. Professor Willett also mentioned that judges are often impressed by prototypes/mock-ups/drawings of the solution – visuals are always helpful and it shows dedication.

Professor Willett went on to discuss the rocket pitch in more depth – The pitch is five minutes long, so ideas and information should be conveyed clearly and thoroughly during that time. On the slides themselves, succinct wording helps judges understand the presentation better. Statistics and graphics also help support a presentation. Appendix slides are useful during judge Q&A – It shows preparation and thinking ahead.

An example of a previous team that presented a well-developed presentation was BioBubbler, who won 1st Place in the Significant Social Impact category. This team showed confidence while presenting and portrayed their idea in a well thought out manner. During their pitch, they encountered technical difficulties and handled it professionally – they ignored the distractions and focused on their presentation.

Then, the participants went into breakout rooms to discuss their ideas, develop their pitches, and practice them with one another. Faculty Fellows and a group of volunteer Mentors who are part of the “Friends with Kevin” networking group, were assigned to each room to provide students with informative feedback.

After the breakout rooms, students presented their rocket pitches to the crowd. Pitches ranged from regenerating stem cells, helping the blind connect to the world with AI cameras, and a sustainable indoor gardening system. Faculty Fellows and Mentors provided feedback and advice to each presentation, further preparing the teams.

A big thank you to the volunteer Mentors:

· Brad Counihan –Banker

· Lisa Couturier –Business coach

· Marta Doran – Putnam Investments

· Paul Falewicz –CFO

· Ryan Rourke –Employee Benefits Consultant

· Jack Wang – College Planner

· Elizabeth Wilds – Financial Planner

· Max Ward – Business Coach

To view a video of Workshop 4, visit the DifferenceMaker YouTube Channel.

Thank you to everyone who supported and joined the 2021 DifferenceMaker Workshop Series! Please mark your calendar and register for the April 15th $50,000 Idea Challenge: uml.edu/2021IdeaChallenge. At this event, you will hear 10 student teams pitch-off to a panel of UMass Lowell alumni judges for a chance to win a portion of $50,000 in funding!

On February 25, 2021, from 5:30 – 7 p.m., DifferenceMaker held Workshop 3 which covered the topic of Developing Business Models.

Over 25 participants joined this informative and engaging event. Holly Lalos, Entrepreneurial Initiatives Program Director, kicked off the event.

Tom O’Donnell, Innovation Initiatives Senior Director at the UMass Lowell Innovation Hub, and Professors Carter Keough, Hunter Mack, and Kelilah Wolkowicz, DifferenceMaker Faculty Fellows from the Francis College of Engineering, were the workshop facilitators.

Tom took the lead as the guest speaker for the evening. He provided examples of companies with strong business models, such as Facebook, Zipcar, and Gillette. Each of these companies had unique products that served an unmet need, which contributed to their success.

Tom also presented a recap from the second workshop session: Assessing Opportunities and Value Proposition. Value must be brought to customers. It’s what makes them want a product or service, which is needed to keep a startup going. Whether a company is for-profit or nonprofit, the value needs must be compelling, differentiated, and gain attention from potential customers. It’s a necessary component to think about.

After the recap, the conversation shifted to the topic of business models. A business model is a design for the successful operation of a business, identifying revenue sources, customer base, products, and details of financing. A business model outlines and organizes all the aspects required for operation.

The business model is broken down into a variety of categories: Key partners, key activities, value proposition, cost structure, revenue streams, customer segments, and customer relationships are just some. These categories are like pieces of a puzzle – When put together, these pieces create the completed business model.

Then, all participants broke out into breakout rooms with varying topics such as social issues, engineering, business, and more. Teams received a blank Business Model Canvas to work on for their ideas. Faculty Fellows and DifferenceMaker staff joined the rooms and provided students tips and feedback on their business models.

After the activity, everyone joined the main room and were encouraged to present their business models. Tom provided insightful feedback to each team that presented. Ideas that were shared included outlines for business models for projects An Apple A Day, Wonder Wheel, and others. The group presentations also provided as a great networking opportunity, as emails and chats between student attendees and faculty were exchanged for follow-up conversations and mentorship.

Thank you to everyone that joined DifferenceMaker for Workshop 3! To view a video of Workshop 3, visit the DifferenceMaker YouTube Channel. If you are interested in learning how to further develop your idea, build-up your team, and have fun, please register for the upcoming, final, workshop:

Workshop 4 – Delivering Your Rocket Pitch – March 2; 5:30-7 p.m. – www.uml.edu/2021DMWorkshop4

Questions? DifferenceMaker@uml.edu.

On February 22, from 5:30 – 7 p.m., DifferenceMaker hosted the second workshop series session of the semester! The topic for the evening was assessing opportunities and value proposition. Holly Lalos, Entrepreneurial Initiatives Program Director, welcomed everyone and introduced the guest speakers.

Professor Brent Shell, Faculty Fellow from the Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences, started off by recapping Workshop 1, which focused on identifying problems. He opened the floor for volunteers to discuss the problems they were interested in addressing. The problems ranged from stem cell therapy not being easily assessable, to children struggling to take their daily medications.

Once a problem is solidified, assessing opportunities must take place before developing a solution. Opportunities showcase the need for a problem to be solved; there is no use creating a product/service solution for a market that has no potential customers or users.

A great (yet silly) example provided was pickle flavored toothpaste. Professor Shell presented a problem – not enough pickle flavored products on the market. He loves pickles and developed pickle toothpaste. He thinks everyone likes pickles, so thinks his toothpaste will sell. However, after creating the product, he realizes it is not selling. This is because he did not assess the opportunity associated with his problem and potential solution – although he thought his product would sell, he did not conduct opportunity research to support that there is an actual market affected by his problem and willing to purchase his solution.

Then, the crowd moved into Zoom breakout rooms to identify and assess their opportunities through an interactive activity. Student participants chose the room they wanted to join – with themes such as engineering, environmental, business, and more.

In the breakout rooms, everyone was encouraged to speak about their problems and opportunities. An opportunity worksheet was provided as a guide and there was a faculty facilitator in each room. After ten minutes of discussion, everyone went back into the main room to share their opportunities. One example presented was a problem regarding stolen packages, and an opportunity being that homeowners (data collected through interviews) wanted a secure way of receiving their packages.

Then, Professor Neil Shortland, Faculty Fellow from the College of Fine Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, presented about value propositions. A value proposition demonstrates how a potential solution is more valuable (better, faster, more effective, less expensive, etc.) than what’s already on the market solving a problem (competitors). The value that a consumer receives when they use a product/service is important, because it’s what gets them to decide whether to buy.

Since value inspires customers to purchase and use a product/service, it needs to be effectively communicated. An example that was provided featured Nonspec, 2013 Campus-wide DifferenceMaker team. The value that their prosthetic limb provides is that it is affordable and able to grow/adjust with the user, minimizing the need to purchase future replacements.

Then, another breakout room activity took place to discuss value propositions. The presentations that were given helped students develop their own strong value propositions to go along with their opportunities and problems. Once the breakout rooms closed, everyone was encouraged to share their ideas with the crowd. An example that was presented was to create a pill organizer that is fun to use, allowing children and parents to have a better experience when providing medication – the value is having fun while also having a better experience taking medication.

Thank you to everyone that joined DifferenceMaker for Workshop 2! To view a video of Workshop 2, visit the DifferenceMaker YouTube Channel. If you are interested in learning how to further develop your idea, build-up your team, and have fun, please register for the upcoming workshops:

Workshop 3 – Developing Business Models – February 25; 5:30-7 p.m.

Workshop 4 – Delivering Your Rocket Pitch – March 2; 5:30-7 p.m.

Questions? DifferenceMaker@uml.edu.

On February 18, from 5:30 – 7 p.m., DifferenceMaker held its’ first workshop series session of 2021! Over 70 people participated for this exciting virtual event. The focus of Workshop 1 was identifying problems.

Holly Lalos, Entrepreneurial Initiatives Program Director opened the event. She provided a brief overview of the agenda for the evening. Introductions of the guest presenters, Professor Mazen El Ghaziri, Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences, and Professor Tom Wilkes, Kennedy College of Sciences, also took place.

Then, Professor El Ghaziri presented. He asked the student audience – what do you think of when the topic of “problems” is mentioned. Even virtually, this event was interactive and experiential. A Slido poll was used, which allowed students to participate, while showing everyone’s answers in real time.

During the presentation, a variety of interesting past DifferenceMaker team “problem” examples were showcased.

For example, Support our Students, Campus-Wide DifferenceMaker in 2014, noticed a problem on University campuses – Commuter students could not afford food while being on campus all day. On the other hand, students that lived on campus had meal plans that weren’t always being used. With these problems in mind, they created a solution which was a web platform that allowed students to donate meals to students who needed them, discreetly.

Professor Wilkes presented another example of a successful past problem pitch. The CAT MAT, presented by Katie Muise and Michelle Mailloux. They noticed a problem in the physical therapy field; there is no way for patients to relearn how to walk on various surfaces without having to leave the facility. With this key problem in mind, they were able to develop a solution that solved the problem; a mat that mimics various outdoors terrains.

In order to have a strong problem, statistics should be provided. Additionally, backing up the problem by showing its effects on people (showing the “pain”), is a great way to strengthen the problem. Market research, surveys, and interviewing people who could possibly benefit from the problem being solved (customers) are tips to showcase that the problem matters.

Then, an activity took place and breakout groups were formed with two DifferenceMaker Faculty Fellow facilitators in each room acting as mentors. Students chose a topic they were interested in, such as business, environmental issues, engineering related, and more.

This also served as a great networking opportunity for students to meet potential new teammates and gain connections. Each group was able to discuss problems they were interested in, and worked together to complete the “DifferenceMaker Problem Toolkit Worksheet.”

Afterwards, students were able to present their ideas. Issues related to the environment, loneliness while being an international student, food insecurity, chronic pain causing depression, and plastic waste infiltrating our planet, were just some of the problems presented.

Thank you to everyone that joined DifferenceMaker for Workshop 1! To view a video of Workshop 1, visit the DifferenceMaker YouTube Channel. If you are interested in learning how to further develop your idea, build-up your team, and have fun, please register for the upcoming workshops:

Workshop 2 – Assessing Opportunities and Value Propositions – February 22; 5:30-7 p.m.

Workshop 3 – Developing Business Models – February 25; 5:30-7 p.m.

Workshop 4 – Delivering Your Rocket Pitch – March 2; 5:30-7 p.m.

Questions? DifferenceMaker@uml.edu.