Looking for Trouble: Opportunity Identification in the Entrepreneurship Classroom

Opportunity identification is an important skill to develop in our entrepreneurship and innovation students and is often underdeveloped. This exercise begins with a very early stage idea development canvas (dubbed the Big Idea Canvas) and moves to a use of popular press magazines where students identify customers, their pains/gains, dissatisfaction with current solutions and an offering to address the opportunity. Additionally, we add in the chance for students to practice sharing their own skill sets to support upcoming venture team formation. The exercise could work well with any of the popular ‘canvases’ currently in the field including ones we use regularly including the Business Model Canvas, the Value Proposition Canvas and the Lean Change Canvas