The mentoring activity for the Innovative Academy Incubation Program was conducted on the 14th of September 2023, at the EDS Building, Universitas Gadjah Mada. The esteemed mentor for this session was Mr. Fadli Wilihandarwo, the Founder of SchoolStartup, and the chosen theme of the day was “Product Development.”
The session commenced with a brief introduction of the mentor and an overview of the mentor’s startup endeavors. Furthermore, the mentor engaged in introductions with the attending talents and startup representatives, initiating a brief discussion at the outset of the meeting.
The mentoring process for this event was divided into two distinct sessions: the mentoring session and the workshop session. During the workshop segment, the speaker expounded upon the topic at hand, which was the development of products. Subsequently, the mentoring session commenced, in which startups and talents were categorized into two groups: those without a product and those with partially developed startups. Each group received distinct guidance.
For startups lacking a product, the emphasis was on determining the core value that they intend to deliver. Mr. Fadli emphasized, “When crafting a product description, it is advisable not to strive for excessive sophistication in terminology unless the target audience possesses specific expertise.”
During this occasion, the mentor also probed the startups present about the core values they possessed, exploring how and what customers would gain from using the startup’s provided product.
In the workshop session, the mentor employed sticky notes and paper to assist startups in articulating their goals in a straightforward manner. Startups were tasked with devising strategies for delivering their core value to customers and recording these strategies on sticky notes to be affixed to a sheet of paper according to a specified scheme.
Towards the conclusion of the session, the mentor requested that startups create a landing page for their startup’s website, utilizing the Yepso platform. Furthermore, the mentor conveyed insights on structuring the website to enhance its effectiveness and implementability. The ultimate goal of this session was to empower participants to develop their products in alignment with their respective markets.