One class can change a student’s career path and future goals—that’s all it takes! Read on about what ilse93 learned in one of her favorite classes at Stanford:
My favorite class at Stanford has definitely been Technology Entrepreneurship. It is one of those classes that becomes your life for the quarter you take it, but still, you love it!
In this class, students get in groups of four. We were expected to come up with a product or service that we would test, improvise, and ‘pivot’ throughout the ten weeks of one of our quarters at Stanford. The goal was to come up with a product/service that has customer potential. The professors taught us all about having a MVP, or minimal viable product. When the professor said MVP, I thought to myself—what does being the most valuable player have to do with this? It was my first time that I had ever heard of the term before, but now, it almost feels like its part of my everyday vocabulary.
The class focuses on customer development. We were encouraged to “grow the product with your customer”. What this means is that before you have a final product, you should test your prototypes of your product/service to individuals that can be potential customers. Based on the results of the user testing, we would then go back and improve our product/service. This opportunity allowed us to see what it is that our customers truly want or need, and we could “pivot” our product/service to best fit the demands of the customers.
The best part about this class was that it didn’t feel like a class at all. We even got the chance to talk to potential partners and pitch our product/service to them and tell them what it brings to the table. We got to learn about product development, the user experience, the start-up world and all the steps behind a successful startup.
Found this interesting? Leave a comment below and let us know!
**Bonus: After ilse93 took this class, she decided to continue learning more about tech startups by interning with AdmitSee. If you want a chance to learn more about an EdTech startup, email frances@admitsee.com for more information on the AdmitSee Internship Program!
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