So... What Even Is Innovation?
Welcome to Open Incubator! Before we dive into launching your next big thing, let’s get real about something people love to talk about but rarely define properly:
What is Innovation?
Innovation is not just about coming up with a “new idea.” It’s about creating something that works better, solves a real problem, and adds value to people’s lives. It’s the spark between creativity and impact. It’s not just invention. It’s invention that people actually want and can use.
What Makes Something Innovative?
An idea becomes innovative when it hits the sweet spot between:
Desirability
Feasibility
Viability
This is your Innovation Sweet Spot. Every great idea balances all three.
Types of Innovation
Innovations come in many flavours. Here are a few:
Real Talk: What Isn’t Innovation?
A cool idea no one wants to use.
A fancy app that solves a fake problem.
A product that works well but burns out the planet in the process.
A startup that copies others but adds no new value
Innovation ≠ Noise. It’s about making something better, not just different.
Activity: Innovation Detective
Grab a notebook or open a new doc and do this:
Pick three products or services you use every day (e.g. Spotify, your campus meal plan, a water bottle).
For each one, answer:
Is this an innovation? Why or why not?
Which type is it — Device, Method, Material, or Mindset?
How does it balance Desirability, Feasibility, and Viability?
Key Takeaways
Lean Startup & Design Thinking
Build smarter, not harder. So you’ve got an idea. Amazing. But how do you actually test it, improve it, and build something people want — without wasting time or money?
Meet your new best friends:
• Lean Startup
• Design Thinking
Let’s break them down.
The Lean Startup Approach
Coined by Eric Ries, Lean Startup is about learning fast, failing smart, and building things people actually need.
Instead of building a full product and then seeing if people like it, you:
Build something small (a prototype, a landing page, even a sketch!)
Measure how people react
Learn what works, and what doesn’t — then repeat!
That cycle looks like this:
Build
Measure
Learn
Repeat
What is Design Thinking?
Design Thinking is a human-centred approach to solving problems.
It’s about empathising with people before jumping to solutions. Here’s the classic 5-Step Process:
It’s not linear — you’ll jump back and forth between steps. That’s normal. That’s good.
Lean vs Design Thinking: What's the Difference?
deeply
Activity: Design & Lean in Action
Let’s try this combo out with a real campus problem.
Step 1: Pick a challenge
Examples:
Students wasting food in the dorm kitchens
Not enough mental health support during exams
Long lines at the coffee shop on Mondays
Step 2: Empathise
Interview 1–2 friends about this issue.
Ask: What’s frustrating? What do they wish was different?
Step 3: Ideate
Write down 5 wild ideas — don’t self-censor. The crazier the better.
Step 4: Prototype
Sketch your favourite idea on paper or a slide. Just enough for someone to "get it."
Step 5: Test
Show your sketch to someone. Ask:
Would this help?
What’s confusing?
What would they change?
Key Takeaways
Teamwork That Works
Because even superheroes don’t save the world alone. Behind every great startup is a team that knows how to balance chaos with collaboration, risk with trust, and "we have no clue what we're doing" with "let's figure it out anyway." Let’s talk about building and working in a great startup team.
Why Teamwork Matters in Startups
Startups are messy. Fast. Unpredictable. You’ll make decisions quickly, wear many hats, and sometimes work out of cafés, basements, or classrooms. Having a strong, diverse, and aligned team makes all the difference. Because when the going gets weird, the weird (aka your team) need to get going — together.
Roles in a Startup Team
Here's a look at some typical startup roles. (Don’t panic — you don’t need all of them on Day 1.)
CEO / Vision Lead
Product Lead
Technical Lead / Developer
Marketing / Comms
Operations / Hustler
Wildcard
The Team Canvas: Your Secret Weapon
The Team Canvas is a tool to help your team:
Get aligned
Know your shared goals
Understand each other’s strengths and values
Key sections include:
Purpose & Values
Roles & Skills
Rules & Expectations
Strengths & Weaknesses
Needs & Concerns
You’ll fill this in during a workshop or team session — or download a copy and try it yourself.
Activity: Build Your Dream Team
Step 1: Imagine your startup idea is real.
Who do you need around you to bring it to life?
Step 2: Create your team lineup.
Assign the roles from above to your current team (or ideal future team). Who’s the visionary? The builder? The customer whisperer?
Step 3: Reflect as a group
What are your team’s combined strengths?
What might you be missing?
What values will hold you together when things get tough?
Real Talk
Good teams don’t avoid conflict — they handle it well.
Communication beats perfection. Every time.
The best startup teams feel like mini-communities. Build trust early.
Celebrate wins, share stress, and eat snacks together when possible.
Key Takeaways
Understanding the Market
Because even genius ideas need someone to buy them. You’ve got an idea. Maybe even a great one. But who is it for? Why would they care? And are there enough of them to make your idea sustainable? This chapter helps you explore who your users are — and how to find your first fans, fast.
Why Understanding the Market Matters
A lot of startups fail because they build something nobody actually wants.
(Yes, even well-designed, beautiful, AI-powered somethings.) Understanding the market isn’t just about “targeting customers” — it’s about finding the people whose lives you want to make better.
Market Segmentation: Slice It Up
Not everyone is your customer. Seriously. If you try to build for everyone, you’ll end up building for no one.
Here’s how you can segment your potential market:
Find Your Beachhead Market
Your Beachhead Market is your starting point — the specific group that will love your solution so much, they’ll be your first adopters, testers, and ambassadors.
To define your beachhead, ask:
Who has the problem most painfully?
Who is easiest to reach right now?
Who will benefit the most from your idea?
Once you win that group over, then you expand.
Create Your Customer Persona
Let’s turn your target user into a real(ish) person. A persona is a fictional character that represents your ideal customer.
Example:
Name: Newman, 22
Location: Dublin
Background: Computer Science student
Pain Point: Struggles with managing academic deadlines and job hunting
Needs: A better way to organise her time and track internship opportunities
Personality: Ambitious, always on her phone, values aesthetics and speed Your persona helps you think like your user when designing your product or service.
Activity: Persona Party
Create a quick customer persona using this template:
Name:
Age & Background:
What problem do they face?:
What motivates them?:
How would your product/service help them?:
What channels would you use to reach them (e.g. Instagram, email, events)?:
Real Talk
You are not your user (unless you are — but validate anyway).
Talk to real people. Don’t just guess.
Your persona will evolve — and that’s good. You’ll learn more as you go.
Key Takeaways
Customer Discovery & Interviews
Because great ideas start with great questions. You’ve got a persona. You’ve got a market in mind. Now it’s time to talk to real humans and test your assumptions — not with surveys or “Do you like my idea?” questions, but with empathy interviews that dig deep. Let’s find out what people actually need.
What is Customer Discovery?
Customer discovery is the process of talking to people to:
Understand their problems
Learn about their context
Discover what they’re really trying to achieve
You’re not trying to pitch. You’re trying to listen.
Why It Matters
Talking to users helps you:
Validate if a real problem exists
Uncover hidden needs and behaviours
Avoid building stuff no one wants
Shape your solution based on real-world insights
Most failed startups skipped this step or did it badly. Don’t be one of them.
The Empathy Interview
Here’s how to run a good one:
Find people who match your target persona
Fellow students, community members, Reddit, Discord, LinkedIn, etc.
Ask open-ended questions
“Can you walk me through the last time you experienced [problem]?”
“What did you try? What worked? What didn’t?”
“What would an ideal solution look like for you?”
Dig deeper
“Why was that frustrating?”
“What happened next?”
“How did that make you feel?”
Listen more than you talk
You should talk less than 20% of the time
Take notes or record (with permission)
Activity: Interview Warm-Up
Pick someone (classmate, friend, stranger) and run a mini empathy interview. Ask:
What’s something you’ve been frustrated by this week?
What did you do about it?
What would a perfect solution look like?
Reflect:
Did you learn something unexpected?
Did you feel tempted to jump to solutions?
This is your training ground. Get good here, and you’ll build things that actually matter.
Tools You Can Use
Problem Statement Canvas – Helps you define what you’ve heard into a real, testable problem
Empathy Map – Helps visualise what users think, feel, say, and do
Decision-Making Unit (DMU) – Helps identify who the real customer is (user vs buyer vs influencer)
Example DMU: A student uses the app (user), but the university pays for it (buyer), and lecturers recommend it (influencer).
Real Talk
People don’t always know what they want — but they know what’s broken
You’re not looking for compliments, you’re looking for truth
It’s okay if your idea changes after interviews — that’s the point
