A substantial part of “becoming an MBA" is going from someone who works within a structure defined by someone else, to becoming the person that designs structure for themselves and ultimately for others. This is the core job of the ‘Manager’ and why business schools were originally often known as (now taboo) schools of “business administration." Fortunately, building your own structure is a core part of the entrepreneurial experience. On day one, a start-up, by definition, has no structure, so you are forced to build it from the ground up. (This is also true for culture, but that is another post…)

To me, the most critical skill you can garner from an MBA is, “comfort in your ability to start with a blank piece of paper." This is why I, personally, loath ‘templates' as they deprive you of this critical experience. That said, the 'blank piece of paper’ here really is ‘the business’ so in an effort create the space for you to focus on product iteration and creating a great business, we will be developing a series of bare bones templates to guide you through the expectations for each presentation or presentation type that you will be expected to give in this class.

Our templates are intentionally very bare bones. They should be used to give you a sense of expectations and flow for each presentation. The goal of each presentation is to convey what your team has actually learned in the preceding period and to present this information in a compelling way to the teaching team, coaches and outside stakeholders. These presentations will comprise the narrative of your technical exploration, customer discovery, and business development process. Your team should own your narrative and how you tell it. The teaching team and coaches are here to hold you accountable to moving the needle from one week to the next and bring their expertise to bear in pushing you to thinking about your business in ways that you may not otherwise. Some presentations will demand more ‘polish' than others, but your focus should always be substance and engagement with your audience. (Critical MBA skill #2 in my book is giving a great presentation, particularly on the fly, in real time 😃.)

Each presentation should focus on your work on the business or developing the product outside of the classroom.

Use the presentation to showcase this work. If you follow the outline in the following templates this should come through:

  • Initial ‘Technology' Presentation Template - Before we break into the business, we need to understand the technology and context. No business model here. Check back with the Day 0 Guide for more on what is expected here.
  • Initial Lessons Learned Presentation Template - This is the first presentation that you will do to the 'full' network of coaches. You are introducing the technology, describing your discovery narrative to date, and conveying your initial hypothesis about the business model. You should focus on what you know to date, showcasing assumptions and describing the tests you are planning to conduct. Here is a rough example of the format: Berkley 180 Eats and here are some lessons learned presentation tips from Steve Blank: Presentation Day Skills

(This list will be expanded as additional templates are published)