The Idea Lab encourages student social entrepreneurs to turn their great ideas into reality through business development activities. Our mission is to create a cluster of social entrepreneurs at Carnegie Mellon by providing a forum for graduate students to bring their concept-level ideas for a social venture to the next level.
The Idea Lab student-facilitators will guide entrepreneurs through the business development pipeline with practical tools and exercises that will help entrepreneurs to:
· Conduct market research and design feasibility studies to assess the viability of business ideas.
· Create a business model that has measurable impact on communities in need.
· Develop strategic frameworks, business plans, and gain critical feedback on your social ventures.
· Build your network of resources at Carnegie Mellon and beyond.
Graduate students from all Carnegie Mellon schools can apply to The Idea Lab to develop a business idea – or apply to become a member of an entrepreneurial team. The program runs for a full semester.
For a 2011-12 application, contact: idealabcmu@gmail.com
Follow on Twitter: @idealabcmu
Workshops are conducted bi-monthly on different aspects of building a business, including how to conduct market research, how to develop a leadership team, or how to construct a supply chain model. Individual meetings continue throughout the month with short, bi-weekly checkpoints that enable teams to share their successes, challenges and concerns.