LCF Grad Futures: Startup Bootcamp

Join our four-part virtual Startup Bootcamp, designed to help you turn ideas into opportunities. Whether you're exploring a new concept, developing an early-stage venture, or looking to build confidence in your next steps, this series will provide practical tools, frameworks and guidance to support your project.

Over four interactive sessions, we'll explore how to refine your idea, understand your customers, define your value proposition, build a business model and create a clear plan for launch. Each webinar builds on the previous one, so we encourage you to attend the full series to gain maximum benefit.

Session 1: From Idea to Opportunity – Ideation and Design Thinking

Monday 12October | 1:00pm–2:00pm

Learn how to generate, refine and test ideas using practical innovation and design-thinking frameworks. We'll explore how to identify meaningful problems, develop user-centred solutions and assess the potential of your concept.

Session 2: Understanding Your Consumer and Crafting Your Value Proposition

Tuesday 13October | 1:00pm–2:00pm

Who is your customer, and why should they choose your product or service? In this session, we'll explore customer discovery, market research and value proposition design to help you position your idea effectively and communicate its unique value.

Session 3: Your Business Model and Go-to-Market Strategy

Wednesday 14October | 1:00pm–2:00pm

It's time to put your idea into action. Using the Business Model Canvas, you'll map out your venture, identify key assumptions, develop your Minimum Viable Product (MVP), and begin planning how to reach your first customers.

Session 4: Building an Implementation Plan

Thursday 15October | 1:00pm–2:00pm

In our final session, we'll focus on turning plans into action. We'll cover the practical steps needed to move forward, including refining your offer, testing pricing, planning operations and creating a realistic roadmap for launch and growth.

Key takeaways:

• Tools to evaluate and refine your business idea

• Greater understanding of your target customer and market

• A clear value proposition for your venture

• Practical experience using the Business Model Canvas

• Insights into launching and growing a new business

• An actionable plan for taking your next steps

Who is this for?

This bootcamp is open to LCF students, recent graduates and aspiring founders who are exploring a business idea or developing an early-stage venture.

Important information

You need to sign up for each date at once.

If you're unable to attend every session, don't worry, we'll share the recordings, resources and information about ongoing support available through the Enterprise team.

Speaker

• Mirela Barbosa, Graduate Futures Enterprise consultant: Mirela Barbosa is a certified coach and consultant with over 20 years’ experience in the fashion and beauty industries. Her work combines research, strategy, and cultural aspects to help develop meaningful brands. She is also the founder of Project M, an emotional branding consultancy aimed at startups and mid-sized companies, launched after completing her MA in Fashion Entrepreneurship and Innovation at LCF.

Useful resources

In this webinar, you will develop the key skills of proactivity, enterprise, curiosity, and self-efficacy as defined by the UAL Creative Attributes Framework (My_CAF). Before attending this activity, we suggest you:

• Check out our Startup Bootcamp Padlet

Image credit: LCF Hack 2023. Photography by © Graduate Futures