Use arrow keys to navigate | Press ESC for overview
 ____  _   _ ____    _____  ___   ___
| __ )| | | / ___|  |___ / / _ \ / _ \
|  _ \| | | \___ \    |_ \| (_) | (_) |
| |_) | |_| |___) |  ___) |\__, |\__, |
|____/ \___/|____/  |____/   /_/   /_/

~/venture-zone

Entrepreneurship Capstone

Wed Jan 14, 2026 | Week 1, Day 2

$ ./start-session.sh

$ ls ./todays-agenda/

agenda.sh
drwxr-xr-x 01_your_music_and_people/
drwxr-xr-x 02_opportunity_identification/
drwxr-xr-x 03_team_formation/
drwxr-xr-x 04_gift_giving_exercise/
-rw-r--r-- README.md
$ ls -la

$ discuss "Your Music & People"

Sections 1-3: INTRO, CREATIVE, CONSIDERATE

Discussion prompts:

  • What surprised you?
  • What do you disagree with?
  • What can you apply TODAY?

Share your:

  • 5 marked passages
  • 1 idea to test

Key themes: Generosity | Relationships | Being useful

$ ./discuss --book="YMP"

$ cat YMP-quotes/creative-considerate.md

CREATIVE:

"Don't be so plain or obvious that there's nothing left to wonder. But don't be so cryptic that they give up. Use obscure references...Produce unusual sounds...Give just enough to make them curious."

CONSIDERATE:

"Marketing means getting to know people, making a deeper connection, and keeping in touch. All of these are just considerate—looking at things from the other person's point of view."

"Before you begin marketing, get off the stage. Pause your habit of broadcasting. Turn the spotlight on your audience. And get ready to listen."

— Derek Sivers, Your Music and People

$ ./quote --section="creative"

$ cat YMP-quotes/people.md

"There's always a favor you can do. Give give give, and sometimes you will receive."

"Get presents for the people you've met that are probably under-appreciated. Don't waste gifts on the high-power people. They already receive too many."

"Pedestals prevent friendships. People send business to people they like."

— Derek Sivers, Your Music and People

$ ./quote --section="people"

$ cat YMP-quotes/industry-resourceful.md

INDUSTRY:

"While they were pasting up flyers to promote their next gig, I just put that same amount of energy into finding a great team: a manager, agent, publicist, and label."

— Moby

"You have to make your own success first, before you ask the industry for help. Show that you're going to be successful without their help. Show that you have momentum."

RESOURCEFUL:

"You can't act on a vague desire...Once they turn a vague goal into a list of specific steps, it's easy to take action."

— Derek Sivers, Your Music and People

$ ./quote --section="industry"

$ cat opportunity_identification.md

What is Opportunity Identification?

The process of recognizing unmet needs or problems worth solving in the world around you.

Key questions to ask:

  • What frustrates people?
  • What takes too long or costs too much?
  • What do people work around or hack together?
  • What's changing in the world that creates new needs?
$ ./identify --problems

$ ./problem-inventory.sh

Your Task: Build a Problem Inventory

Take 10 minutes. Write down every problem you can think of:

// Personal problems

  • What annoys YOU daily?
  • What do you wish existed?
  • What's broken in your routine?

// Observed problems

  • What do others complain about?
  • What industries seem stuck?
  • What's inefficient around campus?

Quantity over quality right now. We'll filter later.

$ ./brainstorm --no-filter

$ ./form-teams.sh

Team Formation: Finding Your Co-Founders

You'll work in teams of 2-3 for the entire term.

How we'll do this:

  1. Share your top 2-3 problems with the class
  2. Find others who are excited about similar problems
  3. Form teams around shared interests
  4. You don't need the same skills—diverse teams win

Pro tip: Pick teammates you can disagree with productively.

$ git checkout -b team-formation

$ cat gift_giving_exercise.md

The Gift-Giving Exercise

Design and deliver a small "gift" to someone in your problem space.

What counts as a gift?

  • Time - helping someone with a task
  • Attention - really listening to their problems
  • Introduction - connecting them with someone useful
  • Prototype - a rough solution to try
  • Physical item - $0-$10 max

// The goal: Learn how access, trust, and reciprocity change discovery.

Due Friday: Gift Plan + recipient rationale in Venture Log #1

$ ./give --with-intention

$ cat TODO.md

Due Friday, Jan 16:

deliverables.sh
[ ] Venture Log #1
    └── Include: Gift Plan + recipient rationale

[ ] Read YM&P sections 4-5
    └── PEOPLE, INDUSTRY (for next Wednesday)

Next class: Discovery methods - interviewing practice, observation planning

$ ./remind --important

$ ./questions.sh

  ___                  _   _                 ___
 / _ \ _   _  ___  ___| |_(_) ___  _ __  ___|__ \
| | | | | | |/ _ \/ __| __| |/ _ \| '_ \/ __|/ /
| |_| | |_| |  __/\__ \ |_| | (_) | | | \__ \_|
 \__\_\\__,_|\___||___/\__|_|\___/|_| |_|___(_)

What questions do you have?

$ echo "Ask away..."

$ ./start-working.sh

  _        _   _          _           _ _     _ _
 | |   ___| |_( )___   __| |___   ___| |_| | | | |
 | |  / _ \ __|// __| / _` / _ \ / __| __| | | | |
 | |_|  __/ |_  \__ \| (_| \___/ \__ \ |_| |_| |_|
 |____\___|\__| |___/ \__,_\___/ |___/\__(_) (_) (_)

Your mission:

1. Share your problems → 2. Find your team → 3. Plan your gift

Let's build something.

$ exit 0