Financial Risk Analysis
As a growing company, we are interested in understanding the state of the market we are in, and our organization’s level of risk. In this project, students will assess our company’s risk by building a financial risk model to determine our best course of action. Students will perform a sensitivity analysis to help us eliminate some of the uncertainties we face and determine the reliability of risk estimates. This may involve: Using mathematical and statistical tools to analyze private and public data. Evaluating metrics associated with the risk level of our company such as volatility, correlations for returns, forward/futures contracts, cash flows, variance, and economic states. Building a financial risk model including sensitivity analysis to determine the reliability of the model’s findings. Creating a report to present the results and recommendations from various forms of analysis to be presented to the project manager.
Investment Raising Plan
Our company is committed to serving our target market. To direct our future activities, we are in need of investor support. We would like to collaborate with students to develop a capital raising plan that meets our goals. This will involve several different steps for the students, including: Familiarizing themselves with our values, products and services. Defining goals for the investment raising plan. Conducting research on potential investors for our company. Creating investment materials such as presentations and templates for our financials and forecasts. Bonus steps in the process would also include: Recommending improvements or changes for future investment materials.
Strategic Prospecting Plan
Our company is looking to revamp our sales team by creating an outreach process. We are hoping to find students that are excited to build a plan with us that will create a simple step-by-step market plan for reaching our target audience. This will involve several different steps for the students, including: Identify key contacts Write and plan what our message is Create a guide to help us find new clients Bonus steps in the process would also include: Building a script for our sales team to use
Email Marketing Campaign
Our company advertises thousands of products online. We hope to revamp our email marketing to attract more customers. We would like to work with students to design a new email marketing campaign for our company. This will involve several different steps for the students, including: Familiarizing themselves with our company’s products, email marketing campaign goals and target market. Identifying types of emails and content that our company should send out such as welcome emails, newsletters, and re-engagement emails. Researching factors affecting the effectiveness of email marketing such as when emails are sent and making recommendations. Identifying metrics to monitor throughout the campaign. Bonus steps in the process would also include: Identifying ways to personalize emails for customers based on market segmentation.
Mobile App Development
Our company advertises thousands of products online. We use an app to connect with our customers. We would like to collaborate with students to implement some app updates. These updates will help us provide new features and fix bugs. This will involve several different steps for the students, including: Familiarizing themselves with our platform, products and services. Identifying updates that should be added to our app. Implementing and documenting changes. Recommending areas for future app improvement.
Mobile App UI / UX Design & Prototype
Our company would like to explore designing a prototype for a native mobile application version of our current web based product. We currently have a lot of traffic to our product via the web and we would like to start to attempt to capture some of that user activity via a mobile application. Tasks may include: Conducting background research on our existing web application for the product. Identifying key areas of our current product and how they might translate to a mobile application. Learning and using various software design tools. We strongly recommend students learn how to use Figma as this is the latest and greatest tool currently available. Creation of a screen by screen UX / UI prototype of a native mobile application which can be used on both iOS and Android Conducting UX / UI testing with real potential users potentially involving paper prototypes or other software tools to support this
Financial Business Plan
We are excited to be launching a new business, (name of business and brief description of what the company will do). With any launch, having a financial plan is one of the keys to success, and we would like to involve students in creating one for our new venture. This will involve several different steps for the students, including: Learning about our business strategy from various employees to become familiar with our goals, mission, and products. Creating forecasts using Excel (or another financial software) for sales in the first year of operation as well as an income projection (conservative and aggressive). Working with our team to develop an expense budget. Conducting a break-even analysis timeline using financial projections. Reporting on projected assets and liabilities. Including visual comparisons such as graphs and charts to show the differences between the conservative and aggressive income projection.
Wellness Program
Our organization is committed to serving our target population. We are looking for new, interactive experiences that enrich and assist members of this population. We would like to collaborate with students to implement a wellness program. Students will have access to key contacts in our organization for feedback on the program planning. This will involve several different steps for the students, including: Researching and applying information on wellness programs for the target population. Developing a specific wellness program (e.g. an arts program) suitable for a population with varying abilities. Assisting in planning activities that are inclusive of varying cognitive and physical abilities. Assisting in implementing the program over a period of time. Bonus steps in the process would also include: Recommending future wellness programs to implement.
Market Entry Consulting
This experience focuses on equipping learners with the skills to evaluate market opportunities and develop strategic plans for new ventures. Participants will learn to apply analytical frameworks and strategic thinking to real-world business challenges, particularly in the context of helping a Ugandan coffee producer, Carledorian Connection, enter the U.S. market. Learners will gain hands-on experience in creating value propositions, identifying market obstacles, and crafting actionable recommendations, all while honing their communication and problem-solving skills.
Creating Graphic Design Assets
Our company has had the same design assets for several years, and although we have enjoyed this branding, we are looking to revamp and update our brand book. This may involve: Creating a new branding guide that is new, but still aligned with our existing branding including fonts, colors, logo usage and imagery to be used. Meeting with the project manager to evaluate the choices made for the branding book to ensure it is aligned with company branding goals, and making any necessary revisions. Designing and presenting thumbnails for design assets (banner ad, illustration, infographic, etc) based on the branding guide to be included in a proposal and presented to the project manager. Executing the full designs for each branding asset using Canva, based on the approved thumbnails. Creating multiple thumbnails with different color schemes based on the colors in the branding guide.
Animated Video Creation for Runner's Club
Our company has been serving thousands of customers for decades. We want to explore new ways of sharing our products and services through social media. We would like to collaborate with students to create an animated video that explains our services. This video will be displayed on our website and shared by email. This will involve several different steps for the students, including: Familiarizing themselves with our company’s target market, brand guidelines, and products and services. Developing a storyboard and animating scenes for the video. Selecting suitable background music. Bonus steps in the process would also include: Combining visual and auditory elements to create a finalized video. Recommending ideas for future marketing videos.
Website Development for Runner's Club
Our company advertises thousands of products online. We hope to update and revamp our existing website to attract more customers. We would like to work with students to develop a new website that is easy to maintain while providing an appealing interface for users. This can be achieved through common site building tools such as Wix, Webflow, and WordPress. This will involve several different steps for the students, including: Researching different site-building tools and their associated advantages / disadvantages. Conducting a needs analysis to determine which platform is most suitable. Building a website, with our assistance in providing the content. Providing training on updating and maintaining the website. Bonus steps in the process would also include: Testing prototypes with customers and refining ideas with feedback.
Fashion Merchandising and Business Development for Runner's Club
The main goal for the project is to expand the presence of Runner's Club products in stores, establish business relationships with manufacturers, offer printing and advertising services to local businesses, and create designs for apparel collections. This will involve several different steps for the learners, including: - Researching and identifying potential stores for product placement - Contacting manufacturers to initiate business relationships - Emailing local businesses to offer printing and advertising services - Creating designs for apparel collections that align with the company's brand and mission
Runner's Club Grant Writing
Our organization is interested in addressing societal issues and supporting social causes. However, we are currently facing funding challenges. We would like to collaborate with students to find and complete grant applications. This will involve several different steps for the students, including: Familiarizing themselves with our vision statement and a project we have defined. Developing a needs statement that characterizes the community problem and justifies the need for our project and funding. Identifying potential sponsors and funding opportunities that are a good fit for our organization and project. Improving the clarity and persuasiveness of our company's grant proposal writing. Bonus steps in the process would also include: Identifying new opportunities for community projects.
Runner's Club Market Expansion Research
As a company, we currently exist in one market, but we believe we are ready to take our business to the next level and expand our scope of locations. With your help, we hope to assess our customer landscape beyond the demographics we currently cater to by learning about their expectations and behaviors. This will involve several different steps for the students, including: Researching the target market in potential new locations including demographic data such as spending power, proximity, accessibility, and location appeal, and creating a weighted decision matrix to assign importance to each factor. Creating a survey based on the location and demographic information above to be distributed by our company. Analyzing survey data using the weighted decision matrix to decide on the best location options for us to expand to. Compiling a report including the location analysis, and optimal location recommendations.