Mon Sept 14

1. Quote of the Day: Discuss

“There’s no shortage of remarkable ideas, what’s missing is the will to execute them.” – Seth Godin

Writer and former dotcom businessman, Godin is saying that talk is cheap, but in a nicer way. Yes, ideas are a dime a dozen, but the real meat on those bones comes from trying to realize them. It is only then that the problems show up and the real work of resolving them starts.

2. We have spent some time looking at innovative products on Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Here is a video with a few new inventions that might catch your interest. Before watching the video, take some time to record down the new products from the list here. In your notebooks, jot down a brief description of each item and define the problem it is solving. Do you think the product has a chance to do well, explain why or why not. Be prepared to discuss with the group after you have spent some time completing the answers to these questions. ( 45 min)

Products:

View Glasses

Go Touch Beam

Rotrics

Trio

Smart Writing System

Mint Compact Printer

Propoint mouse

If this link does not work, go directly to You Tube and type in: Amazing Gadgets for students you should buy. ( Video by Techzone: Copyright may not allow me to link the video here.)

Allow students time to discuss and then go through each product and ask one of the groups to answer the questions for each of the products.

BREAK 10 min

3. We discussed product lifecycle last week. The following chart should be a recap. Remember there is one other phase after maturity called, resurgence or revival. We discussed that the record player was one of the products that bounced back after it declined. 

PARTNER CHALLENGE: In partners, do some research as a consumer on the best record player for the price currently on the market. Consider all factors: Style, effectiveness, size, portability, function, brand and price. If buying an American product, make sure you convert to Canadian dollars. Do not consult with any other groups. Be prepared to present your chosen product to the class on Tuesday via a powerpoint presentation and include a photo of your product. Probably a 3-4 slide powerpoint will be all you need discussing the reasons why you have chosen the product that you did.

If time(video is 20 min): Show the video on Bobby Hundreds and have students list 5 qualities he has that make him good entrepreneur. And list 2-3 reasons why his brand may not be as popular today as it once was.