Startup hackathon

From idea to business strategy by following 3 phases: Ideation, research & market fit, and strategy.

Sessions
4
Steps
37
Last edited
Feb 9, 2026
Created by
Nova

About this process

A quick way to from idea to business strategy by following these 3 phases: Ideation, research & market fit, and strategy. This Hackathon can be done in 3 days or 1 week. Ideal for new startups and accelerators.

Sessions at a glance
#SessionSteps
012. PESTEL Analysis7023. Value Proposition9034. Golden circle4045. Business Canvas17

The process in detail

4 sessions Ā· 37 steps
01

2. PESTEL Analysis

7 steps

Market research session to evaluate the environment and the different forces that will affect your business or idea.

  1. 1

    Political factors affecting your organization.

  2. 2

    Economic factors affecting your organization.

  3. 3

    Social factors affecting your organization.

  4. 4

    Technological factors affecting your organization.

  5. 5

    Environmental factors affecting your organization.

  6. 6

    Legal factors affecting your organization.

  7. 7

    Key highlights

Read the full text
1. Political factors affecting your organization.

Evaluate and monitor the political factors affecting your organization. How and to what degree a government and the current policies intervene in the economy? Think about: government policy, political stability or instability in overseas markets, foreign trade policy, tax policy, labor law, environmental law, trade restrictions, etc You will need to be able to respond to the current legislation. You can also anticipate future legislation, and adjust your marketing policy accordingly to better take advantage of those policies.

Work on the whiteboardPESTEL
2. Economic factors affecting your organization.

Evaluate and monitor the economic factors affecting your organization. Evaluate economic factors that can have a significant impact on how an organization does business and also how profitable they are. Evaluate factors like economic growth, interest rates, exchange rates, inflation, disposable income of consumers, etc

Work on the whiteboardPESTEL
3. Social factors affecting your organization.

Evaluate and monitor the social factors affecting your organization. Factors that include shared beliefs and attitudes of the population.

Work on the whiteboardPESTEL
4. Technological factors affecting your organization.

Evaluate and monitor the technological factors affecting your organization.

Work on the whiteboardPESTEL
5. Environmental factors affecting your organization.

Evaluate and monitor the environmental factors affecting your organization. How is your company trying to be ethical and a sustainable company, reducing your carbon footprint targets set by governments and by other organizations?

Work on the whiteboardPESTEL
6. Legal factors affecting your organization.

Evaluate and monitor the legal factors affecting your organization. Evaluate health, safety, equal opportunities, advertising standards, consumer rights and laws, product labeling, product packaging and product safety.

Work on the whiteboardPESTEL
7. Key highlights

Use our highlight feature to to reveal key findings and important conclusions.

Write a note
PESTEL
  • This is a sticky note
  • This is a sticky note
  • conclusions & highlights
02

3. Value Proposition

9 steps

Develop your value proposition evaluating and finalizing all your findings. You will go over some of the persona characteristics and key findings from your environment but try to answer with a final and conclusive answer to better develop you value proposition.

  1. 1

    Get familiar with this tool

  2. 2

    Job-to-be-done.

  3. 3

    Pains.

  4. 4

    Gains.

  5. 5

    Unpacking your value proposition: Product and Service Features.

  6. 6

    Unpacking your value proposition: Gain creator and Pain relievers.

  7. 7

    Value proposition statement.

  8. 8

    šŸ¤“ Tips: Thinking About User Pains

  9. 9

    šŸ¤“ Tips: Key Questions.

Read the full text
1. Get familiar with this tool

The Value Proposition Canvas is the perfect tool for understanding how customers and users make decisions. This tool will help you create offers and sales pages that they will find appealing. You will be able to easily persuade them by directly connecting with their pain points.

2. Job-to-be-done.

These are simply the jobs your customer needs to perform each day.

Think about the functional, social, and emotional tasks customers are trying to perform, problems they are trying to solve, and needs they wish to satisfy.

Ask yourself - What social, emotional, cognitive, and functional jobs does your customer do on a daily basis? Why?

Work on the whiteboardValue Proposition
3. Pains.

Think about the negative experiences, feelings, and risks that the customer experiences while they are trying to get the job done.

ā€¢What is annoying (troubling) your customers?
ā€¢What negative emotions do they experience?

Types of User Pains

User pains can generally be categorized into a few broad types:

šŸ›ŒFunctional Pains: These relate to the specific tasks users are trying to accomplish or the functional problems they encounter with current solutions. Examples include inefficiencies, poor usability, or lack of functionality.

šŸ¤‘Financial Pains: These are concerned with the costs associated with using a solution, whether those costs are monetary, time-related, or resource-intensive. Users may feel that a product is too expensive, not worth the cost, or that it requires too much investment for the return it provides.

šŸ’ā€ā™€ā€šŸ™‹šŸ§‘ā€šŸ’¼Social Pains: These involve the way a product or service affects a userā€™s social interactions or standing. For example, users might worry about how using a product will be perceived by others, or they might feel a product doesnā€™t fit their identity.

ā¤ļøEmotional Pains: These are related to users' feelings about their interactions with a product or service. This can include frustrations with customer service, the stress of complex interfaces, or anxiety about reliability.

šŸ¤«Process Pains: These pains occur when existing solutions complicate processes or workflows. Users might be frustrated by solutions that integrate poorly with other tools, have steep learning curves, or require cumbersome steps to achieve results.

4. Gains.

What benefits would the customer expect? What would they need? What would delight customers? What things may increase the likelihood of adopting a value proposition? What would make your customer happy?

5. Unpacking your value proposition: Product and Service Features.

Having explored our customer's motivations, pains, and gains - we can start describing our Product and Service Features. Start with the product and service section. Product and Service Features:** The products and services which create gain and relieve pain, and creates value for the customer. Here is where youā€™re literally selling ā€“ like when mattress companies talk about their materials and extended warranties.

6. Unpacking your value proposition: Gain creator and Pain relievers.

Why do these features mean anything? Why are those features important?

ā€¢Pain Relievers: Remove current frustration and an exact description of how the product or service alleviates customer pains.
ā€¢Gain Creators: Offer them something new (added value). For example: "Comfortable, socially conscious, I get additional resources for free, etc"

What value do we deliver to the customer/user?

7. Value proposition statement.

Write your value proposition statement. This can be added anytwhere in the whiteboard or inside the conclusions section.

Value proposition statement template:

ā€¢Our [šŸ›µproduct/service] helps [šŸ™‚user type/target segment] who wants to [job to be done] by [verb (like reducing, avoiding)] and [customer pain] and [verb (increasing/enabling) [customer gain] unlike [...]
ā€¢We help [šŸ™‚target segment] to solve [defined problem/pain]. Unlike other solutions we [differentiation]
ā€¢We help [šŸ™‚target segment] who [opportunity] our [šŸ›µproduct or service] is [product category] that [statement of benefit]. Unlike other solutions we [differentiation]
ā€¢Our [šŸ›µproduct/service] helps [šŸ™‚customer type/target segment] who experience [problem] to reduce [problem/pain] and increase [benefit] through [solution] for a [type of transition]

Type of value:

ā€¢Functional - Save time/money/effort
ā€¢Personal - Feel better/ Feel safe
ā€¢Social - Look good/professional
ā€¢Entertainment - Smile/Amaze/Fun
8. šŸ¤“ Tips: Thinking About User Pains

To effectively address user pains, consider the following steps:

ā€¢Empathize with Your Users: Start with qualitative research such as interviews, focus groups, and ethnographic studies. Spend time understanding who your users are, what their days look like, and where their points of friction lie. Persona development and empathy mapping are useful tools in this phase.
ā€¢Identify and Validate Pains: Through your research, compile a list of potential user pains. Validate these pains by observing users in their environment or by asking targeted questions that let you measure the frequency and intensity of these pains. Surveys and A/B testing can also provide data on how widespread and critical these pains are.
ā€¢Prioritize Pains: Not all user pains are equally important. Prioritize them based on their impact on the userā€™s experience and the frequency with which they occur. Focus on pains that, when solved, will provide the most value and satisfaction to your users.
ā€¢Develop Pain Relievers: For each significant pain point, brainstorm potential solutions. These solutions should directly address the pain in a way that is noticeable and meaningful to the user. This stage often involves creative problem-solving to find novel or improved ways to alleviate these pains.
ā€¢Test and Iterate: Once you have potential solutions, prototype them and test them with users. Monitor how effectively these solutions relieve pain and refine them based on feedback. This iterative process helps hone your offering to better meet user needs.
ā€¢Align with Your Overall Value Proposition: Ensure that your pain relievers are aligned with your overall value proposition. They should not only alleviate pain but also enhance the core benefits and unique selling points of your product or service.
9. šŸ¤“ Tips: Key Questions.

Who are our customers really?

ā€¢Have we fully understood the demographic and psychographic profiles of our target market?
ā€¢Are there underserved customer segments that we haven't considered yet?

What do our customers truly value?

ā€¢What are the non-obvious desires and needs of our customers?
ā€¢How might these needs evolve in the future?

What jobs are our customers trying to get done?

ā€¢Are there jobs our customers are struggling with that no current offerings address?
ā€¢Can we identify any jobs-to-be-done that are emerging due to changes in technology, society, or regulations?

What pains are our customers experiencing?

ā€¢Which customer pains are most intense and therefore most impactful to address?
ā€¢Are there pains that customers have resigned themselves to that we might eliminate?

What gains are our customers seeking?

ā€¢What are the ultimate benefits our customers hope to gain from completing their jobs?
ā€¢Are there gains that our customers have not yet imagined that we can provide?

How are current solutions underperforming for our customers?

ā€¢Where do existing products or services fall short in satisfying customer needs?
ā€¢What are the most frequent complaints or frustrations with current market offerings?

How can we eliminate or reduce customer pains in ways that others canā€™t?

ā€¢What innovative approaches can we employ to address these pains?
ā€¢Can technology, unique partnerships, or new business models offer new pain relievers?

How can we create gains that are superior to the competition?

ā€¢What can we offer that would delight customers, possibly creating a wow factor?
ā€¢How can we exceed customer expectations in a manner that is difficult for competitors to replicate?

Whatā€™s the minimum viable product (MVP) that would test our new value proposition?

ā€¢What features must this MVP have to adequately relieve pain and create gain?
ā€¢How can we use the MVP to learn the most about customer preferences with the least effort?

How does our value proposition fit within the broader trends in the industry?

ā€¢Are there macroeconomic, social, or technological trends that support or threaten our value proposition?
ā€¢How might we leverage these trends to enhance our offering?

What assumptions are we making about our customers and market?

ā€¢Which assumptions are the riskiest, and how can we test them quickly and cheaply?
ā€¢How can we incorporate continuous customer feedback to challenge and refine these assumptions?

How scalable is our value proposition?

ā€¢If our solution succeeds, how easily can it be scaled regionally, nationally, or globally?
ā€¢What barriers to scaling might we encounter, and how can we mitigate them early on?

šŸ”„These questions are designed to push your thinking and help you uncover new ways to add value for your customers. By exploring these areas thoroughly, you can craft a value proposition that not only meets the current market needs but also anticipates and shapes future demands.

Value Proposition
  • Value proposition canvas
  • The Value Proposition Board is the perfect tool to understand the customer. This tool was developed by Alex Osterwalder, and is one of the best tools available to help you in this regard.
  • This is a sticky note!
03

4. Golden circle

4 steps
  1. 1

    Watch this video.

  2. 2

    Why?

  3. 3

    How?

  4. 4

    What do you do?

Read the full text
1. Watch this video.

This tool was created by Simon Sinek. Watch this video or read his book "Start with why".

2. Why?

Why do you do what you do? What is the purpose of your solution or organization?

Work on the whiteboardGolden circle
3. How?

How do you do what you do? (Explain your process)

4. What do you do?

What is the result of your actions?

Golden circle
  • This is a sticky-note!
  • This is a sticky-note!
  • This is a sticky-note!
  • What?
  • How?
  • Why?
04

5. Business Canvas

17 steps
  1. 1

    Your business

  2. 2

    Your customer (Optional)

  3. 3

    Customer relationship

  4. 4

    Value proposition

  5. 5

    Key activities

  6. 6

    Key partners

  7. 7

    Distribution channels

  8. 8

    Key Resources (Optional)

  9. 9

    Cost structure

  10. 10

    Revenue stream

  11. 11

    Different revenue streams (Optional)

  12. 12

    Most expensive cost (Optional)

  13. 13

    What is affecting your company's revenue? (Optional)

  14. 14

    Cost structure barriers (Optional)

  15. 15

    Price (Optional)

  16. 16

    Strategy (Optional)

  17. 17

    Summary notes and final ideas (Optional)

Read the full text
1. Your business

Describe the business in basic terms. What do you do?

Write a note
2. Your customer (Optional)

Add concluding remarks here on who your customer is.

Feel free to ask yourself:

ā€¢Who is your customer? (age, sex, industry, geography, ethnicity, social status etc)
ā€¢How big is the market? Do you have different segments?
ā€¢Who is your most important customer? Why are they your ideal customers?
Write a note
3. Customer relationship

Add concluding remarks here on the customer relationship.

Feel free to ask yourself:

ā€¢What's your relationship with your customers?
ā€¢What do they expect?
Write a note
4. Value proposition

Add concluding remarks here on value proposition.Feel free to ask yourself:

ā€¢What core value do you deliver?
ā€¢Which needs are you satisfying?
ā€¢Why do they need you and when?

Value proposition statement template:

Our [šŸ›µproduct/service] helps [šŸ™‚user type/target segment] who wants to [job to be done] by [verb (like reducing, avoiding)] and [customer pain] and [verb (increasing/enabling) [customer gain] unlike [...]

Type of value:

ā€¢Functional - Save time/money/effort
ā€¢Personal - Feel better/ Feel safe
ā€¢Social - Look good/professional
ā€¢Entertainment - Smile/Amaze/Fun
Write a note
5. Key activities

Add concluding remarks here on key activities.

Feel free to ask yourself:

ā€¢What activities does your value proposition require?
ā€¢What activities are important to your customers, your partners, and your distribution channels?
Write a note
6. Key partners

Add concluding remarks here from on key partners.

Feel free to ask yourself:

ā€¢Who are your key partners, suppliers, and collaborators? Why are they key?
ā€¢What are the drivers and motivations to work with you?
ā€¢How can you improve their motivation or your services to improve your relationship with your partners?
Write a note
7. Distribution channels

Add concluding remarks here on distribution channels.

Feel free to ask yourself:

ā€¢How do you reach your customers?
ā€¢How do they want to be reached?
ā€¢Which channels are more effective? What's the cost? How easy is it to use these channels?
Write a note
9. Cost structure

Add concluding remarks here on cost structure.

Write a note
10. Revenue stream

Add concluding remarks here on the revenue stream. Feel free to answer the following: What and how is your customer paying you? What kind of pricing structure do you have? (fixed, based on segments, promotional, subscription, etc) Other considerations: Add a note here on margins for your business to provide context for pricing and cost structures. What's your margin? Is it a fixed margin? Are you keeping in mind shipping and returns? What can compromise your margins?

Write a note
11. Different revenue streams (Optional)

Do you have different revenue streams? How much does every revenue stream contribute to the overall revenue?

Write a note
12. Most expensive cost (Optional)

Discuss and identify here which item is the most expensive and add any details relating to variability.

Feel free to ask yourself:

ā€¢Which key resources or activities are the most expensive? Can you reduce that cost? If not, why not?
Write a note
13. What is affecting your company's revenue? (Optional)

Discuss potential affects on the businesses revenue with respect to revenue streams identified in the business model board.

Write a note
14. Cost structure barriers (Optional)

Have the team identify any barriers they expect to encounter or have encountered already relating to cost structure. What barriers have you encountered or do you think you will encounter if your don't optimize your cost structure?

Write a note
15. Price (Optional)

Add notes on what you believe the customer is willing to pay. What are your customers willing to pay? What's the ideal price? What's your price?

Write a note
16. Strategy (Optional)

Team members should add their thoughts on strategy for the business as per discussions in this tool. Feel free to discuss the strategies submitted as a team and choose a favorite by highlighting that note. Feel free to answer the following: Based on your knowledge now, what would be the best strategy for your business/idea? How are you planning to increase your revenue or increase margins?

Write a note
17. Summary notes and final ideas (Optional)

Summarize most important takeaway during this process and provide any final notes. Make sure you highlight final notes!

Write a note
Business Model
  • BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS
  • OPTIONAL STEPS Discuss steps 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 and add your conclusions here.
  • Describe your business in basic terms. What do you do?
  • Who are the customers? What do they think? See? Feel? Do?
  • Whatā€™s compelling about the proposition? Why do customers buy / use?
  • Who are the companies most valuable partners? What activities should it leave to partners rather than performing itself?
  • What unique strategic assets must the business have to compete?
  • Who is your customer? What's your market size?
  • Use sticky notes like this one! Change the colour or use our transparent notes.
  • Which of the Problems or Needs that you identified in your Personas/Market analysis are you fulfilling? What is unique about your Value Propositions and why does your customer prefer your solution to their current alternatives?
  • Start typing...
  • Start typing...
  • What job are you doing for the customer? What need are you fulfilling?
  • How are these propositions promoted, sold and delivered? Why? Is it working?
  • How do you interact with the customer through their ā€˜journeyā€™?
  • What uniquely strategic things does the business do to deliver its proposition?
  • What entities do you use to promote and show your product/solution? Website, Telemarketing, Social media, etc
  • Start typing...
  • What are the businessā€™ major cost drivers? How are they linked to revenue?
  • How does the business earn revenue from the value propositions?
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Created byNovaĀ·Official process
Last edited Feb 9, 2026Ā·4 sessions Ā· 37 steps