Resources
Market research and the business model
Before building an offer, you check that the problem exists and that someone is willing to pay to solve it. Around twenty customer interviews deliver that answer faster and more reliably than a thirty-page plan.
Interview the problem, not the solution
A useful interview covers what the person did the last time they met the problem: what they tried, how long it took, what it cost them. Those past facts are verifiable, where a stated purchase intention says little. Twenty interviews run this way surface the same account three or four times: that convergence is what authorises building, and it already indicates an acceptable price.
- Interviews about past facts, never about intentions
- A problem stated in the interviewees' own words
- The current solution identified, with its cost to the user
- A market size estimated through explicit reasoning
- Unit economics computed: margin per customer, cost to acquire them
The entrepreneurial track, block by block
From idea to fundable project, in six blocks. The last is defended before a panel including funders, and carries either an actual launch or a file ready to present.
| Teaching block | Year | Hours | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| From idea to problem | 1 | 120 h | 12 |
| Business model | 1 | 120 h | 12 |
| Prototype and first offer | 1 | 100 h | 10 |
| Financial management of the launch | 1 | 80 h | 8 |
| OHADA legal framework and incorporation | 2 | 80 h | 8 |
| Entrepreneurial project | 2 | 100 h | 10 |
The business model in four decisions
What you sell
A product, a service, a subscription, a commission: the nature of the offer decides the cash pattern.
At what price
Price follows from perceived value and is checked against break-even. Both are computed.
At what production cost
The cost structure separates fixed from variable. That separation drives every volume decision.
With what acquisition
The cost to win a customer is compared with the margin they bring. That ratio decides viability.
Questions from founders
How many interviews should I run?
Enough to hear the same account recur: around twenty in most cases. The signal you seek is the repetition of the same sequence of facts, not a count of positive answers.
Does the track suit an already-launched project?
Yes: the final block accepts an actual launch as readily as a fundable file, and the business model and financial management blocks apply directly to a running activity. The track runs over 18 months, self-paced.
How do I estimate a market size?
Through explicit, checkable reasoning rather than a figure borrowed elsewhere: number of organisations concerned, share genuinely reachable, purchase frequency, observed average basket. Every term of the calculation is open to discussion, which makes the estimate defensible.
Explore next
- Framing a projectNeeds analysis, framing note, scope, stakeholder mapping, success criteria and initial budget: framing a project.
- Multi-site projectsShort rituals, written decisions, shared progress, risk management and supplier steering: running a project across several sites.
- Structured hiringJob description, sourcing, structured interview, evaluation grid, reasoned decision and onboarding: running a hire end to end.
- Payroll and personnelEmployee files, statutory registers, variable items, contributions, returns and payroll checking: personnel administration in practice.
- Supporting a pupilA method for supporting schoolwork: spotting a subject's characteristic block, prompting restatement, checking differently, and installing a short, regular rhythm.
- The credit systemHow the credit system works: 1 credit = 25 hours of work, 10 of them taught. Worked examples from the IHETC catalogue, block by block.