BUSINESS

MS Regional Chamber of Commerce Inspires

Companies to Use Circular Processes

‘Circular economy’ is a term that has become increasingly common lately, a trend that is likely

to continue. Although we hear this phrase often, many of us are unsure exactly what it means.

The end of August marked the beginning of another event organized by the StartUp MSK

association, Design Sprint. The three day workshop involved teams of participants presenting their

innovative business projects, cooperating and receiving valuable feedback.

The participants prepared 5 separate projects

spanning different fields of business. These projects

included the aquaponie project, accounting in

the 21st century, innovative jump rope training, and

two service shops and applications- one for athletes

and the other for event organizers.

The first day consisted of participants defining their

business goals and the questions they would need to

answer throughout the Design Sprint workshop. It was

one of the toughest days for the participants. They

spent the entire afternoon explaining and defending

their intentions in front of a jury of experienced

entrepreneurs

that

asked

critical

questions

and dissected the business plans from multiple

perspectives. On the second day, participants came up

with possible solutions for their products and services

and decided on a single one to turn into a prototype.

Throughout the third and final day, the participants

created a prototype of their product with the purpose

of testing the effectiveness of their plan and gathering

feedback from real customers. Participants had to

conduct a test interview, which would allow them to

garner feedback on the impression of their product

and its business model given from the customer. This

evaluation gives the participant experience upon

which they can reflect on when designing a product or

a business model in the future.

Three days filled with intensive and creative work are

now behind us. However, it was also only a taste of

what business and innovation really entails. The design

process requires a lot more dedicated work and

customer testing for a product to be fully fleshed out.

I believe that we have prepared the participants of

the Design Sprint well for this.

Text:

Miroslav Marek,

CEO Start Up

MSK, z.s.

POSITIV 3/2022 ǀ 35