Low-fidelity Prototype for Tech Entrepreneurship Class

1. GOVINNOVATE
Opportunity Analysis Project (OAP), Technology Entrepreneurship
I, Stanford University (June 16, 2013)
CreativeGOV team: Ruslan Bakhvala, Sanjay Basu, Keith Coleman, Jorge
Colon, Kishore Gaddam, Jill Melnicki & Craig Stevenson

2. GOVINNOVATE
An online platform to reinvigorate our cities by connecting
civic-minded social entrepreneurs
&
business-minded public servants.
Together, we are creating innovative solutions to today's greatest
community challenges.

4. CONCEPT & VISION
CreativeGOV is building a web-based platform/incubator that helps
state and local government changemakers leverage disruptive
innovation to achieve more with less. It also helps social
entrepreneurs explore and launch civic startups.
The product is GOVINNOVATE: a platform and incubator for civic
innovation.

5. CONCEPT & VISION
The platform is customizable for city and state governments, and
will help local government innovators mentor, test, and bring to
market local startup projects from the areas of public safety, health
and human services, sustainability, energy, and more.
Innovators can:
1) view existing projects
2) start a new project; and/or
3) join the local online community.

6. CONCEPT & VISION
How it works:
When starting a new project, participants test their business model
through a program similar to leanlaunchlab.com. During the
development process, GOVINNOVATE identifies local public servants
interested in the innovative solution and integrates them as
mentors, survey groups and/or advocates.
We expect this platform will be funded through grants
(federal, foundation, local), premium subscriptions, fellowships (for
the platform team and social entrepreneurs) and
fundraising/sponsorship for events.
MVP prototype: http://www.slideshare.net/Jmelnicki/govinnovate

7. VALUE PROPOSITIONS
Innovation: Facilitate innovation of solutions to improve quality of
city services
Community website: Facilitate collaboration between civic
stakeholders
Incubation: Incubate and test selected innovative solutions
Cross-pollination: Share tested and proven civic solutions

8. MARKET ANALYSIS
Our target customers work in the public sector (also known as the
government market). This sector is attractive because the
opportunities for the public sector to play an important role in the
economy’s future are huge. At US$500 billion annually, the U.S.
government, for example, is the world’s largest purchaser of goods
and services.
The public sector’s enormous buying power has the potential to
steer markets where they are a major buyer or deliverer toward
more disruptive approaches. From K-12 education to defense, from
transportation infrastructure, to health care, government is either a
dominant or the dominant buyer in the market.

9. MARKET ANALYSIS
Our target customers are segmented into the 715 U.S. local
municipalities that have a population greater than 50,000 [1]
Real GDP increased in 242 of the nation’s 366 metropolitan areas in 2011
led by growth in professional and business services, durable-goods
manufacturing, and trade, according to statistics released earlier this year
by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Real GDP in metropolitan areas
increased 1.6 percent in 2011 after increasing 3.1 percent in 2010. [2]
[1] As categorized by Census in the Annual Estimates of the Resident
Population for Incorporated Places Over 50,000
[2] US Department of Commerce: Bureau of Economic Analysis: Economic
Growth Continues Across Metropolitan Areas 2011

10. MARKET ANALYSIS
State and local government expenditures increased 4.0 percent in
2010, totaling more than $3.1 trillion. Education continued to be the largest single
expense ($860.0 billion) for 2010. [3]
“As U.S. job and housing markets stabilize and expand once again, population will
likely return to interior Sun Belt metropolitan areas and suburban communities
generally. However, the places that succeed in this new regime will probably not
mirror the winners at either the middle or the end of the turbulent 2000s.
Instead, metro areas with diversified, knowledge-based economies are likely to
attract and retain population over the long run.” [4]
[3] Census: State & Local Government Finance Summary Report - 2010
[4] Brookings Institution: Population Growth in Metro American since 1980:
Putting the Volatile 2000s into Perspective

11. CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT
At CreativeGOV, we reviewed our value propositions via qualitative
and quantitative survey research.
Value propositions were discussed via open-ended, in person
questions with LA- and DC-based
• government staff
• elected officials
• entrepreneurs
• community stakeholders
• technology creators,
• venture capitalist

12. CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT
Interviewees expressed significant interest in the
value propositions and admiration for the 'social
good' nature of the product.

13. CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT
• One government staff member was interested in model, yet expressed
subdued concern with potential for replacement (loss of job) via tech
implementation.
• Elected officials were highly interested in disruptive innovation platform
- recognizing that the interface could provide for a balance of
organization, management, and innovation. Particular focus on improving
efficiency while increasing civic engagement and creating jobs.
• A community stakeholder focused on value proposition with respect to
providing a voice to their own customer base and potential for
downstream benefits in workforce and economic development
applications.
• Technology creators expressed support for potential of having their
voices heard, improving governmental systems, potentially gaining access
to spin-off marketplace activities, and being part of a public-private
innovation collaborative.

14. CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT
Value propositions underwent additional testing via an online
survey, with open ended and closed ended questions. A link to the
survey was sent to more than fifty potential stakeholders and a
small percentage participated in the survey.
All respondents expressed some interest in the product (ranging
from moderately interested to extremely interested). Responses
toward the value propositions were mixed. The most favored value
proposition is Incubation: Incubate and test selected innovative
solutions.

15. CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT
What did respondents like most about the product?
• The program identifies mentors among the eventual "Buyers“
that the entrepreneurs will be pitching to for sales.
• Directly connects government intrapreneurs with social
entrepreneurs.
• Integrates lean startup principles in the development of non-
profit/social businesses .
• Idea maturation process.
• Startup support .
• Facilitating innovation in the public sector.
• The ability to test and develop the business model before it goes
to product development.

16. CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT
What did respondents dislike most about the product?
• There is no clear articulation of capital contributions that will be
necessary to move projects forward.
• There is value to the knowledge and relations gained by
entrepreneurs who "crack the code" of local, state, and federal
government interaction. Circumventing that process may put
social innovators at a disadvantage over the long term.
• Sparse info on revenue generation.
• Sparse info on government intrapreneur recruitment.
• There doesn't seem to be an evaluation process for participants
to enter the program. The barrier to entry is low.

17. CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT
We found the value propositions have a diverse customer base –
which presents an interesting challenge with respect to targeting
monetization format and strategy.
We also realize the need for more in depth understanding of
customer base to determine potential risk factors and incentives
when building and marketing the product.

18. COMPETITION AND POSITIONING
Absent any similar platforms, we researched the top innovation labs
in the world as potential competitors. We focused on those labs that
are in the USA, or are performing innovation work in the public
sector, as well as the social good.
There is no direct competitor for GOVINNOVATE as proposed.

19. COMPETITION AND POSITIONING
Below are some examples of potential collaborators or inspiration in
similar areas.
1. http://reospartners.com/ - global reach and involved social and
civic projects.
2. http://www.media.mit.edu/research/groups-projects - civic
media projects only
3. http://www.slowlab.net/ideas.html - NY-based and social focused
projects. Could be a great partner as they build local communities of
collaboration
4. http://www.desis-network.org/ - although based in Italy, this is an
association of design labs around the world (including USA) and
many of their projects are in the public sector.
5. http://www.sustainablefoodlab.org/ - not competitive but
collaborative potential

20. COMPETITION AND POSITIONING
6. http://dschool.stanford.edu/ - Biggest D school brand in the world.
7. http://socialinnovation.typepad.com/silk/ - this is the closest model we
have for our platform. A small lab in Kent, UK, that is focused innovation in
policy for Kent county.
8. http://www.theinsightlabs.org/about/ - Chicago-based and focused on
social good. They’re building new models not operational challenges.
9. http://www.forumforthefuture.org/contact-forum-us - mostly UK
focused but also in USA. Not focused on government, but sustainability
10. http://www.mind-lab.dk/en - MindLab is a cross-ministerial innovation
unit which involves citizens and businesses in creating new solutions for
society. Denmark based, but in English language ,and are interested in
global reach.
11. http://fec.ashoka.org/ - Ashoka is a market leader brand in social
entrepreneurship. Their “full economic citizenship” program seeks similar
types of social results that our platform proposes.

21. COMPETITION AND POSITIONING
We are also considering that the absence of similar and competitive
platforms can also be because this idea is either ahead of its
time, or the market is still too narrow a niche. With respect to the
latter, we must consider one potential reason is that while the
market of potential customers may be huge, the % of participants
can be excepted to be small – maybe even less than 10% of the total
market.

22. COMPETITION AND POSITIONING
• Another considerable challenge is that we GOVINNOVATE would
essentially be building a market.
• This would require a long period of culture and behavior change
until the market caught up, and the solution was more relevant.
• The danger is that other better funded and more powerful
competitors could then enter the market “just in time” with
alternative and improved solutions.

23. ASSESSMENT
Based on our initial value proposition testing and market
analysis, we believe this idea is a true opportunity.
We see value in a new framework for engagement, which
encourages action not talking.
Also, we see value in the involvement of civil servants (instead of
top down vetting), and crowd sourced civic innovation ideas.

24. ASSESSMENT
• When building out the product, we will continue to assess
customer concerns.
• We are also exploring the possibility of visioning exercises with
stakeholders to tap into latent interest by municipalities.
• These visioning exercises will provide a radical process to ‘bring all
voices to the table’, and opens up the dialogue on government and
policy to all stake holders.

25. ASSESSMENT
* We plan to consider how to integrate or marginalize special
interest groups .
•We will search for the nexus between and public and private
where the ultimate benefit is the public good.
• We realize that entrenched interests will sometimes push back.
We expect entrenchment and resistance , and we plan to identify
incentives to overcome both.
• It will be important to educate the government officials for sign
off, as well as develop strategies to tap into the political will.

26. GOVINNOVATE is changing the way the thousands of cities
around the US are addressing local challenges.
@govinnovate (pending)
www.facebook.com/govinnovate (pending)
contact@govinnovate.com (pending)
(202) 000-0000