Project and Production Manager
DA CAPO INSTRUMENTS
STARTUP CONCEPT TACKLING THE INACCESSIBILITY OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
PROJECT TYPE
Early startup business model innovation
DURATION
10 Weeks | Fall 2021
DELIVERABLES
94 page “Da Capo Instruments” Leave Behind Deck
60 slide “Da Capo Instruments” Final Pitch Deck
1:57 minute “Da Capo Instruments” Startup Story Video
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COMPONENTS
Customer development, environment scanning, product-market fit, business model design and iteration, minimum viable product and concept validation, Agile project development, resource assessment
THE PROJECT
Da Capo Instruments is a startup business concept that revolves around musical instrument renting. The business concept is designed to maximize access to musical instrument selection for beginner musicians by incorporating an instrument request system built upon Da Capo Instruments’s scalable network of locations. To put it simply, the business aims to place instruments in the hands of musicians.
THE GOAL
The initial goal for this project was to experience the entrepreneurial startup process by identifying and filling a target market need through the proposal of a viable business startup.
THE PROCESS
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Problem Identification and Understanding
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During the early phase of the project timeline, I realized that I had expressed interest in numerous musical instruments, yet I never had a possible path to temporarily try out these instruments. From this observation and others’s similar experiences, I deduced a hypothesis that this particular issue was a pain point within the student and hobbyist musician community.
Customer Development Interviewee Quotes:
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"It's about knowing
people, really"
"Obtaining the instrument is one thing in itself"
Gaining Insight
To test my hypothesis, I interviewed a variety of current and former student and hobbyist musicians and discovered that musicians often played the instruments they had access to and not necessarily the instruments they wanted to play. From this insight, Da Capo Instruments began to take shape. The idea was a business that combined the conventional instrument rental location with a request system that allows for instruments to be transferred between a network of applicable locations.
Testing the Solution
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I created a minimum viable product prototype of the instrument request system and once again reached out to the potential target market to gather critiques on the system and its presentation. I also pitched the business idea more than once throughout the project’s development to explore ways to improve the concept.
INCREASED HOBBYISM
ENVIRONMENTALLY
CONSCIOUS
SHIFT TO
ONLINE
FINANCIALLY
CONSCIOUS
Developing the Brand Strategy
Along with shaping the business, I also conducted several strategic analyses to understand the current and future industry environment and trends. These analyses served to reveal Da Capo Instrument’s unique competitive advantage and position within the market.
ACADEMICS
DRIVEN
Developing the Visual Identity
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Over time, Da Capo Instrument’s identity as a potential brand was refined. Developments included the brand’s visual identity, mission, vision, and values, business model, steps for launch, expansion, and resource needs. These key developments helped to propel the project from business idea, to a potential and viable, entrepreneurial startup.
THE TAKEAWAYS
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Perspective is Key
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I discovered that outside viewpoints are critical to a successful project. Interestingly, some of the most beneficial feedback often occurred from individuals who had no prior knowledge of the project that was being developed.
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Ideas From an Idea
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I found that by exploring the potential of a business concept, several more ideas and hypotheses were generated.
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Strength in Numbers
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By involving a large number of outside perspectives during project development, I was able to experience how a single concept can form from the melding of several ideas from various perspectives.
CLASS
Entrepreneurship
TOOLS
Google Slides
Google Docs
Google Forms
Google Sheets
Figma
Adobe Premiere