Additional Discovery Stage Content Library

mHUB Additional Curriculum: Discovery Stage

Di-sco-ver-y: The act or process of gaining knowledge for the first time.

Business Track

Technical Track

This discussion covers the need-to-knows of entering into a contracting agreement from the perspective of a company looking for paid assistance and a contractor wanting to pick up work. This class covers the necessary paperwork and sample legal agreements, process to hire, and creating a work plan/payment schedule.

Focus Group Testing

Learn the Ins and Outs of Focus Groups: Join Emergo by UL's Human Factors R&D team for an enlightening workshop on the why and how of conducting focus groups. Learn how to obtain valuable insights from target customers no matter what your stage of product design and development.

Cold Calling 101

The sales process is crucial to start-up's growth, whether your company is big or small. Cold Calling can have an immediate impact on your bottom line, but most people don't where to begin. Led by Maureen Wozniak of the BBB, this class will cover the basics of cold calling including: how to get to the decision maker, how to close more business, and what to consider when giving pricing.

Resources: Constructing the Pitch

Design for Product Launch Success

Join Jim Shaw for an introductory class on the processes and technologies needed to successfully launch a product into production. Important Mass Manufacturing and Production-related topics include: Developing an effective Supply Chain, Engineering Documentation, Cost-Based Decision Making, and Assembly. Additionally, this class will give you an introductory understanding of several popular manufacturing processes: CNC Machining, Casting, Forging, Sheet Metal Forming/Stamping, and more!

Grant Writing

Grant writing can be difficult to tackle with little prior experience, so expert consultant Michelle Sherbun is teaching this new workshop to give key insight on what makes a grant application successful. This highly interactive workshop will help you to develop your grant narrative and help you extend this narrative into your case for support so that your story can lead to funding and ensure the success of your business.

Introduction to Project Management

The first in the "mHUB Hardware Product Development Fundamentals" Curriculum, this class cover an overview of General Project Management by explaining two different frameworks that have been successfully deployed across many industries: Traditional "Phase-Gate" and the more versatile "Agile." Taught by Jim Shaw, you will walk away from this class with a much better understanding of how to manage your team and tasks, and a framework to launch your product to market on time and on budget.

Founders Agreements

In this class, you will learn about the importance of founder agreements, how to divide equity among co-founders, and key terms that founders should consider including in such agreements such as vesting, acceleration and IP ownership provisions.

Design Validation and Testing

This class will address a variety of failure prevention test methods, processes, and technologies. Requirements can vary greatly depending on the industry and the complexity of the product, so this introductory class will provide an overview of design validations techniques for: Quality, Safety, Compliance, Usability, Durability and Performance. After attending this class, you will have a greater idea of a realistic scope (and potential cost) of your testing program.

Business Track Continued

Protecting Your Business with NDAs

Are you a founder or entrepreneur with legal considerations in mind? Heard about Confidential Disclosure Agreements but don't know what they are? Join us for a Lunch and Learn with Heather Harper, where we'll get into ways of legally protecting your business, and why it's important

Negotiation Basics for Entrepreneurs

During this webinar, Assistant Clinical Professor Emily Underwood of The University of Chicago Law School will provide participants with an entry level primer on negotiation. We will talk about how to prepare for a negotiation, what to expect during the negotiation process, and some negotiation strategies.

Unconventional Networking

As evident through current events, uncertain changes can be scary. What should the leader of a company or team DO? Consultant and specialist Kirsten Ramos leaders a webinar on the implications of change for your business and how to be an effective leader against the uncertainty. Learn about the choices you have and the tactics to manage that change.