UW Apprentice Case Study Package Winter 2014 - Summary

7/27/2019 UW Apprentice Case Study Package Winter 2014 - Summary

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UW APPRENTICE

CASE STUDY PACKAGE

PREPARED BY

Mashrur Alam, Co-President

Patricia Chen, Co-President

http://www.uwapprentice.com www.facebook.com/uwapprentice

http://www.uwapprentice.com/

http://www.facebook.com/uwapprentice

http://www.facebook.com/uwapprentice

http://www.uwapprentice.com/



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Dear Members of the Board,

Hello and welcome to UW Apprentice. Firstly, I would like to thank you personally for allowing us the opportunity to present you with our case

study package. UW Apprentice aims to take the most innovative students in UW and unleash their entrepreneurial potential. We pride ourselves in

both bringing value to the start-ups that support UW Apprentice and giving students a unique opportunity to solve real life problems. This package

has been developed to show you how UW Apprentice can bring value to your business and how you can help the next generation of entrepreneurs.

UW Apprentice is a student club at the University of Waterloo that believes in connecting start-ups and talented CEOs with aspiring entrepreneurs

and young professionals. The club is responsible for hosting the UW Apprentice Competition every semester. This one of a kind competition is a

weekend long event focused on skill building, problem solving and networking.

If you have any questions regarding this case study package please do not hesitate to email me at [email protected] or call me at (226)

868-4466. Finally, I would like to extend my sincere thanks for taking the time to read our case study proposal. We believe this package provides an

exciting opportunity for your business and we would love to work in partnership with your business. UW Apprentice is looking forward to your

support.

Sincerely,

Mashrur Alam, Co-President UW Apprentice

Patricia Chen, Co-President UW Apprentice

LETTER FROM THE CHAIR

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mailto:[email protected]






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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Letter from the Chair ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ii

Competition Description ………………………………………………………………………………………... 1

Value Proposition …………………………………………………………………………………………………... 3

Why participate? …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3

Requirements ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3

Guidelines ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4

No Case Study? No Problem …………………………………………………………………………………… 5

Past Cases: Kik ….……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 6

Past Cases: SparkGig ……………………………………………………….…………………………………….. 7

Event Schedule ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 8

Executive Team ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 9

Past Affiliates ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..…. 10



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UW Apprentice is a university wide competition of the best students competing against one another for the title of “The UW Apprentice”. Selection

of these student will be through two rounds – a competitive application form and in-person interview. UW Apprentice strives to select only the

best students. These students have a passion for business and entrepreneurship. They have a knack for solving problems and know how to bring

value to companies.

The competition is a weekend long event taking place on March 28 – 30. It is open to all UW students regardless of faculty. Delegates will compete

to solve four to five case studies. These cases are developed with local start-ups, based on real life problems that they or their industry face. Weattempt to find a range companies from different industries so delegates get to see a wide variety of case problems. Past companies include: Kik

and LibertyBit which are technology companies, SparkGig and NightClub Booth who are service and user based, Planboard and Fora who focus on

education.

Delegates then are randomly assigned to groups and go into breakout session so find solutions for the case problem. These solutions are then

presented to a panel of judges. This is the only competition where the CEO and officials from company supplying the case study are on the judging

panel. This gives delegates the unique opportunity to pitch their solution to the actual company facing the problem.

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COMPETITION DESCRIPTION



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ApplicationForms

• Attract students with range of skills and experiences

• Generate buzz and brand exposure on campus

In PersonInterviews

• Select top students with passion for entrepreneurship

Competition

• Networking session between companies and students

• Delegates solve cases and bring value to companies

• Guest Speakers

UW Apprentice was an amazing experience. Both the executive

team running the event, and the delegates competing in it were

very impressive. As the CTO of start-up called Night Club Booth, I

ran a case asking the delegates to create a concept video for our

software. After being given a brief description of the software,

they asked very poignant questions, gathered all the info theyneeded and eagerly began working. Although time was limited

and the best camera equipment around was their cell phones, the

results were fantastic. They had some great ideas like using the

iPad image viewer to act like the mobile app that we hadn't made

yet and actually acting out our product's use cases. In just two

hours I saw not only ideas for the video, but also for the Night Club

Booth mobile app. With all the great work done by the delegates,

and the professional atmosphere maintained by the executive

team, I strongly recommend being a part the next UW Apprentice,whether you're a student or a business.

- Brian Troy, CTO of Night Club Booth

COMPETITION DESCRIPTION

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University of Waterloo students are world renowned for their high calibre and broad co-op experiences. They are highly innovative andenthusiastic young professionals. In fact, Maclean’s has ranked UW as the most innovative university in Canada for 21 years in a row. It is because

of this environment that UW students are so entrepreneurial and companies recognize these student’s abilities are unmatched b y other university

students. All these facts make UW the perfect place for UW Apprentice.

WHY PARTICIPATE?

By providing a case study for the competition you will be getting more exposure for your start-up and idea. You will also have five different groups

competing to come up with the best solutions to address your case problem. The students selected to be delegates are highly motivated and know

how to tackle tough problems and bring value to your company.

Receive new business ideas to a tough problem you currently face

Network with the brightest and the most ambitious business-minded students of UW

Place your company in the spotlight for everyone in the competition

New potential hires

Excellent advertising and publicity

Be remembered as the highlight of the competition!

REQUIREMENTS● Case study: Work with our team to develop a case that is relevant to both your company and the competition

● Competition weekend: Commit at least one company representative to present and judge the case, and attend one networking session or

social during the weekend

● Case Study Prize: Purchase a prize for the winning team of your case study (four members in each team). Or provide a financial contribution

of $400 to UW Apprentice (this contribution will fund case study prizes).

VALUE PROPOSITION

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GUIDELINESWe want to expose the delegates to a learning experience that will teach them an important lesson or skill in becoming a successful entrepreneur.

For inspiration, ask yourself, “What do I wish I knew when I was a new entrepreneur?”

Complex enough to challenge a 4 member team

Challenges should test the range of skills necessary for a successful entrepreneur:

o Drive to overcome setbacks and failure

o Strong decision making, initiative and prioritization; ability to see the big picture

o Well-spoken, professional and convincing in presentations

o Ability to manage and motivate teammates

We want to emphasize interactive challenges with tangible, real-world outcomes. Challenges should fit in at least one of the following categories:

Innovation: E.g. Create a new invention or service that would maximally benefit university students; make a realistic pitch to the judges and

other delegates

Marketing: E.g. Create a video advertisement to sell a product or service, generate hype and sales via social media

Sales: E.g. Run an already established store and try to increase sales by any means possible (for example, convenience store or lemonade

stand)

Negotiation: E.g. Delegates have 2 hours to trade in a pen for better items; whoever has the best item at the end wins.

Strategy: E.g. Case studies used for management consulting interviews, e.g. “Analyze the major factors surrounding the launch of acompany’s new product and its own internal capabilities to support the effort. [background information]”

The winning team will be selected based on a combination of quantitative and qualitative results. Qualitative results will be evaluated by the

judging panel, with at least one judge being from the hosting company.

VALUE PROPOSITION

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We understand that not all start-ups are facing pressing problems than

can be turned into a case study. But that’s not a problem! We know the

driving force behind any start-up is passionate entrepreneur and every

entrepreneur has a story. So come in and give a talk about your passions

and your start-up story. We would love for you to be a guest speaker. Past

guest speakers have talked about topics such as entrepreneurship,

leadership, and success. As a guest speakers you can share what you

learned and your insights on business and running a company.

Based on guest speaker and topic we make the talk open to all of the

University of Waterloo. In the past we have marketed certain talks to the

general student population based on the guest speaker. This way your

message can reach an even wider audience.

PAST CASES

The following are summaries of two cases from past competitions.

NO CASE STUDY? NO PROBLEM

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Company: http://kik.com/about/

Kik was founded in 2009, when a small but incredibly passionate group of University of Waterloo students decided to build a company that would

shift the center of computing from the PC to the phone.

Fast forward to today, and Kik Messenger has become the simplest, fastest, most life-like chat experience you can get on a smartphone. And unlike

other messengers, Kik usernames - not phone numbers - are the basis for Kik user accounts, so our users are in complete control of who they talk

to on Kik. But Kik isn’t just about instant messaging. Kik fans are already exchanging videos, sketches, stickers and more, with mobile web pages

optimized for Kik using Kik's Developer Tools that help developers optimize, distribute and monetize their web content. And with our new built-in

browser, users can search for and send any web site - all without leaving Kik, and all without downloading anything new.

Case Study:

You are challenged with creating an innovative and viable design for a Kik Card. This is a new feature that was just released to a 50 million+ user

base, and a good Card has potential to spread like wildfire. This is an open-ended problem demanding innovation and a good understanding of your

market. We want to see some creative ideas! Additionally, your Card should maximize user engagement (note that their target demographic is 12-

18 year old males), feature a monetization strategy, and should not already exist on the Cards store. If it’s a truly good idea, you could see your

Card climb the most downloaded leaderboard in the real Cards store!

Deliverables:

Five minute pitch to the judges, with a PowerPoint presentation

1-2 page report detailing your solution

PAST CASES: KIK

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http://kik.com/about/






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Company: https://sparkgig.com/

Sparkgig – creating an online marketplace to help performers to connect with performance gigs – LinkedIn for performers.

With Sparkgig, performers can set up their own profile page with pictures, videos, and demo audio to showcase their talent for event planners to

search and book the right talent they want for their event.

Not only helping performers to find gigs we want to be a place to share memories and celebrate the milestone for every performers. Bring

performances into everyone’s life. Sparkgig provides a platform for everyone to search for affordable, flexible and unique performers, so the

average person can have an awesome event.

Performers example: Jazz, Classical, DJ, wedding band, etc. Event examples: Company dinner, birthday, wedding, school events, etc.

Case Study:

Create a Launch Campaign in New York (January 2014). These campaign events will be used as a marketing tool to generate event planner and

performer users on the site. The campaign should illustrate the purpose of the business and show the positive benefits to get planners and

performers attention. It should also convey our vision – support, connect, and building a better community.

Note: we will be attending the 2014 Kairos Society Global Summit (http://www.kairossociety.org/). Take advantage of this.

Deliverables:

Marketing campaign proposal (5 minute PowerPoint presentation)

1-2 page report summarizing your solution

PAST CASES: SPARKGIG

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https://sparkgig.com/



http://www.kairossociety.org/global_summit.php







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EVENT SCHEDULE

Saturday, March 1:

Round 1 Ends, Applications Due

Monday, March 3:

Round 2 Begins, Interviews Begin

Saturday, March 8:

Round 2 Ends, Delegates Offers Announced

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Friday, March 28:

Competition:

6:00 PM Networking Dinner and Social

7:00 PM Presentation on competition rules, prizes, teams, etc.

8:00 PM Keynote Speaker (to be announced)

Saturday, March 29:

Competition:

9:00 AM Major Case Study 1 12:00 PM Networking Lunch

1:00 PM Minor Case Study

3:00 PM Major Case Study 2

6:00 PM Networking Dinner

7:30 PM Delegate Social

Sunday, March 30:

Competition:

9:00 AM Major Case Study 3

12:00 PM Networking Lunch

1:00 PM Major Case Study 4

4:00 PM Keynote Speakers (to be announced)

6:00 PM Networking Dinner

7:30 PM Delegate After Party



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Mashrur Alam, Co-President

Email: [email protected] / Phone: (226) 868-4466

Patricia Chen, Co-President


Simal Yilmaz, Director of Competitions


Dan Steward, Director of Competitions


Ismail Mian, Director of Finance and Business Development


Andrew Parronchi, Director of Finance and Business Development UW Apprentice Co-Presidents Mashrur Alam (left) and Patricia Chen (right).

Email: [email protected] / Phone: (519)

Bonnie Mai, Director of Marketing

Email: [email protected]

Cohl Johnston, Director of Marketing


Kiran Chhina, Director of Marketing


EXECUTIVE TEAM

Tamana Amin, Director of Operations


Sophie Yin, Director of Operations


Radhika Bhargava, Director of Operations


Yola Harsono, Director of Web


Wendy Xue, Director of Graphics


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PAST AFFILIATES

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Documents

UW Apprentice Case Study Package Winter 2014 - Summary