Real Projects from Real Students
These aren't polished marketing examples. They're actual business concepts developed by people who started where you are now—curious, maybe a bit uncertain, but ready to learn how ideas turn into opportunities.
Thora Månsson
Regional Food Distribution Network
Thora spent three months mapping out how small producers in regional NSW could reach suburban markets without getting crushed by logistics costs. Her model isn't perfect, but it shows how someone can spot a genuine gap and work through the messy parts of building something viable.
Petra Kavčič
Equipment Rental Platform for Tradies
Petra's background is in construction management, not tech. She built this concept after watching contractors struggle with expensive gear sitting idle. Her pitch deck addresses insurance complications and trust issues—real problems that textbooks gloss over but actual businesses face daily.
How Students Actually Develop These Ideas
There's no magic formula. But there is a process that helps people move from "I think this could work" to having something concrete they can test and refine.
Finding Problems Worth Solving
Students start by documenting frustrations they've experienced or witnessed. Not dramatic problems—just persistent inefficiencies that keep showing up. We teach them how to validate whether others share these pain points before they get attached to solutions.
Building Financial Reality Checks
This is where enthusiasm meets spreadsheets. Students learn to estimate costs honestly—including the ones that sound boring but sink businesses. We don't promise they'll love this part, but most appreciate having numbers that actually make sense when they talk to potential partners or investors.
Testing Assumptions with Real People
Students conduct interviews with potential customers—not surveys that people rush through, but actual conversations. They learn quickly which parts of their concept resonate and which parts only made sense in their own heads. It's humbling but incredibly useful.
Presenting What They've Learned
Final presentations focus less on polish and more on honest assessment. What worked? What didn't? What would they change? The strongest projects aren't the ones with the slickest slides—they're the ones where students can articulate their thinking process and justify their decisions.
Siobhán Ó Riain
Business Development Mentor
Aeliana Rosenberg
Financial Planning Advisor
Guidance That Actually Helps
Our mentors aren't here to tell students their ideas are brilliant. They're here to ask uncomfortable questions, point out blind spots, and share what they learned from their own mistakes.
- Weekly feedback sessions that dig into specific challenges students are facing
- Access to mentor networks for market research and customer introductions
- Review of financial projections before students present to potential stakeholders
- Honest assessments about which ideas might have legs and which need rethinking
Common Struggles and How We Address Them
Students hit predictable roadblocks. Here's what we've learned about helping them work through the tricky bits without just handing them answers.
Idea Paralysis
"I have too many ideas and can't pick one to focus on."
We have students score each concept against specific criteria: market size, personal expertise, resource requirements. The exercise forces them to be honest about what's actually feasible given their constraints and interests.
Financial Fog
"I don't know how to estimate costs for something that doesn't exist yet."
We break financial planning into smaller chunks. Students research one cost category at a time—starting with the biggest expenses—and learn to build ranges rather than exact numbers. It's about developing informed estimates, not pretending to predict the future.
Customer Discovery Anxiety
"I'm nervous about reaching out to strangers to validate my idea."
Students start by interviewing people they already know, then work up to cold outreach. We provide email templates and conversation frameworks—not scripts—that help them ask productive questions without sounding like they're doing homework.
Scope Creep
"My project keeps getting bigger and more complicated."
We teach students to identify their minimum viable concept—the simplest version that tests their core assumption. Then we help them park additional features in a "future phase" document. The goal is progress, not perfection.