Eight teams are participating this year in the second edition of Business Design, the program of the School of Innovation of University of Trento and the Hub Innovazione Trentino Foundation (HIT) created to support innovators from the world of academia and research in building and validating their business idea. The kick off of the project took place on October 4 with the first lecture, moderated by Prof. Pablo Soler Bach of IE Business School in Madrid. 

How Business Design is structured

The course introduces business design, a methodology that combines traditional elements of market analysis and business strategy with content and methods taken from design thinking and human-centered design. 

The 3-month course includes:

• classroom sessions, which consist of lectures and practical exercises
• meetings with lecturers, experts from the world of entrepreneurship and innovation
• dedicated mentorship: each team is supervised by an expert figure, tasked with helping participants apply lessons learned on their own business case
• stress-testing on value proposition and revenue models

Business Design 2022 projects

The 2022 edition projects were selected from a shortlist of 21 applications, more than half from students, doctoral students and post-docs at the University of Trento. The fields of application of these new business ideas are extremely varied and range from healthcare to agriculture, passing through citizen services, the fight against food waste and the world of sports. There are, for example, a meal distribution system that employs unsold local and seasonal products, a tool that allows visualization of the progression of certain diseases, and an urban planning system to improve the location of services in neighborhoods. Among the proposed business ideas are also two apps. The first is designed to allow people to share sports activities and connect with professional instructors. The second is intended for those interested in renting or leasing rural and terraced agricultural land.

From business idea to startup: Trentino Startup Valley

Business Design helps participants understand whether the business idea they propose is viable and provides the initial skills to develop it to the best of their ability. Those who then feel ready to approach a more articulated path, so as to fully launch their startup, can apply to Trentino Startup Valley, the acceleration program for startups by Trentino Sviluppo and HIT.

The project is divided into three steps and offers startuppers:

• training appointments
• coaching
• economic support
• spaces to grow
• access to research labs and networks of entrepreneurs and investors