# Notes

### Meeting 1
* Random Events
    * BRITE?  Event downtown: Opportunity to pitch things
* Should I start this company?
    * Stakeholders?
    * Product Market Fit (Find segments?)
        * Customers: Who are they... Every tiny little detail of people who might be interested
            * Testable Hypotheses
        * Find Business Models.  Pay attention to what competitors are doing.
* Next Steps: National prog, SBIR, Other local programs
* Positioning: 
    * Integration into existing tool (product)
    * vs standalone system
* Questions to ask
    * Freedom to Operate
        * Do you have the freedom to operate without running into licensing issues
    * Manufacturing requirements
    * Product requirements (by market segment)
        * Performance
        * Price
        * Appearance
        * How do customers learn about the product?
        * Seasonality (does demand shift regularly over time)?
        * Regulatory Approvals
        * What do people have now that solves this problem?
            * Are they happy with their current product?
    * Other per-market factors that are important
        * Market size -- vs 
        * Customer acquisition cost 
        * Profit margin
        * Sales channels
        * What is the competition doing
        * Repeat orders/follow-on sales: Once you have a customer, do they continue paying you?
        * Who's the big customer in the space?  Can you convince a big fish to use your product?
        * Per-market regulations?
    * Sustainable cometitive advantages -- Secret sauce -- What's to stop others from copying you
        * Intellectual Property / Patents
        * Specific knowledge ()
        * Privileged access to markets (someone you know)
        * Brand identity (not really)
        * Speed: Resources (financing, manufacturing) that make it easier to get to market faster
        * Special knowledge: What's the one thing that no one else seems to "get" about the market
        * First (or second) mover advantage.