Learning Launch   for “ Mancealer ” 

 Challenge 

 My entrepreneurship project at business school this fall semester was the perfect opportunity to try   out various design thinking principles . We set out to create a concealer for Asian men , which we felt   was an under - served market . My team and I realized early on that design thinking was well - suited   for the task of product innovation in a niche market . Even though most men have facial   imperfections they would prefer to conceal , make - up remains culturally taboo for many men in Asia .   Solving this problem would require some novel approaches to product development and a deep   understanding of men ’s psyche . In addition , the product needs to be affordable due to the price   sensitivity of the customer , as well as fit within an existing men ’s grooming category and daily   routine in order to quickly gain market acceptance . 

 To this end , we tried to follow the core design thinking methodology of in - depth qualitative research   with a small but reliable sample of the customer segment , then mapping the customer journey ,   brainstorming initial concepts , and testing our assumptions through an iterative design process that   involved multiple rounds of prototyping and customer co - creation . 

 Selection 

 The design thinking tool that will be discussed here is the learning launch our team embarked on to   test whether a market exists for our pioneering men ’s concealer product . 

 Our goal was understand what works and get to the “ wow zone ” with our idea . To do this we knew   that cheap experiments would be the best and fastest route to test our hypothesis and key   assumptions and allow us to gather the data to enable a scale - up of the project . Based on our initial   customer interviews and ideation , we decided to produce a minimum viable product consisting of a   tinted moisturizer with colour pigments that suit Asian skin tones . 

 Since no data existed on whether such a concept would work in our market with our specific target   audience , we decided to create our own via a learning launch . 

 Application 

 Given this was a school project , the learning launch consisted of the following steps : 1 ) state   hypothesis ( there is a market for concealing products for Asian men ) , 2 ) state key assumptions ( men   would like to cover facial imperfections but they are not keen on “ make - up ” which is considered   feminine ) , 3 ) focus on customer value creation ( for our target customer this includes convenience ,   fuss - free application and removal and affordability ) , 4 ) execution ( what are the team capabilities in   product design and marketing ) , 5 ) scalability ( what will our intended distribution channels cost ) , and   6 ) prioritize key assumptions ( iterating based on user feedback ) . 

 We collected detailed feedback from users after each product iteration to ensure we were designing   for the user and meeting their needs , based on the design thinking principle of “ search for the truth ,   not prove your idea ” and overcoming confirmation bias with disconfirming evidence . 

 When it came to designing the user testing , we went for a low - cost approach by getting participants   our apartment complex who were also within our customer persona to validate the product .   Following that we designed and executed a blind test made up of a two - step conjoint analysis that 

 involved participants testing different products and giving us feedback on not only the features but   also the price . Happily , a full 50 % of the test sample gave the thumbs to our product over   competitors . 

 Insight & Approach 

 The favourable results from the blind test were fed back into our product design process and vastly   helped to increase the appeal of our idea . The design thinking approach was instrumental in getting   us to product - market fit faster and at a lower cost . The key lesson from the learning launch was that   men are willing to pay for a product that delivers multiple benefits in one package . 

 We think we are close to achieving customer wow , and at least on paper , the business model and   execution wows too . 

 My team would be keen to explore the learning launch tool again to test and learn other product   design or innovation projects , for instance if we decide to expand into new product lines ,   geographies or market segments . 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: 
PHONE_NUM: 
STREET_ADDRESS: 
URL_PERSONAL: 
USERNAME: 

### Task: You are a PII (Personal Identity Information) Detection. Given a essays written by students, you have to identify ONLY the following:
NAME_STUDENT - The full or partial name of a student that is not necessarily the author of the essay. This excludes instructors, authors, and other person names.
EMAIL - A student’s email address.
USERNAME - A student's username on any platform.
ID_NUM - A number or sequence of characters that could be used to identify a student, such as a student ID or a social security number.
PHONE_NUM - A phone number associated with a student.
URL_PERSONAL - A URL that might be used to identify a student.
STREET_ADDRESS - A full or partial street address that is associated with the student, such as their home address.
### Input: Learning Launch   for “ Mancealer ” 

 Challenge 

 My entrepreneurship project at business school this fall semester was the perfect opportunity to try   out various design thinking principles . We set out to create a concealer for Asian men , which we felt   was an under - served market . My team and I realized early on that design thinking was well - suited   for the task of product innovation in a niche market . Even though most men have facial   imperfections they would prefer to conceal , make - up remains culturally taboo for many men in Asia .   Solving this problem would require some novel approaches to product development and a deep   understanding of men ’s psyche . In addition , the product needs to be affordable due to the price   sensitivity of the customer , as well as fit within an existing men ’s grooming category and daily   routine in order to quickly gain market acceptance . 

 To this end , we tried to follow the core design thinking methodology of in - depth qualitative research   with a small but reliable sample of the customer segment , then mapping the customer journey ,   brainstorming initial concepts , and testing our assumptions through an iterative design process that   involved multiple rounds of prototyping and customer co - creation . 

 Selection 

 The design thinking tool that will be discussed here is the learning launch our team embarked on to   test whether a market exists for our pioneering men ’s concealer product . 

 Our goal was understand what works and get to the “ wow zone ” with our idea . To do this we knew   that cheap experiments would be the best and fastest route to test our hypothesis and key   assumptions and allow us to gather the data to enable a scale - up of the project . Based on our initial   customer interviews and ideation , we decided to produce a minimum viable product consisting of a   tinted moisturizer with colour pigments that suit Asian skin tones . 

 Since no data existed on whether such a concept would work in our market with our specific target   audience , we decided to create our own via a learning launch . 

 Application 

 Given this was a school project , the learning launch consisted of the following steps : 1 ) state   hypothesis ( there is a market for concealing products for Asian men ) , 2 ) state key assumptions ( men   would like to cover facial imperfections but they are not keen on “ make - up ” which is considered   feminine ) , 3 ) focus on customer value creation ( for our target customer this includes convenience ,   fuss - free application and removal and affordability ) , 4 ) execution ( what are the team capabilities in   product design and marketing ) , 5 ) scalability ( what will our intended distribution channels cost ) , and   6 ) prioritize key assumptions ( iterating based on user feedback ) . 

 We collected detailed feedback from users after each product iteration to ensure we were designing   for the user and meeting their needs , based on the design thinking principle of “ search for the truth ,   not prove your idea ” and overcoming confirmation bias with disconfirming evidence . 

 When it came to designing the user testing , we went for a low - cost approach by getting participants   our apartment complex who were also within our customer persona to validate the product .   Following that we designed and executed a blind test made up of a two - step conjoint analysis that 

 involved participants testing different products and giving us feedback on not only the features but   also the price . Happily , a full 50 % of the test sample gave the thumbs to our product over   competitors . 

 Insight & Approach 

 The favourable results from the blind test were fed back into our product design process and vastly   helped to increase the appeal of our idea . The design thinking approach was instrumental in getting   us to product - market fit faster and at a lower cost . The key lesson from the learning launch was that   men are willing to pay for a product that delivers multiple benefits in one package . 

 We think we are close to achieving customer wow , and at least on paper , the business model and   execution wows too . 

 My team would be keen to explore the learning launch tool again to test and learn other product   design or innovation projects , for instance if we decide to expand into new product lines ,   geographies or market segments .
### Output: 