In my final year at The Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, my final Masters' project focused on applying accumulated skills from the 4 years degree program to produce a "demonstrator" that would then be presented to potential investors. We had the freedom to choose our own project topic as well as our team members, working collaboratively to develop a market-driven creative solution that evidence desirability, feasibility and viability. Through "founder alignment", I partnered with my co-founder Harry who was a Geography with Innovation student.

 

Our final report can be found here.

01 // Our roles

In the development of The MUZA Collective, Harry and I shared equal responsibility in the creation of the business model, reflected by our 50/50 equity split. Both of us were actively involved in every stage, from ideation and market research to financial modeling and designing the cooperative structure.

​

Myself: Contributed extensively to the financial and operational strategy, ensuring the business remained viable and scalable.

Harry: Primarily focused on user design, market validation, and aligning our goals with the needs of emerging creative freelancers.

02 // Our approach

In our final report we first give context to the system we are designing for, incorporating top-down and bottom-up insights from engagement with existing literature, industry experts and target end-users. We then propose a solution that is grounded in theory and user-centred research, applying a tailored, iterative approach to design, develop and test our final value proposition. Through numerous expert interviews, outreach activities and a live testing sprint, we evidence the undeniable impact of our enterprise before concluding with our roadmap to launch.

 

Our methodologies:​​

• Top-down and Bottom-up research: A combined approach where we gathered top-down insights from existing literature and industry experts, and bottom-up research by understanding the needs and challenges of end-users through direct engagement such as surveys, interviews and networking.

• Expert Interviews: We gathered insights from experienced professionals within the industry ,including award-winner serial entrepreneur Alison Grade and the development & partnerships manager at Creative UK, Evy Cauldwell-French, to inform decision-making and validate assumptions in the business model.

• User outreach: We engaged with the broader community and target demographic to raise awareness of The MUZA Collective, gather feedback on our proposed business model, and build a network of supporters and potential users for the solution.

• Live testing sprint: We conducted a focused, short-term testing phase where The MUZA Collective was was put into action in the real-world to quickly gather feedback and refine our value proposition.

• Roadmap Planning: We created a strategic plan for launching and scaling the enterprise, detailing the necessary steps, resources, and timelines to bring the solution to market.

​​​​​