Apostle Incubator: CSULB Community
Are you looking for guidance and resources to launch your startup idea?
The Apostle Incubator is here to support you through the process. Some of the topics this Fall include:
- Creativity & The Business Value of Design
- Creating Choices & Evaluating Your Ideas
- Building your Business Model Canvas
- Telling the Story of your Startup
Schedule
August 26, 2025: Creativity & Design Thinking
Come learn the process of how to create an innovative startup based on the technique of Design Thinking.
September 2, 2025: Framing Your Challenge
Students will propose startup ideas and form teams. Community members are welcome to join in.
September 9, 2025: Connect with your Potential Customers
Learn to connect with your potential customers and understand their needs and wants.
September 16, 2025: Vision Statement & Customer Discovery
Let’s learn what our customers want to guide the vision of our startup idea and define our competitive advantage.
September 23, 2025: Understanding Your Target Market
What are the right questions to ask your potential customers to ensure that your startup idea is the perfect solution for them? We will benchmark the competition and find the hole in the market.
September 30, 2025: Use Market Insights to Uncover Opportunities
How can you broaden your perspective by asking the right questions that bring you closer to giving your customers what they want?
October 7, 2025: Think Outside the Box
We will analyze our marketing research to form multiple potential solutions for our customers.
October 14, 2025: Evaluating and Refining Your Ideas
Let’s learn how to analyze market trends and competitive forces to find the perfect solutions for your customers.
October 21, 2025: The Value of Prototypes
How can you engage your customers through the creation of mock-ups or prototypes that are a real solution to their problem?
October 28, 2025: The Value Map (Strategizer: Value Proposition)
A value proposition is the reason someone would choose your product over another. It's not just what you sell — it's the benefit you provide to your customer. Students will learn how to write well-structured and meaningful value propositions to guide their ideation process.
November 4, 2025: LMC - Part 1
Students will develop a clear description of their customer segments, early adopters, channels of distribution and communication, and identify their “unfair advantage” that is also described in their value proposition.
November 11, 2025: BREAK (no meeting)
November 18, 2025: LMC - Part 2
Students will define the key problem, solution, existing alternatives, and key metrics, all of which are part of the competitive analysis.
November 25, 2025: BREAK (no meeting)
December 2, 2025: Pitch Practice
December 9, 2025: Apostle Business Ideation Challenge
SparkRockets allows entrepreneurs to start more quickly, efficiently, confidently, and affordably. The platform will help you refine your business idea and give you the tools to build a business plan and go to market.
SparkRockets is an innovative growth platform that empowers anyone with a business idea to validate and accelerate that idea to market, with the assistance of a friendly and knowledgeable AI-driven co-pilot.
