At our last company offsite, we gave the team the following question:
“If you were starting an edtech company today, what would you do to make Section obsolete?”
As a startup, we’re used to being the disruptor. But even though we’re only 4 years old, we have processes, loyalties, and tech debt that hold us back from innovating.
This gets magnified 100x at large companies. Just think about:
Blockbuster: “We don’t need streaming – it’s a niche business.”
Toys R Us: “We don’t need an e-commerce presence, we’re Amazon’s exclusive toy vendor.”
Borders: “We don’t need an e-reader yet – stores are our bread and butter.”
This has never been more pressing than today – when billions of dollars are being funneled into AI startups with this express goal.
This week, sit down with your team and think hard about this question: If you were starting a similar company today, what would you do to disrupt yourselves?
Below, you can find my framework for doing it. Or join us on November 8 for Generative AI Business Strategy where we unpack how you can use AI to disrupt yourself.
Use discount code DISRUPT for 20% off a workshop seat, or TRANSFORM for 25% off membership.
The framework: Think like the company disrupting you
Now, look at the “new way of doing things” and ask yourself: What competitive advantages do you currently have that could make it easier for you to compete with a net-new disruptor?
Then, layer in what AI might unlock. What AI-powered products can you think of that leverage your competitive advantages?
Eating our own dog food: Section’s exercise
Below, we applied this exercise to Section to spark your thinking and give you examples.
In thinking about “the old way,” we realized we would probably spend a lot less money on expensive video production and influential professors, and instead prioritize our students’ need for mobile, on-the-go, fast learning and real-world practice.
Though inertia always gets in the way of innovation, we have several competitive advantages that put us ahead of a potential disruptor (who we assume would be armed with AI). We already have an expansive video library and 50+ proprietary frameworks, which (we can tell you!) take time and money to build.
But what if you didn’t have to spend 2 hours to first learn the framework and then apply it? A disruptor with our competitive advantage might move past educational courses and right to a co-pilot that helps you build the strategy in real-time, without the need for the course.
Doing this exercise at Section compelled us to action – next month we’re launching a resource library with shorter form content, and we’re working on a prototype for an AI companion that functions more as a strategy co-pilot.
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Want to get started on disrupting yourself with AI? Sign up for Generative AI Business Strategy, running Nov.8.
Use discount code DISRUPT to get 20% off a workshop seat, or discount code TRANSFORM for 25% off membership.
