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This template is designed to help anyone evaluating a business idea conduct a thorough assessment of its potential to become a sustainable and customer-centric venture. The template is broken down into the following sections:

  1. 4Us Framework (unworkable, unavoidable, urgent, and underserved) - to evaluate the customer problem
  2. BLAC Framework (blatant and critical versus latent and aspirational) - to determine the customer needs
  3. 3Ds Framework (disruptive, discontinous, defensible) - to determine the problem solution
  4. Value Proposition - bringing all 3 frameworks together to build a statement

Guidance, AI prompts and examples are provided in each section to support you in your evaluation!

Note & Credit: This template is based on the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8d9uuO1Cf4&t=788s&ab_channel=HarvardInnovationLabs, with modifications made to enhance clarity and applicability for structured idea evaluation.

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Customer Problem: [Use this section to briefly summarize the customer problem you are trying to solve]

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Problem solution: [Use this section to briefly summarize the solution you are proposing to solve the customer problem]

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⁉️4Us Framework: Evaluate the Customer Problem

The "4 Us" framework is a method for defining and evaluating the problem that a product or service aims to solve. This framework helps determine if a problem is significant enough to be worth addressing, especially for startups.

Evaluation: Use this framework and examples as guidance to evaluate your customers’ problems before you launch your product or service. Ask yourself if the problem you are trying to solve is Unworkable? Unavoidable? Urgent? Underserved? It could be just one of these or a combination of a few. When applying this framework, it's vital to view these 'Us' through the eyes of the customer and ask them directly about their pain points and priorities.

Note: Depending on your evaluation, you may not need to fill all the sections.

4Us Framework Summary

After doing the analysis above, select the appropriate box(es) for your customer problem.

🎯*BLAC Framework: Determine the Customer Needs *****

The "BLAC" framework refers to a method of evaluating customer needs by categorising them as either latent and aspirational or blatant and critical. The aim is to understand how a product or service can evolve from addressing a "nice to have" need to a "must-have" one.