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Day 2: Think Inside the Box — MVP Design

Lesson Overview
Time 50 minutes
Objectives Complete the H&L "Think Inside the Box" Career Climb activity; design a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) for a subscription box business; write 3-5 customer feedback questions
TEKS d(3)(I)
Deliverable Completed MVP design template + 3-5 customer feedback questions
Materials H&L Workbook Ch 5 (pp. 76-78), printed MVP design template, colored pencils/markers, projector

Warm-Up (5 min)

WARM-UP: Have you ever ordered a subscription box (snacks, books, beauty stuff, mystery items)? If yes, what did you like or NOT like about it? If no, would you ever sign up for one? Why?

Take 4-5 student responses. Capture 1-2 examples of subscription boxes students know (BarkBox, Loot Crate, Fabletics, Stitch Fix). Use this to bridge: today they design their OWN subscription box from scratch.

Activity 1: What Is an MVP? (10 min)

Source: H&L Workbook Ch 5, pp. 76-77, "Think Inside the Box" intro

Read aloud the workbook background (Ch 5, p. 77): Entrepreneurs are people who turn ideas into real products and services. They take risks, solve problems, and find creative ways to meet people's needs. Examples: clothing brands, technology, subscription boxes.

Then introduce the MVP concept from the workbook (Ch 5, p. 77): An MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is the simplest version of a product that allows you to test an idea and get feedback before investing in a full launch. Real entrepreneurs don't just have great ideas, they test them, improve them, and make sure customers like them.

Project a 2-minute example on the board:

"Imagine you want to launch a subscription box for cat owners. Your full vision is a $50/month box with toys, treats, a custom collar, and a magazine. The MVP version is a $15/month box with 1 toy and 1 treat, just enough to find out if cat owners actually want this. You start small, learn, then expand."

Frame it: today students design the MVP version of their subscription box, not the full vision.

Facilitation Tip

Students will want to design the MAXIMUM viable product (everything cool they can think of). Push them: what is the SIMPLEST version that would still work? That's the MVP. Real startups launch MVPs because they can't afford to build the full version yet.

Activity 2: Step 1 — Design Your MVP (20 min)

Source: H&L Workbook Ch 5, p. 77, "Step 1: Designing an MVP"

Distribute the MVP design template. Each student completes the template using the workbook prompts (Ch 5, p. 77):

Field Your Answer
What's in the box? (the products)
Name of your subscription box
How often will customers get it? (weekly / monthly / seasonally)
Who is your target audience? (kids, teens, adults? Fitness, gaming, pet owners, plants?)
Price per delivery
Sketch of the box opening (rough drawing of what the customer sees when they open it)

Students draw a rough sketch of the box at the bottom of the template. The sketch shows what the customer sees when they unwrap the box.

Walk around with a checkpoint clipboard. Stop at each student and ask: "If I were a customer, would I sign up for this? Why or why not?" That's the MVP test.

Activity 3: Step 2 — Customer Feedback Questions (10 min)

Source: H&L Workbook Ch 5, p. 78, "Step 2: Testing and Feedback"

Read the workbook prompt (Ch 5, p. 78): Before launching a full business, entrepreneurs test their MVP with focus groups (small groups of customers) to get feedback. Imagine your MVP went out to 100 test customers. What questions would you ask them?

Students write 3-5 questions they would ask test customers about their subscription box. Each question should give them useful info to improve the product. Examples:

  • "What was your favorite item in the box?"
  • "What item would you NEVER want again?"
  • "Would you pay $15 for this box, or is the price wrong?"
  • "How would you describe this box to a friend in one sentence?"
  • "What's missing from the box that you wish was in it?"

The workbook (Ch 5, p. 78) prompts: "Write your questions in the box provided, as well as what their answers can tell you about your product."

After writing the questions, do a quick partner share (3 min): pair up, trade templates, and ask each other one of the feedback questions. The partner answers as if they were a real customer.

DOK 3: Why do entrepreneurs test their product BEFORE launching it instead of after? What can go wrong if they skip the testing step?

Exit Ticket (5 min)

EXIT TICKET (Short Constructed Response) · Printable PDF:

  1. My subscription box name: _____

  2. Who is my target customer (be specific: age + interest)?

  1. What is the SIMPLEST version of my box that still works? (The M in MVP means MINIMUM.)
  1. ONE feedback question I would ASK 100 test customers to improve my product, AND what their answer could tell me:

Question: _____________

What the answer tells me: _________

  1. The HARDEST part of designing my MVP was _____________.

(d(3)(I))

Submit your MVP design template and customer feedback questions with this ticket.

Differentiation

  • Support: Provide a pre-printed MVP template with example product categories (snack box, art supply box, plant box) so students don't get stuck choosing.
  • Extension: Calculate the cost of producing your MVP at scale: if 100 customers sign up, what's your monthly revenue? Estimate your monthly costs (products + shipping). Are you profitable?
  • ELL: Pre-teach: Box = Caja, Subscription = Suscripción, Customer = Cliente, Feedback = Comentarios. Bilingual MVP template with Spanish field labels.