Overview

In this fourth and final course of the specialization, you will synthesize your learning into a project deliverable called a Blockchain Opportunity Analysis. The goals of this course are twofold: One, it’s for you to identify a specific need or problem in Global Commerce that can potentially be solved using blockchain technology. Two, it’s for you to investigate possible solutions to this problem, including how these solutions might be executed. You will accomplish different project milestones each week, and will be introduced to several tools that entrepreneurs use to organize their findings. Throughout this process, you will hear from real-world practitioners who have hands-on experience in the blockchain ecosystem. Additionally, by participating in this course you will gain access to our Blockchain Case Commons—a crowdsourced collection of blockchain applications and use-cases spanning multiple industries. As an outcome of this course, you’ll walk away with a consolidated, peer-reviewed Blockchain Opportunity Analysis, which you can use to pitch your idea to your organization or even to potential investors.

Syllabus

Industry Analysis

Almost every industry can expect to experience a major business model disruption as blockchain technologies take hold. In this module, you will explore current applications of blockchain in global commerce, and will choose one industry on which to focus your final course project. You will research examples of applications or use-cases of blockchain technology within your chosen industry, and will contribute to our Blockchain Case Commons, which will serve as a shared, continuously-evolving resource for all course participants. As well, you will perform some preliminary market research in order to identify a specific market segment within your chosen industry that shows promise for blockchain technologies.

Opportunity Identification

When identifying opportunities for blockchain technology within your chosen market, it is important to understand the kinds of problems that it can and cannot solve—at least in its current state. In this module, you will learn to distinguish between problems that are and are not well-suited to blockchain-based solutions. After considering various opportunities for blockchain technology within your chosen market segment, you will learn how to use a decision matrix to select the most promising idea to pursue for your final project. By the end of this week, you will clarify the purpose and objectives of your project, you will identify your target customers/audience, and you will prepare a statement of need and statement of benefit for your proposal.

Positioning

In the last module, you identified a promising idea or opportunity for blockchain within your chosen market segment. This week, you will work on positioning your idea—carving out a niche or identity for your product/service within the minds of your target customers. By the end of this week, you will explain how your idea will bring new or added value to your customers, and how your idea will affect the positioning for your organization.

Execution

An idea may seem great on paper, however actually executing this idea will require careful consideration of various business-model decisions, including those related to funding, risk, talent, timing, corporate boundaries, and partners/allies. In this module, you will begin to think about what would be required to transform your opportunity from an idea to reality.

Final Deliverable

So far in this course you have performed an industry analysis, selected a specific market segment, assessed your competition, and identified a promising opportunity for blockchain within your chosen market. As well, you have described how you will position your idea, and have given consideration to the business model decisions that need to be made in order to transform your idea into reality. In this final module, you will consolidate all of the work you have produced thus far into a final, peer-reviewed project deliverable, which you can use to pitch your idea to your organization and/or potential investors.