Four-Week Sprint · Week 4: Learn and Pivot
Three weeks in, you have something most builders never get: real evidence. You've talked to users, put your IUP in front of them, and asked why anyone would pay for it. Now it's time to act on what you heard.
Week 4 is about learning and pivoting. Some assumptions held up. Some broke. The point is to know which is which, and to decide what to keep, what to change and what to drop. A pivot isn't failure. It's what happens when you take users seriously.
What we'll do
Sort your evidence: what held up, what broke, and what you still don't know
Decide your next move: keep going, change direction, or narrow your focus
Breakouts with mentors and TEL staff to pressure-test your pivot and get ready for the Share-Out
Bring: what broke and what you'll change. Notes from user conversations, feedback on your IUP, and your thinking on value. Messy is fine.
Who should come: all UW–Madison students. Teams and individual builders are welcome, and you don't need to have attended BuildFest or earlier Sprint weeks. If you're new, come with an idea or join a table.
The Four-Week Sprint
Week 1 · Sept 30: define and validate your problem
Week 2 · Oct 7: test your IUP with real users
Week 3 · Oct 14: value proposition workshop
Week 4 · Oct 21: learn and pivot from what users tell you
Share-Out · Oct 28: 2–3 minutes on what you learned and what changed
Want to keep going? Demo Night is Th, Nov 19.
Questions? sandra.bradley@wisc.edu
About the Tech Exploration Lab:
Led by the Wisconsin School of Business in collaboration with the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, the Lab connects students from across campus with industry partners, researchers, and alumni to explore, build, and commercialize ideas at the intersection of emerging technologies and real-world challenges.