Work in a group of 4 to design, launch, and “run” a school-appropriate streaming service over two weeks. You’ll make decisions about business model, pricing, budgeting, marketing, metrics, operations, and legal/ethical policies, then refine your plan and prepare an investor pitch.
Team size: 4 students
Goal: Work as a startup team to design, launch, and “run” a streaming service while making realistic business decisions.
Keep content school-appropriate (PG / TV-PG or lower).
You may invent titles, genres, and talent; do not use copyrighted characters or actual show scripts.
If you reference real companies, do so only for comparison—your service must be an original concept.
By the end of the two weeks, your group will have:
A clear business model (how you make money)
A target customer and marketing plan
A basic budget and pricing strategy
Policies for copyright/licensing, privacy, and moderation
A short investor pitch (written or spoken)
Days 1–2: Concept + customer + value proposition
Days 3–4: Pricing + revenue model + budget assumptions
Days 5–6: Marketing plan + metrics
Days 7–8: Operations + legal/ethics policies
Days 9–10: Iterate using results + pitch
Directions: Answer items together as a team. Assign roles (e.g., CEO, CFO, CMO, COO), but everyone contributes.
Name your streaming service (school-appropriate).
Which value proposition is MOST likely to help a brand-new streaming service compete against larger competitors?
Categorize each startup decision as primarily Business Model, Marketing, or Operations/Legal.
Choose subscription price
Decide ad-supported vs. no-ads
Pick target audience segment
Choose launch promotion
Set content rating rules
Create privacy policy summary
Business Model
Marketing
Operations/Legal
In 5–7 sentences, describe your service’s target customer and what problem you solve for them. Include:
Who they are (age range, interests, habits)
What they currently use (or what frustrates them)
Why your service is a better fit
Which revenue model should your streaming service start with (pick ONE primary model)?
Pick TWO assumptions you will use for your first budget draft.
Budget math check: If your monthly subscription price is
Create a simple Month 1 budget estimate for your launch. In 6–10 sentences (or bullet points), include:
Your price and revenue model (from earlier)
Your Month 1 customer estimate (subscribers or users)
At least 3 cost categories (examples: content/licensing, platform/tech, marketing, staff/tools, legal/compliance)
A quick conclusion: will you likely be profitable in Month 1? Why or why not?
Match each marketing term to the best description.
| Draggable item | arrow_right_alt | Corresponding Item |
|---|---|---|
Churn | arrow_right_alt | Specific group you focus on |
CAC | arrow_right_alt | How you want to be perceived |
Target segment | arrow_right_alt | Cost to acquire one customer |
Positioning | arrow_right_alt | Percent who cancel over time |
Pick TWO marketing actions that are most likely to be effective for a local launch in one school district + nearby community.
Categorize each metric as primarily Acquisition, Engagement, or Revenue/Retention.
Website visits from campaign
Free trial sign-ups
Average minutes watched per user
% of users who watch 3+ days/week
Churn rate
Average revenue per user (ARPU)
Acquisition
Engagement
Revenue/Retention
Write your Week 1 marketing plan. Use bullet points and include:
Your target audience (1 sentence)
Your positioning statement (1 sentence)
TWO marketing channels you will use
A simple funnel: awareness → sign-up → activation (what happens at each step?)
THREE metrics you will track and why each matters
Select TWO examples of costs that are most likely to be fixed monthly costs for a streaming service (costs that don’t change much with the number of users).
Categorize each policy topic as primarily Legal, Ethical, or Both.
Copyright/licensing rules
Recommendation algorithm fairness
User data privacy
Content moderation guidelines
Legal
Ethical
Both
Write ONE clear rule for what content is allowed on your service (PG/TV-PG or lower).
Draft a short policy set for your service. Use headings and bullet points, and include:
Copyright/licensing (how you will avoid piracy/infringement)
Privacy (what data you collect and what you don’t collect)
Moderation (how you handle reports and repeat violations)
Write it so a student user could understand it.
In this checkpoint, you’ll respond to launch results, improve your plan, and prepare an investor pitch.
Your teacher will give your team a set of Week 1 results (example: sign-ups, churn, watch time, revenue, costs, user complaints).
Your job: interpret the data, make changes, and explain your reasoning.
Retention math check: If you start Week 1 with
Your Week 1 results show high sign-ups but low activation (many people sign up but don’t watch much in the first 48 hours). Which change is MOST likely to improve activation?
Categorize each proposed change as primarily Product/Content, Pricing/Revenue, or Marketing/Acquisition.
Add a ‘Start Here’ playlist
Improve search and recommendations
Introduce a student discount tier
Add an ad-supported free tier
Run a referral program
Partner with school organizations
Product/Content
Pricing/Revenue
Marketing/Acquisition
Using your team’s Week 1 results (provided by your teacher), write a short iteration plan.
Include:
TWO metrics you will prioritize improving (and why)
TWO changes you will make (product, pricing, or marketing)
ONE risk or tradeoff of your changes
How you will know by the end of Week 2 whether the changes worked
Your team will present a short investor pitch (3–5 minutes) or submit a written pitch (about 1 page). Your pitch should persuade a realistic audience (school admin, PTA, local sponsor, or “angel investor”) that your service is worth supporting.
Pitch must include:
Problem + target customer
Solution/value proposition
Revenue model + pricing
Key assumptions + simple budget summary
Go-to-market plan (channels + funnel)
Metrics (what you’ll track and current Week 1 results if provided)
Risks + how you’ll reduce them
Use clear, non-technical language, but show you understand the business.
Put these pitch sections in the most logical order for a 3–5 minute investor pitch.
Traction/metrics (or what you will measure)
Target customer
Go-to-market plan
Hook + problem
Business model + pricing
Solution/value proposition
Risks + next steps / ask
Select TWO KPIs that are MOST persuasive to include in a Week 1 investor pitch update for a streaming service.
Which “ask” is MOST realistic for a school-appropriate startup pitch at the end of this simulation?
Write your final investor pitch (script or one-page write-up).
Requirements:
Hook + problem (1–2 sentences)
Target customer (1–2 sentences)
Value proposition (1–2 sentences)
Revenue model + pricing (include at least one number)
Budget snapshot (top 3 costs + whether you expect profit/loss at first)
Go-to-market plan (2 channels + funnel steps)
3 KPIs you will track (and why)
2 risks + how you’ll reduce them
Your “ask” (what support you want)
Write it so a non-expert could understand it.