Introducing The Slingshot: An AI Startup Simulation — a free, open-source learning game capturing the challenges and opportunities of technology-based venturing. It is designed as a tool to inform class discussions, breaking away from commercial and closed simulations. It is simple to use - as it is hosted on GitHub page with no registration required and no personal data collected. It can be used as is, or you can adjust, modify, or adapt it to suit your teaching needs.
Players can develop a wide range of entrepreneurial strategies, while learning about key concepts and the organizational choices, including pivoting, staff hiring and layoffs, funding and funder dynamics (including bootstrapping, crowdfunding, angels, VCs, and CVCs), financial forecasting, ownership shares with a Cap Table, grants applications, business models, markets and customer development, managing team morale, competing against rivals, and much more. Every aspect of the game is connected, and decisions in one area may help or hinder others. Players have to allocate managerial attention across competing demands on their time and resources, as they build out their venture and try to reach three milestones. There is a guided play mode, a short/long tutorial, embedded help buttons and an extreme version for experience players. At the end of the game, there is a downloadable PDF about their entrepreneurial journey for reflection and feedback. It can be played many times, as it is challenging. Winning involves completing the third milestone and then choosing among different exit options, including a potential AI unicorn. The simulation is set in the dynamic UK AI ecosystem, with events and experiences that give an 'authentic' experience.
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