Great ventures often grow from the intersection of what you know, what you're good at, and what you care about. Mapping your experiences, interests, and passions reveals where your entrepreneurial edge lives.
The shift this week: Week 1 was about your traits and values — how you are. Week 2 is about your story — what you've lived, learned, and noticed. The problems closest to you are often the ones you're most qualified to solve.
Not sure how to say it? How to pronounce Ikigai →
Not sure how to say it? How to pronounce Ikigai →
💡 Pull out your VIA Character Strengths results from Week 1 — they'll help you answer these questions.
What moment in the talk hit closest to home for you — and why?
What belief or habit has been limiting your potential — without you naming it until now?
How does what Bailey describes connect to your Ikigai — the intersection of what you love, what you're good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for?
If you acted on your full potential starting this week — not someday, but this week — what's the first thing you would do differently?
The things you do that make time disappear. Your genuine interests, passions, and curiosities — not what you think you should care about, but what actually pulls you in.
Skills, knowledge, and abilities you've developed through experience. Includes formal training AND the things you learned the hard way — from life, not school.
Problems, gaps, and unmet needs you notice in your community, your field, or in the lives of people you care about. The thing that makes you think "someone should fix this."
Value that others are willing to exchange something for — money, time, attention, or support. In entrepreneurship, this is your revenue model question in disguise.
Where all four circles overlap is where your most sustainable, motivated, and impactful venture idea lives. It's not always obvious at first — the mapping process is how you find it.
Pull out your VIA Character Strengths results from Week 1 — your top 5 strengths go directly into the What You're Good At circle. Then use the ikigaitest.com tool to complete your full map (15 min individual). Share your center overlap with a partner — your partner gives one observation: "Here's something I heard that you didn't name yourself." Full class share-out: 3–4 students describe what landed at their center. Push for specificity — "I like helping people" needs to become something concrete.
Discussion prompt: "Who found a clear overlap — and who felt like their four circles barely touched? Both are valid. The point isn't a perfect answer — it's the questions the process forced you to ask."
Using your Ikigai map or life timeline from this week, describe the intersection where your skills, passions, and lived experiences overlap. What problem or need in the world does that intersection point toward? Be specific — don't just say "I like helping people." Name a real experience that shaped your perspective, explain why it stays with you, and describe what you wish had existed at the time. Then connect that to a possible direction for a venture.
When you reply to a classmate, identify one connection between their background and their entrepreneurial potential that they may not have named themselves — sometimes we can see each other's strengths more clearly than our own.
Post a response (~200 words), then reply to at least one classmate's post.
Grading note: Grade on specificity and honest self-reflection — not on having a polished venture idea. A student who names a real memory and connects it honestly to a possible direction is doing excellent work, even if the idea is rough.
Coming up in Week 3: We move from who you are to who you want to help. You'll define your target group using Simon Sinek's "Start With Why" framework and write your first one-sentence Why Statement. Come ready to name a specific group of people whose problem you care about solving.