M02-03 · AI Product & Business Strategy

Strategy, Market Analysis, and Business Modeling

Teaches students to think and operate strategically about products and markets. Covers competitive analysis (feature matrices, hands-on competitor testing), market sizing (TAM/SAM/SOM), developing and defending a product point of view, presenting strategy to executive audiences, synthesizing qualitative and quantitative inputs into strategic recommendations, and unit economics (CAC/LTV/payback period). Students learn to move beyond feature-level thinking to market-level positioning.

30 Hours

8 Learning objectives

Evaluate Bloom's ceiling (?)

5 Competencies

What You'll Be Able To Do

Learning Objectives

Objectives

Depth

Conduct hands-on competitive analysis: sign up for competitor products, map feature sets, compare pricing models, and identify positioning gaps using structured frameworks Apply
Estimate market size using bottom-up methodology (target companies x annual spend) and validate against top-down industry data Apply
Develop a product point of view: articulate where the market is going, how the company should position, and what strategic bets to make — with supporting evidence Create
Present strategy to executive audiences (VP/C-level) using answer-first structure: conclusion, evidence, methodology, recommendations Apply
Synthesize qualitative inputs (customer feedback, competitive moves, industry trends) with quantitative data (metrics, market size, unit economics) into coherent strategic recommendations Analyze
Calculate and interpret unit economics: customer acquisition cost (CAC), lifetime value (LTV), payback period, and their implications for growth strategy Apply
Use AI as a strategic sparring partner: pressure-test theses, generate counter-arguments, identify blind spots in strategic reasoning — while verifying all factual claims Evaluate
Build a prioritization model for a product roadmap that balances customer requests, competitive pressure, engineering capacity, and business priorities Create

Levels: Remember · Understand · Apply · Analyze · Evaluate · Create — highest demands most original thinking.

Core Competencies

What You'll Master

Competitive Analysis

Hands-on competitor evaluation, feature matrices, pricing comparison, positioning gap identification.

Market Sizing

TAM/SAM/SOM estimation, bottom-up and top-down approaches, assumption documentation.

Strategic Thinking

Developing product POV, identifying market trends, making strategic bets with supporting rationale.

Executive Communication

Answer-first presentations, defending strategic recommendations, handling skeptical pushback.

Unit Economics

CAC/LTV/payback calculation, growth model implications, financial modeling for product decisions.

Portfolio Artifact

What You'll Build

Strategic Analysis & Roadmap — Student selects a real product category, conducts competitive analysis (3-5 competitors with feature matrix and hands-on testing notes), estimates market size (TAM/SAM/SOM with documented assumptions), develops a strategic point of view (where the market is going, recommended positioning), calculates unit economics for a hypothetical business model, and produces a prioritized quarterly roadmap with RICE scores and executive-ready presentation (15 slides).

Tools You'll Use

Industry Tools, Not Toy Projects

Google Sheets

Financial models, competitive matrices, market sizing calculations, and unit economics analysis.

Google Slides

Executive presentations with answer-first structure for strategy communication.

Figma

Competitive screenshots, product teardown documentation, and visual comparison artifacts.

Claude

AI strategic sparring partner for research, counter-argument generation, and model review.

Notion

Strategy documentation, competitive intelligence tracking, and research synthesis.

Miro

Strategy mapping, competitive positioning diagrams, and market landscape visualization.