ASU SES 498/598

AI-Powered Ideation & Market Discovery

Table of Contents

Class 1

AI-Powered Ideation

& Market Discovery

Space Business & Entrepreneurship

ASU SES 498/598

Fred von Graf

Tuesday, 1:30-2:45 PM

Transform your space business ideas with AI-powered research

Today's Mission

What You'll Learn Today

🚀

AI as Your Research Co-Pilot

Not magic, but a powerful research partner

🎯

Master the Tools

Perplexity, Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini

📝

Perfect Your Prompts

The PTF Framework for better results

💡

Ideate to Canvas

Transform AI insights into business models

The Business Model Canvas

Your Space Venture Blueprint

Business Model Canvas Framework
📺

Watch: Business Model Canvas Explained

Watch on YouTube
Business Model Canvas Video Thumbnail

A comprehensive 2-minute overview of the Business Model Canvas framework and how to use it effectively for your space venture.

🎯

What is the BMC?

A strategic tool that visualizes your entire business model on a single page.

Perfect for rapid iteration and AI-enhanced analysis.

🤖

AI + BMC = Power

We'll use AI to populate each of the 9 building blocks with space industry insights.

Transform ideas into structured business models.

9 Building Blocks to Define Your Business

💎 Value Propositions
👥 Customer Segments
💰 Revenue Streams
📢 Channels
🤝 Customer Relations
🔧 Key Resources
⚡ Key Activities
🏢 Key Partners
📊 Cost Structure

Why AI for Space Entrepreneurs?

The NewSpace Challenge

Traditional Research

⏱

Time:

Weeks of manual research

💰

Cost:

Expensive market reports ($5K-$50K)

🔒

Access:

Limited to public information

🐌

Speed:

Slow iteration cycles

AI-Enhanced Research

⚡

Time:

Hours to initial insights

💵

Cost:

$0-$200/month

🌐

Access:

Synthesis of vast data sources

🚀

Speed:

Rapid hypothesis testing

Example: Analyzing 500+ space industry reports in minutes vs. weeks

Your AI Toolkit

Choose the Right Agent for the Job

🔍

Perplexity

Best for: Sourced market research

Strength: Real-time web data with citations

Example: "Current small satellite launch market size"
🧠

Claude

Best for: Document analysis & synthesis

Strength: Large context window (200K tokens)

Example: Analyzing NASA requirements documents
💡

ChatGPT

Best for: Creative brainstorming

Strength: Diverse ideation & scenarios

Example: "10 novel lunar dust solutions"
✨

Gemini

Best for: Deep Research and prompt creation

Strength: Massive context window (1M tokens) & Knows the web

Example: "Create a prompt that will create an expert in space business analysis..."

The PTF Framework

Persona, Task, Format - Your Prompt Formula

P

Persona

Who should the AI be?

"You are a space industry analyst with expertise in satellite constellations..."

T

Task

What specific job needs doing?

"Analyze the market opportunity for optical inter-satellite links..."

F

Format

How should the output be structured?

"Provide: 1) Market size 2) Top 3 customers 3) Technical challenges in bullet points"

PTF in Action

Example: Lunar Dust Mitigation

❌

Basic Prompt

"Tell me about lunar dust problems"

✅

PTF Prompt

P: "You are a lunar mission systems engineer with expertise in environmental challenges."
T: "Analyze the market opportunity for lunar dust mitigation solutions for commercial landers."
F: "Provide:
  1. Market size (# of missions 2024-2030)
  2. Top 3 customer segments
  3. Current solution gaps
  4. Potential value proposition

Live Demo

Let's Research a Space Business Together

Our Example: "Space-Based Solar Power for Lunar Operations"

Step 1: Market Discovery with Perplexity
  • • Size the lunar power market
  • • Identify planned lunar missions
Step 2: Technical Analysis with Claude
  • • Review power requirements documents
  • • Identify technical constraints
Step 3: Creative Solutions with ChatGPT
  • • Generate innovative approaches
  • • Explore business models

Demo - Perplexity Prompt

Market Research Query

"What is the total addressable market for power systems 
on the lunar surface from 2024-2035? Include:

1. Number of planned lunar missions (government & commercial)
2. Average power requirements per mission
3. Current cost per kilowatt for lunar power
4. Major customers and their budgets

Please cite recent sources."

Expected Output:

  • → NASA Artemis: 40kW base power needs
  • → 50+ CLPS missions planned
  • → $1M+ per kW current costs
  • → Market size: $2-5B by 2035

Demo - Claude Analysis

Technical Document Review

PERSONA: You are a space power systems engineer.

TASK: Analyze these NASA lunar power requirements and identify 
the top 3 technical challenges for solar power systems.

FORMAT: For each challenge provide:
- Description (2 sentences)
- Current solutions and limitations
- Opportunity for innovation

Upload: NASA_Lunar_Power_Requirements.pdf

Expected Output:

  1. 14-day lunar night survival
  2. Dust accumulation on panels
  3. Temperature extremes (-173°C to 127°C)

Demo - ChatGPT Ideation

Creative Business Models

Generate 5 innovative business models for providing 
solar power to lunar operations. Consider:

- Power-as-a-Service models
- Shared infrastructure approaches
- Novel financing mechanisms
- Partnership structures

For each model, include:
1. How it works (2 sentences)
2. Revenue model
3. Key advantage over traditional approaches

Expected Output:

  • • Lunar power subscription service
  • • Multi-mission power sharing cooperative
  • • Power futures market for lunar operations

From AI to Canvas

Mapping Insights to Business Model Canvas

Value Propositions ← Technical advantages discovered

  • • "90% cost reduction vs. nuclear power"
  • • "Modular system grows with base"

Customer Segments ← Market research findings

  • • NASA Artemis program
  • • Commercial lunar landers (SpaceX, Blue Origin)
  • • International space agencies

Key Partners ← Ecosystem analysis

  • • Solar panel manufacturers
  • • Launch providers
  • • Space agencies

Your Turn - Hands-On Exercise

15-Minute AI Research Sprint

Instructions:

  1. Choose your space business idea
  2. Open 2 AI tools (Perplexity + one other)
  3. Use PTF framework for each query
  4. Document 3 key insights per tool
  5. Map findings to Canvas sections

Share Back:

  • • Most surprising discovery
  • • Most valuable insight for your business
  • • One challenge AI couldn't answer

Best Practices

Getting Quality AI Outputs

✅ DO:

  • • Iterate and refine prompts
  • • Cross-reference multiple AI tools
  • • Ask for sources and citations
  • • Break complex questions into parts
  • • Save effective prompts for reuse

❌ DON'T:

  • • Accept first answer as truth
  • • Rely on AI for financial projections
  • • Skip human validation
  • • Use outdated training data insights
  • • Ignore conflicting information

Common Space Business Prompts

Your Prompt Library Starter Pack

Market Sizing

"What is the TAM for [solution] in the [segment] market from 2024-2034?"

Competitive Analysis

"List companies providing [service] for [application] with their funding and customers."

Technical Validation

"What are the physics/engineering constraints for [technology] in [environment]?"

Customer Discovery

"What problems do [customer type] face with current [solution category]?"

Regulatory Landscape

"What licenses and regulations apply to [business type] in [jurisdiction]?"

Assignment

Your AI-Powered Canvas (Due Thursday)

Requirements:

  1. Research a new space venture using 2+ AI tools
  2. Document your prompts and tools used
  3. Complete first-pass Business Model Canvas in Canvanizer
  4. Prepare 2-minute presentation covering:
    • Your business idea
    • Most valuable AI insight
    • Biggest remaining unknown
Submission:
  • • Canvanizer link
  • • 1-page prompt documentation
  • • Key insights summary
Grading:

Depth of research, prompt quality, canvas completeness

🤖 AI Agents for Canvas Creation:

Space Business Strategist

Expert agent for space business strategy and market analysis
Business Model Canvas Expert

Specialized agent for creating and refining business model canvases
📝 Instructions:
  1. Copy the Business Model Canvas Expert markdown file into your favorite AI (ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, etc)
  2. Add an image of a business model canvas and prompt:
    "Analyze the following Business Model Canvas and suggest improvements and next steps"
  3. After receiving the analysis, follow up with:
    "Please redesign the canvas into a fully updated version with the suggested changes"
  4. You should now have a complete canvas with every box filled in

💡 Pro tip: You can also make this prompt an agent as well (more on this in next class)

Resources

Your AI Toolkit Setup

Free Tier Access:

Paid Tier:

Recommended Reading:

  • • "The Prompt Engineer's Handbook"
  • • NASA Technology Roadmaps
  • • SpaceNews.com market reports

Canvas Tool:

canvanizer.com/new/business-model-canvas

Next Class Preview

Thursday: Competitive Analysis & Value Proposition

You'll Learn:

  • • Advanced prompting for competitor research
  • • SWOT analysis with AI
  • • Finding your "secret sauce"
  • • Elevator pitch development

Come Prepared:

  • • Completed Canvas from today's assignment
  • • List of 3 potential competitors
  • • Draft value proposition (1 sentence)

Questions?

Office Hours:

Book Appointment

Contact:

Fred@W4M.ai

Remember:

AI is your co-pilot, not your pilot.

You still need to fly the spacecraft!

🚀

Let's build the future of space business together!

🎁 What do I use?

All AI Models. One Subscription.

Just $10/month

✨ What You Get:

  • • Access to GPT-4, Claude, Gemini & more
  • • All models in one platform
  • • No switching between services
  • • Unified chat interface

💰 Why It's Perfect:

  • • Student-friendly pricing
  • • Compare model outputs instantly
  • • No multiple subscriptions needed
  • • Perfect for course projects
🚀 Get Started with Abacus.ai

💡 Pro Tip: Use Abacus.ai to compare responses from different models for your space business ideas!