01Comment 1This makes me think of setting up a Corporate Engineering Academy focused on practical experience, administration, and leadership. Question: What do you envision as the curriculum for this gap training?
03Comment 3Daniel’s comment: What is the niche? Engineering is broad. To prove a use case, I’d go with the highest pain point in a niche.
04Comment 4Another consideration is how to start. What means will you use to launch your business and establish a presence for these services you are offering? Do you have a list of “retired” Engineers that may want to do some consulting work?
05Comment 5Have you considered what this could look like if teaming up with universities? This would be a great way to get started and learn a lot based on the need for hands-on training.
06Comment 6How would you measure? Both Daniel and I are interested in what these KPIs look like to measure the before and after.
07Comment 7What system would you offer to capture LLs? How will it be licensed to the client? How will you ensure it is easy to use and that support staff are available to address client questions or issues when they arise? Don’t say “AI,” because that is not a good business model (today).
08Comment 8The Engineering Academy should provide certifications for achieving various levels. HR will need to be engaged, as the goal is to have engineers reach their top-tier levels and be available for advancement or increased pay. People will get discouraged and leave if they don’t feel adequately compensated or able to advance in position. What happens when all the newly enhanced people have topped out? Where will they go?
09Comment 9Does this SaaS system currently exist? How was it created? Has it been tested? Daniel knows from experience that this is a considerable investment of resources, including, but not limited to, financial resources and “sweat equity”.
10Comment 10Daniel’s comment: This is a version of ADDIE and Deming's work. How can you make this different from what all others provide? You need something that stands out as different, or even uniquely different, and can be copyrighted.
11Comment 11What does this look like? What can AI do specifically in the OS that can benefit the client? Everyone today believes they want “AI,” but you can clearly gain an advantage if you are specific about the AI benefits that make the processes you are suggesting easy to use and understand.
12Comment 12How can this be customized for each client, since each has a different culture and established systems they currently use? Some clients don’t want to give up systems that they are used to, so your OS must be compatible with other systems.
13Comment 13What is an example of this? Are we talking about what a client’s engineer may create in the course of their work? Or is this something that WW would create? If the latter, then see my comments about “Works for Hire”.
14Comment 14Daniel's comment: How will you be able to accurately answer or resolve organizational challenges with limited consulting experience? The answers can be incredibly in-depth and many outside of “Engineering”.
15Comment 15You may want to add specific areas that emerged from the assessment that the client identifies as a ‘need’.
16Comment 16Daniel’s comment: To validate this statement, you will need to provide a clear picture of “what” is being provided by the services you offer that will be different from what organizations have tried before.
17Comment 17What do you envision as the process to determine a “skills gap”? What will this entail? How rigorous is it, and does it comprehensively address potential gaps in the application of Engineering theories?
18Comment 18These will likely fall into specific engineering disciplines. Are you prepared to cover all disciplines, including the practical, technical, and knowledge requirements? If not, you may need to narrow the scope.
19Comment 19How many do you currently have? How have they been vetted? What is your recruitment plan for maintaining a pool of consultants? How will they be paid (work for you)? Sub-contract? Employees?
20Comment 20What does this mean? What does this look like? This should be more specific or should include examples within the niche(s) you want to address.
21Comment 21Depends. WW created, yes. These can include items that WW had to create to address the identified challenge or fill a gap, but they must be unique and not currently available to qualify as IP. If you are referring to items created with clients, they must be excluded from the “Works for Hire” clause in the client's contract.
22Comment 22WW Company? I’m not sure I follow which company you are referring to here. Is it WW or the client’s company?
23Comment 23What does this mean? Will you be attaining copyrights? I own two copyrights, and they are items that did not exist and do not exist at this time. They are unique and therefore fall under IP and are eligible for copyright protection.
25Comment 25What does your competition look like? What research have you done to understand what is currently provided and is being used by organizations? I know of a couple of “Engineering Consulting Firms” that provide similar services (e.g., consulting, mentoring, training, etc.)
27Comment 27What may be missing is an established network. Who is in your network that can benefit from this service? Having a network is the best way to start, with people you know.
30Comment 30What does the budget look like for this? How will you afford the initial start-up costs, including marketing and more? Daniel’s comment: This is a tough nut to crack! Marketing is a serious investment, not just in money but also in time. Expertise in marketing is needed, which may require additional funds. Don’t rely on social media posts to drive business.
31Comment 31How detailed is your assessment? Do you have an assessment plan? Do you have a template for a plan and a report? Daniel’s questions: What's actually in an assessment: what do you measure, how, and what does the deliverable look like?
32Comment 32You should pick a different name. “Ability Platform” and an “Experience and Expertise Assessment”. “Capability” is one of Daniel’s company's names. I’ve provided some additional suggestions elsewhere in this document.
33Comment 33As a suggestion, you should never offer free services. I see that it is on your website: a “free assessment”. You could get in debit very quickly. Most companies pay “Net 45 days,” which means a minimum of 45 days and usually 60+ days, so paying for travel expenses is not easily done with credit cards. A “Golden Rule” in consulting is not to give “free” services; however, you can provide money-back guarantees (however, you must be careful with these and have very specific measures and associated language described in the contract).
34Comment 34Some other expenses are Business entity liability insurance, both general and professional, and possibly business auto insurance, workman’s compensation, etc. Copyright and Trademark fees. Possibly more.
35Comment 35This page is focused on Mechanical Engineering. If this is your niche, you should be clearer. If your current training focuses solely on CAD, FEA, or GD&T, there is much more to consider if you want to provide services across all of Engineering.These three pillars of mechanical engineering represent the digital creation, virtual testing, and physical manufacturing constraints of a product.CAD (Computer-Aided Design) creates the 3D models and digital geometry of the part.FEA (Finite Element Analysis) simulates physical stresses and performance under real-world loads.GD&T (Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing) applies standardized symbols to drawings to communicate allowable manufacturing variations.
36Comment 36Daniel’s questions: What here is genuinely hard to copy? i.e., Why do they need you? Can you provide a better framework of what you’re actually selling or providing?
37Comment 37This is true if you are developing in the background or pre-client engagement; however, you can only strengthen your OS if sharing is allowed in the contract with your clients. Some may not offer that, some may have strict NDA policies, and almost all have “full ownership” of works-for-hire.
41Comment 41This should be an early consideration… to use as a proving ground for “hands-on” training.