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Independent Portfolio
Through Building

AI Trade School - Session 7A

7-Day Real-World Challenge

The Shift: From Executor to Builder

Executor

  • Follows steps
  • Completes assignments
  • Executes tasks
  • Seeks approval

Builder

  • Owns problems
  • Solves real issues
  • Creates value
  • Drives decisions

Today's Journey

  1. Select Your Problem — Pick from 5 curated real business problems
  2. Form Your Pod — Self-organize into 2-3 person teams
  3. Plan Your 7-Day Build — Map timeline, roles, and milestones

By day 7: A solution you'll showcase

🎯 The 3 Lenses Framework

How to Evaluate Every Problem

💰
Business Impact
Revenue, cost savings, customer satisfaction, operational efficiency
📊
Data Reality
Data availability, quality, completeness, recency, and complexity
⚙️
Solution Feasibility
Can it be solved in 7 days with current skills and resources?

📋 Meet the 5 Problems

Real businesses. Real opportunities. 7-day solutions.

Churn
Subscription SaaS
Losing recurring revenue to subscription cancellations
Inventory
E-commerce
Excess inventory, stockouts, and warehouse costs
No-Show
Healthcare
Lost revenue and resource waste from missed appointments
Recommendations
Streaming
Increasing engagement and watch time through personalization
Employee Churn
HR / Operations
Recruiting costs, knowledge loss, and team disruption

Problem #1: Customer Churn

Subscription SaaS

💰 Business Impact
Losing recurring revenue to subscription cancellations. Every 1% reduction in churn = significant revenue preservation.
📊 Data Reality
Customer usage logs, subscription history, engagement metrics. 2-year historical data available. Clear behavioral signals before churn.
⚙️ Solution Feasibility
Build prediction model identifying at-risk customers. Create retention dashboard with recommendations. 7 days ✓

Problem #2: Inventory Optimization

E-commerce

💰 Business Impact
Excess inventory ties up capital and storage costs. Stockouts lose sales. Optimal inventory balances both.
📊 Data Reality
Historical sales data, current warehouse levels, supplier information, lead times. Clear demand patterns and seasonality.
⚙️ Solution Feasibility
Forecasting model predicting demand. Automated reorder recommendations. Executive dashboard. 7 days ✓

Problem #3: Patient No-Show

Healthcare

💰 Business Impact
No-shows mean lost revenue, wasted provider time, and scheduling chaos. Predicting and reducing them improves clinic operations.
📊 Data Reality
Appointment history, patient demographics, distance to clinic, appointment type, time of day. Multi-year patterns available.
⚙️ Solution Feasibility
No-show prediction model. Optimize reminder strategies. Recommend scheduling interventions. 7 days ✓

Problem #4: Movie Recommendations

Streaming

💰 Business Impact
Better recommendations = increased engagement, higher watch time, improved retention. Core business driver.
📊 Data Reality
User viewing history, ratings, genres, metadata. Millions of data points. Clear preference patterns in the data.
⚙️ Solution Feasibility
Build recommendation engine MVP. Collaborative filtering or content-based approach. Evaluate with test user cohort. 7 days ✓

Problem #5: Employee Churn

HR / Operations

💰 Business Impact
Turnover costs 50-200% of salary (recruiting, training, lost productivity). Predicting at-risk employees enables retention strategies.
📊 Data Reality
Employee records, performance reviews, salary history, tenure, department, exit interviews. Clear signals before departure.
⚙️ Solution Feasibility
Build risk assessment model. Identify retention opportunities. Create intervention playbook for managers. 7 days ✓

🎯 Selection Process

How to Choose YOUR Problem

  1. Review all 5 problems — Understand context, data, business impact
  2. Evaluate using 3 lenses — Which excites you? Where's your impact?
  3. Pick the one that energizes you — Best project is the one you want to build
Choose the problem that makes you WANT to solve it

🤝 Pod Formation

Self-Organize into Teams

👥

Ideal Size: 2-3 People

Large enough for perspectives, small enough for agility

🎯

Around Shared Interest

Same problem choice. Pods can duplicate problems.

🔄

Organic Role Emergence

Don't assign. Let people contribute from strength.

⏱️

5 Minutes to Form

Move quick. Adjust later if needed.

📅 The 7-Day Framework

Your Execution Timeline

1
Days 1-2
UNDERSTANDING
2
Days 3-5
BUILDING
3
Days 6-7
REFINING

📖 Days 1-2: Understanding

Build Your Foundation

What does the data tell us?

Explore datasets, understand distributions, identify patterns

What's the business problem?

Understand why it matters, who benefits, stakes involved

How do we measure success?

Define metrics, criteria, what "done" looks like

Deliverables

Exploration notebook, problem statement, metrics

🔨 Days 3-5: Building

Create Your Solution

Analysis & Models

Statistical analysis, predictive models, visualizations

Professional Grade

Production-ready code, documented assumptions

Iterative Approach

Build → Test → Learn → Refine constantly

Technical Guidance

Daily check-ins, problem-solving partnerships

✨ Days 6-7: Refining

Polish & Prepare

Beautiful Visualizations

Clear charts, dashboards, professional materials

5-Minute Showcase

Clear story. Explain to non-technical people.

Document Everything

Methodology, decisions, assumptions, learnings

Final Review

Coach feedback and refinement suggestions

🎯 Metrics & Success Criteria

How We'll Measure Your Work

Technical Depth
Proper methodology, sound assumptions, rigorous analysis, production-quality code
Communication Clarity
Can non-technical people understand? Clear storytelling and explanations?
Business Alignment
Does it address the problem? Real value and actionable insights?
Professional Presentation
Quality of visuals, documentation, and overall polish

💪 Pod Dynamics

What Makes a Pod Successful

Clear Ownership
Everyone knows what they're building and responsible for
Complementary Skills
Leverage different strengths across the team
Daily Stand-ups
10-minute check-ins each morning. Alignment and blockers.
Psychological Safety
It's okay to ask questions. It's okay to fail.
Coach Partnership
Your coach is invested in your success

⚠️ Common Blockers & Solutions

We've Seen Them Before

📊 Our data is messy
Data cleaning is part of the skill. It's the real world.
❓ We don't know where to start
Coach discovery session on Day 1. We'll map the first 24 hours.
⚙️ Our model isn't working
Simplify scope. Try different approach. Perfection isn't the goal.
⏱️ Running out of time
Focus on core insights, not perfection. 80/20 approach.
🤝 We don't agree on direction
Coach facilitates. Build in parallel. Test both approaches fast.

🎓 Your Coach is Here

You're Not Alone in This

Daily Check-Ins

Every morning and afternoon. Dedicated time for your pod's questions.

Problem-Solving Partner

Debug code, validate approaches, suggest alternatives together.

Business Context

Help understand impact, guide prioritization, connect to real-world.

Accountability & Motivation

Keep you energized, celebrate wins, help through tough moments.

Coaching is asking better questions, not giving answers

🏆 What You're About to Build

The Real Payoff

Real Solution

Solving actual business problem with real data. Not toy. Not tutorial.

Portfolio Proof

Project you'll show employers. "Here's what I can do."

Complete Skillset

Data skills, business acumen, communication. Everything employers want.

Builder Mindset

Prove to yourself you solve real problems. That changes everything.

Let's Build
Something Great

Your 7-Day Journey Starts Now

  1. Pick your problem — Which one excites you most?
  2. Form your pod — Find 1-2 teammates who chose same problem
  3. Plan Day 1 — What's first thing you'll explore?
  4. Start building — 7 days from now, you'll showcase your solution
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Title
Shift
Journey
3 Lenses
5 Problems
Problem 1
Problem 2
Problem 3
Problem 4
Problem 5
Selection
Pod Formation
7-Day Timeline
Days 1-2
Days 3-5
Days 6-7
Success Criteria
Pod Dynamics
Blockers
Coach Support
The Payoff
Final Push
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