The Candy Store of New Technologies: Lessons from Teaching Prototyping

For over four years, I taught a class called Prototyping with New Technologies, where large groups of students embarked on an eight-week journey to build feasible enterprise products. Each cohort brought fresh energy, eager to create the next big thing. Most of these students, at the beginning, spoke a different language—the language they had started internally practicing for VCs. Their mindset was clear:

1. Fundraising Over Profitability: 'Okay, after I get this MVP out, I’m going to raise.' They weren’t thinking about profitability. They thought about profit, sure—but only in the context of what they were going to pitch to their VC. To them, profit wasn’t about sustainability or long-term growth; it was about hitting a number that would boost their valuation and make their next fundraising round smoother. This probably came from Shark Tank or other experts who have set rules on how one must talk about their ideas, how to seek validation from those with heavier pockets.

2. Tech as the Only Candy in the Store: But there was a pattern I noticed early on—students would fixate on the latest trending technology, treating it like the only candy available at the candy store. If AI was on the rise, then obviously AI had to be part of every solution they built. If blockchain was making waves, suddenly every project needed a decentralized ledger, even when it made no sense. What I saw was a shift from entrepreneurs seeking the right technology to fit their solution to entrepreneurs forcing technology into solutions just because it was new and exciting.

3. Not Every Problem Needs the Latest Tech: This mindset, while well-intentioned, is flawed. Not every problem demands the latest and greatest technology. Often, the best solutions are the simplest ones. Over time, my students began to grasp this. They learned that while emerging technologies offer powerful possibilities, they are tools—not mandatory ingredients in every prototype. We started to focus on contextual innovation—understanding the real problem first, then selecting the right solution, whether that meant AI, a traditional database, or even just a well-organized spreadsheet.

4. The Blockchain Experiment: In two years out of the four I taught the class, blockchain was the mandatory ingredient. I fixated on this one technology. I called it Prototyping with New Technologies: Blockchain. I told them, "Well, here is your technology. Force-fit all you want, but think differently. Find where this tech could actually make a difference. Find where it can make things easier." This meant that every project had to incorporate blockchain, whether it was a perfect fit or not. It forced students to examine blockchain critically—not as a gimmick but as a potential tool that must justify its own necessity. Some projects thrived with it, others exposed its limitations. The goal was never to reject new tech outright but to instill the habit of questioning its relevance before adopting it blindly—because that's the point of new solutions: they’re supposed to solve a problem and make things more convenient. At the same time, it was also about teaching entrepreneurs that sometimes, it's good to go back to the basics. To work on simple solutions that convince instead of confuse.

5. Build Solutions That Can Evolve: But then again, I was listening to Sam Altman talk, and he made huge sense when he said you have to build a solution that is constantly able to learn, scale, and evolve. Which, of course, is just a fancy way of saying, 'Don’t build something that breaks the moment a real user touches it.' It’s common sense, as he pointed out, but he also observed something true—the new wave of entrepreneurs are thinking of particular solutions without giving them room to grow.

6. Speak About the Idea, Not Just the Pitch: And at the end of it, my goal was to teach them to speak about the idea itself—to talk about the solution they had brought to life. Because let’s be honest— a pitch deck full of buzzwords won’t save you when your app crashes after three users sign in simultaneously. But what was lost in all this is that now, entrepreneurs you meet are only thinking of raising; they are only thinking of valuations.

7. Culture vs. Profitability: The other thing they focused on was culture. Which is great to think about. But at what point in the company life cycle should you focus solely on culture? That was another lesson. "If you aren't profitable, you have no money, if you have no money, you lose people; if you have no people, how are you focusing on culture?" Again, there are exceptions to this, and more often than not, the entrepreneurs that focus on the goal rather than how they are going to raise are the ones that last longer. Yes, it was important to know what a pitch deck is. The pitch deck is a good outline to set goals for a company. It serves as a written promise of where you want to be. It is good to speak it into existence. It also clarifies the idea you have in your mind, and the outline that Sequoia Capital had in the rounds of the startup circuits was a great way to position the idea and conduct an internal feasibility study.

8. Ideas Matter More Than Tech Trends: My base was always to emphasize that the idea is what matters. Today, you may use blockchain; tomorrow, you may use another ingredient to make it better. What matters is the solution you are creating—it needs room to grow. The limiting is what handicaps a startup from aging well. And companies do need to age well. Acquisition, merger, and another round of funding should not be primary goals. If they happen, great—pop the champagne, take a selfie. But if they don’t, focus on actually building something useful first. They should be considerations if they come into an entrepreneur's path—well, then give it a second thought. If not, focus on the solution and how you can grow.

9. Thinking Beyond VC Approval: Another pattern I saw—students weren’t entirely radical, but they weren’t playing it completely safe either. They focused on what VCs liked. But the best ideas come from those who unabashedly believe in their solution, even if a few say no. Canva is one such company—they faced so many no's, but the founders believed in their idea so much that they pushed through the no's and emerged as one of the most convenient tools out there. They didn’t force disruption; they simply understood convenience and human behavior.

10. Technology Should Serve the Problem: We need to teach entrepreneurs to think critically about technology. Innovation isn’t about shoehorning AI or blockchain into every solution—it’s about solving problems effectively. The lesson is simple: technology should serve the problem, not the other way around. Sometimes, the best solution is not the flashiest one but the one that just works. You know, like a good old-fashioned spreadsheet—ugly but unstoppable.

At the end of it all, I realized that students learn when you want to teach and when you elicit thought. Prod them. Don't just tell them how it is—help them think for themselves. Leave the decisions to them. Tell them how things were, how things are, and how things might be. Give them your views—because yes, your views on subjects are important. But give them room to think for themselves. The goal is not to make them clones of existing entrepreneurs but to help them develop their own perspectives and build solutions that matter.

And most importantly, in an age of information overload, it is critical to teach students how to learn, think, and absorb knowledge. The challenge isn’t a lack of information—it’s filtering what matters, questioning what doesn’t, and developing the ability to make sound decisions in an ever-changing technological landscape.

Disclaimer: My students are obviously better than yours. Proceed teaching yours with caution.

P.S. I binge-watched a season of A.P. Bio. That's another way to go. Make it personal.