On Tuesday, November 11, the Social Impulse Hub hosted the fourth ISIHUB meeting at Salinenstraße 34 in Erfurt, marking the first workshop of the Business Skills Program under the Social Impulse Academy: the Value Proposition Workshop. The session offered an engaging, hands-on introduction to one of the core building blocks of entrepreneurship – understanding your customer and shaping the value your business provides.
The workshop was opened by Lara Lannan from Werkhaus Inclusion, who welcomed participants and set the stage for the evening. The session was facilitated by Martin Arnold-Schaarschmidt, Training & Consulting Specialist, who guided participants through practical frameworks, interactive exercises, and real-time feedback loops. Before diving in, participants completed an initial knowledge assessment sheet, helping them reflect on their current understanding of their business ideas, essentially a short “pre-test” to anchor the learning process.
Photos: Sharon Susan Saj, Linda Busato
The heart of the workshop unfolded through a dynamic pair exercise, where participants worked in teams of two to explore, challenge, and refine each other’s ideas. The activity followed a step-by-step process:
- Discover – Interview your partner about their idea
- Reframe the Problem – Interpret their needs and articulate your understanding
- Ideate – Generate alternative approaches or solutions
- Share Solutions & Capture Feedback – Present ideas and exchange insights
- Reflect & Input into the Value Proposition Canvas (VPC) Customer Profile – Document learnings
- Generate a New Solution – Build on insights and redesign your idea
- Share Updated Solutions & Receive Feedback
Throughout the exercise, participants used the Value Proposition Canvas, focusing specifically on the customer profile section-pain points, needs, desires, and tasks, to clarify who they were building for and why their idea matters.
As the structured activities came to a close, the room opened into an easy, candid discussion. Participants reflected on how the questionnaire and exercises pushed them to think more critically. One participant shared that the guiding questions felt like a funnel: each one narrowing the clutter, pushing them closer to clarity, and gently steering them toward workable solutions. Others echoed how valuable it was to exchange perspectives, challenge assumptions, and learn from one another’s approaches.
Photos: Linda Busato, Mathis Groisbois
The meeting wrapped up with an energetic exchange of comments, questions, and insights, showing once again how peer learning is central to the spirit of the Social Impulse Hub. As the Business Skills Program continues, participants are building not just their business models, but also a supportive community that fuels motivation, creativity, and growth.
This first workshop marked an important milestone in the six-month journey ahead—laying a strong foundation for participants to refine their ideas and move closer to creating impactful, customer-centered solutions.
The project has been co-funded under the Interreg Central Europe program of the European Union through the project “TASK4ISI” – Transnational Action to advance SKills and competences FOR Inclusive entrepreneurship and Social Innovation.
