Customer Discovery and Market Insights – REAF Program – Pre-Incubation

Berytech is a leading organization in the Entrepreneurial Eco-system in Lebanon, that aims to provide a conducive environment for the creation and development of startups, through incubation, business support, counseling, funding, networking, and company hosting, hence taking part in the economic revival of the country, participating in wealth and job creation, and retaining graduates and high-level skills in Lebanon.

The Rural Entrepreneurs in Agri-Food (REAF) program aims at strengthening the business and product viability of innovative startups tackling sustainable rural economic development operating in South Mount Lebanon, Central and West Bekaa, Southern Baalbeck and Hasbaya. The program will provide the startups with the tools to transform their ideas into sustainable and profitable businesses. REAF’s youth training will enhance their entrepreneurship mentality and entry into the job market.

The Accelerator Program's mission is to nurture and grow disruptive ideas, proof of concepts, and prototypes that share three common characteristics:

1. A disruptive scientific or technological focus in agri-food, waste management and valorization, circular economy, and sustainable agriculture.
2. The possibility to scale in the local market and beyond that.
3. The potential to create sustainable job opportunities locally.

The REAF Program seeks a Customer Discovery and Market Insights Trainer to deliver the following requirements:

• Conducting a workshop and 40 mentoring sessions for 20 startups; this workshop aims to help early-stage startups uncover and validate their customer needs through structured discovery techniques. Entrepreneurs will learn how to use market research to refine their business ideas and assess the viability of their solutions. The focus is on actionable methods that provide clarity on market opportunities and guide startups in data-driven decision-making.
• Help the startups understand Customer Discovery by learning to conduct effective customer interviews using frameworks like “The Mom Test” to gather unbiased insights about customer needs and behaviors.
• Assist the startups in creating comprehensive customer persona by using templates and exercises to define personas that represent the core customer base and incorporates demographic, psychographic, and behavioral data into persona development.
• Teach the startups how to conduct Market Research and explore primary and secondary research techniques with tools to evaluate competitors and market positioning.
• Advise the startups on how to integrate their findings by developing a clear problem statement and translate the insights given during the workshop and clinics into actionable strategies for solution refinement.

Trainer’s Deliverables

• Conduct preparatory meetings with the Berytech Team to align the content of the workshop as well as the approaches and responsibilities under this agreement.
• Deliver a full-day or a half-day workshop on Customer Discovery and Market Insights to 20 REAF startups on a date agreed upon with the Berytech team.
• The workshop approach used must include exercises to practice customer interviews and case studies of startups that fall within the REAF sectors.
• Provide comprehensive content and materials that will be used by the entrepreneurs after attending the workshop team along with templates for creating personas and mapping customer journeys. These materials will include detailed information presented during the workshop, additional readings for the startup to research and understand the topic more, suggested links and sources on the topic...etc. All these materials should be uploaded in coordination with the Berytech team to make them accessible for the startups.
• Deliver a total of 40 1-on-1 clinics (60 minutes each) to 20 startups with the distribution of the hours to be determined.
• Submit a detailed written report on every startup’s progress throughout the training and conduct meetings with the Berytech team for verbal feedback.

Expected Outcomes

By the end of the service, the participants must have completed the following components:

• Better understanding of the content
• Several customer interviews to identify needs and main points.
• Create customer personas tailored to their business concept.
• Gain hands-on experience in analyzing market data to validate the feasibility of their business idea.
• Draft a problem statement that articulates the target market’s primary challenges and desired outcomes.

• No less than 7 years of experience in the field of business development, market studies, startup support, and economic development or any related field with associated high academic background.
• Certification in "Lean Startup Methodology" would be advantageous, in addition to having industry knowledge.
• Ability to lead workshops with multidisciplinary teams and support everyone’s style and growth.
• Strong business acumen across areas such as Product Development, Product Management, Start-ups, Marketing (Product or Brand), Organizational Behavior, Operations, Finance, and Design.
• Experience working with startups.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Strategic thinking and analytical execution.