Business simulation for university courses
For your class: five people, one desk each, run Campus Market quarter by quarter for four years against three rivals that play to win.
A semester-long market for a class of teams to compete in. This one opens as Campus Market: A consumer subscription market a class runs in teams over a semester, each team its own company. Rename it, reprice it, or describe the market you want and let Nova rewrite it to fit.
What a steady team ends up with
Played steadily for all four years — quality first, then growth, a fair share of the bank spent each year — a steady team ends with 4.1% of the market, finishing #5 of 6, on $769k of revenue in the last year.
The team starts from nothing:$400k in the bank and no subscribers yet.
People who play it well do better, and a bad plan runs out of money.
Revenue in the last year: $769k
Profit in the last year: $282k
Subscribers at the end: 16,500
Share of the market: From nothing to 4.1%
Where it finishes: #5 of 6
Years and decisions: 4 years, quarterly
What you'll decide each quarter
Each quarter you price the subscription, split spend between winning subscribers and keeping them, choose new features against reliability, and decide when to raise money.
Each decision shows on a forecast before you file it, and every period resolves against the rivals and the economy.
Who your subscribers are
Downloads are cheap; the second week is the business. Most people who try it leave, so what matters is how many subscribers stay and pay, and what it cost to find them.
400,000 subscribers in all, across United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Canada and Australia.
Free-tier tourists: They try everything, pay for little, and leave for the next thing. About 200,000 of them, worth $25 a year each.
Committed users: It is part of their week, and they pay because it earns its place. About 120,000 of them, worth $65 a year each.
Power users: They want every feature and will tell everyone when it breaks. About 40,000 of them, worth $125 a year each.
Families and teams: One account for several people, bought by whoever is organised. About 40,000 of them, worth $110 a year each.
Who you're up against
Three rivals are already in it, and they play to win: they cut prices, spend on marketing and answer what you do. Most of the market is theirs on day one.
The app everyone has heard of: The biggest, and slow to change — it has stopped listening to its smaller customers. Holds about 34% of the market.
The free, ad-funded one: Wins on price and little else; its customers leave the moment somebody is better. Holds about 20% of the market.
The darling of the reviews: Clever and quick, but stretched thin and hard to get hold of. Holds about 8% of the market.
How it works
Free until you start: building and previewing cost nothing, and starting is $10, once.
Build it — free: Press build and you get your own copy of this market: four kinds of subscriber, three rivals and five markets.
Make it yours: Change any number, describe the market you want in a sentence or two and let Nova fill it in, or upload a profit and loss or a month-by-month sales history to fit it to your real figures.
Preview — free: See what a steady team ends up with, and every warning worth reading, before you pay anything.
Start — $10: Pay once to start, your seat included; everyone else at the table is $1 a seat. Then run it quarter by quarter for four years.
Also for
university · college · course · lecturer · professor · semester · module
How much does the business simulation for university courses cost?
Building and previewing are free: make your own copy of this market, change anything in it and see what a steady team ends up with without paying. Starting the simulation is $10, once, and your own seat is included; everyone else at the table is $1 a seat.
Can I change the market for my class?
Yes. Every number can be changed — the subscribers and what they pay, the rivals, the markets, the costs and the starting cash. Or describe the market you want in a sentence or two and Nova, SparkTower's AI, fills every section in for one Nova action. To play a real company's numbers, upload its profit and loss or a month-by-month sales history and the simulation is fitted to them.
Is it a fair contest for a class?
It is tuned to be one: played steadily, a team should end with between 2% and 35% of the market — enough to be a real business, not so much that one ordinary plan walks away with it. This one's preview comes to about 4.1%. Teams that read the market well do better.
Can my class play it together?
Yes — it is set up for a table of five, one desk each: chief executive, marketing, finance, product and operations. Starting it gives you a link to invite the other four, and every quarter their decisions land together. A bigger group starts one simulation per table of five.
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