Bring an idea. Be ready to work through the numbers. Lions Den starts with a challenge in a specific area. The hosts invite business proposals and policy ideas, question the mechanism and examine what it would take to make the proposal work.
The permanent hosts are Ada and Prof Prem, joined by a third character chosen for the subject. Shehzad
Poonawalla is not an approved host. Ideas can come from anyone. The team will also discover ideas from public sources, record where they came from and invite critical examination. Discovery is not endorsement, and an idea found online does not become our intellectual property.
Two routes
Startup ideas: who is the customer, what problem is solved, why would someone pay and can the operation sustain itself? Policy ideas: what public problem is addressed, who benefits, who pays, what changes in authority and how would outcomes be assessed? A policy proposal need not earn commercial revenue to have value. A business proposal must not hide its costs behind an unspecified future subsidy.
Challenge page
The question; why it matters; the conditions a proposal must address; submission requirements; closing date when one is set; review process; hosts; and downloadable reference material. Example challenge, proposed: “Can a neighbourhood reduce the combined cost of housing and daily travel without reducing access to work, care and education?” Prompt: “Describe the mechanism, the people it serves, the resources required and the strongest reason it could fail.”
What a published business study contains
The customer and market; demand assumptions; revenue model; pricing; capital expenditure; working capital; operating costs; unit economics; profit and loss; cash flow; break-even conditions; funding requirement; risks; and low, base and high scenarios. Show the business with and without any proposed policy support. Record the source and date of every material input. Distinguish actual observations, estimates and untested assumptions. Publish the editable financial sheet for free download alongside the discussion.
What a policy study contains
The current mechanism; proposed change; affected groups; public and private costs; delivery capacity; intended outcomes; unintended consequences; decision rights; implementation sequence; evaluation plan; and a condition for revision or withdrawal.