Customer Discovery & Innovation “Foraging for Market-Fit” (NUTR-ON288)

Summer 2026 · NUTR ON288 · Tufts University · 1.5 credits · Undergraduate

This course introduces the fundamentals of Innovation, with a focus on Problem Identification, Customer Discovery, and Value Proposition. At its core, Innovation is about providing value to a customer by removing a problem. All students will engage in small Working Groups throughout the course (two to four students), and each working group will receive an alum/business mentor to assist with industry connections and frameworks for distilling the innovation goals. Each student will develop Customer Discovery Assessments Plans as a team. These plans will include market assessments and engaging in customer discovery activities. You will gain hands-on experience through collaborations, mentor interactions, and actual conversations with “actual customers”. However, there will be “no selling” going on in this course, as we will be “Foraging for Market-Fit”; No products, or as you will call them, “solutions”, will be discussed with customers. The discussions with “actual customers” will be about research and understanding marketing conditions and the current experience of the customer. No business experience required—just an interest in learning and vigor for problem-solving. Do not hesitate to reach out to the course instructor if you have any questions about course expectations or concerns about required, previous knowledge. This is primarily a digital/online course, with synchronous meeting times.

Course codes: NUTR-ON288

Course Discovery