ECO-STAR North weaves ancestral wisdom with AI, exploring approaches to climate entrepreneurship that honor the past while shaping resilient and self-determined futures for Northern communities.
Understanding the ECO-STAR North Methodology for Innovation
Let’s ditch the corporate jargon. The ‘Customer’ isn’t just a target demographic or a sales metric—they are the hero of your story. Who is this person or community that your idea is meant to serve? What’s their world like? What are the real, unmet needs that keep them awake at night, or the quiet dreams they’re hoping to realize? Getting to the heart of the ‘C’ is an act of radical empathy; it’s about closing the distance and truly understanding their journey.
This is where you become part detective, part storyteller.
It’s about more than just surveys or data points; it’s about deep listening, careful observation, and building authentic relationships. You have to walk in their shoes to see the world from their perspective. Are you addressing what they truly need, or just what you think they need? The most powerful innovations emerge from solving problems that are deeply felt and clearly understood.
When you genuinely place the Customer at the center of your universe, every decision becomes sharper. You’re not just creating a product or service; you’re crafting a tool, a gift, or an experience that genuinely supports the hero of your story on their journey. It’s the difference between broadcasting messages and walking alongside them.
What We’re Learning:
We’re reframing ‘Customer’ to mean ‘Community’ or ‘Co-creator.’ In arts and community development, relationships are rarely transactional. The “audience” isn’t passive; they actively shape meaning. This is crucial for interdisciplinary arts because it dissolves the wall between artist and viewer. The work becomes a shared space, a dialogue. Your ‘Customer’ is your collaborator, and the project’s success is measured by the strength and vitality of the community that forms around it.
ABOUT THE ECO-STAR NORTH PROGRAM
ECO-STAR North invites artists, educators, and community leaders to co-create a new path forward—where innovation grows from the land, the language, and the stories that have always been here.
This project launched in 2025 with generous support from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design Creative Entrepreneurship Program, Enterprise Development Group, The Arts Incubator Winnipeg, Art Borups Corners, the Manitoba Arts Council Indigenous 360 Program, The Labovitz School of Business and Economics at the University of Minnesota Duluth, the Ontario Arts Council Multi and Inter-Arts Projects Program, and the OpenAI Researcher Access Program.
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