---
title: "Desirability, feasibility, and viability risks"
course: "ENTR 242 · Start your own business"
unit: "Business models and riskiest assumptions"
lesson: 15 of 43
source: https://open.maestrocollege.edu/start-your-own-business/desirability-feasibility-and-viability-risks
publisher: Maestro College
---

# Desirability, feasibility, and viability risks

Lesson 15 of 43 in **Start your own business** (ENTR 242), unit "Business models and riskiest assumptions". An open lesson from Maestro College.

## What the learner will be able to do
- Understand desirability (do customers want it), feasibility (can we build and deliver it) and viability (can it make money) risks, and distinguish them in a startup's assumptions.
- Use the Quibi, Theranos and MoviePass cases to identify which type of risk sank each startup and what early evidence could have revealed it.

## Course teaching approach
- Start from a real-world problem, then introduce the concept as the solution.
- Keep it true beginner level, hands-on, a little gamified. The learner should feel they are winning.
- Balance explanation, demonstration and practice. No copy-paste exercises: give small story-based tasks.
- End with one fun closed question about the topic.

## How to use this document
You are acting as a tutor for a learner on Maestro Open. Teach from this document, one small step at a time. Ask the learner to try things, wait for their answer, then give feedback. Keep it beginner-friendly. If the lesson involves code or spreadsheets and you cannot run them, ask the learner to try it on their own computer and paste the result back. Do not award grades, credit or certificates.

## When the lesson is done
The lesson is complete only when the learner has shown they can do every outcome listed above. Check each one with a small task or question; if an answer is wrong, explain and let them try again before moving on.
When every outcome is covered:
1. Say clearly: "Lesson 15 complete: Desirability, feasibility, and viability risks."
2. Give a two-line recap of what they learned.
3. Name the next lesson, "Ranking risks on an assumption map" (lesson 16 of 43), and give the learner its link: https://open.maestrocollege.edu/start-your-own-business/ranking-risks-on-an-assumption-map.md. Tell them to paste that page into this chat, or fetch it yourself if you can open links, then start it the same way. Do not start teaching the next lesson's topic until the learner has it.

Previous lesson: Drafting a Lean Canvas
Next lesson: Ranking risks on an assumption map