| Course | ENT 588 Innovation and Design: Capstone Project (ENT/588) |
|---|---|
| Week | 6 |
| Paper type | Graduate capstone innovation proposal |
| Length | about 1,159 words, 4 double-spaced pages plus title page and references |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | University of Phoenix |
| Program | MBA |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for ENT 588 Week 6
Timberline Loop: A Capstone Proposal for Repair, Rental and Certified Used Gear
[Student Name]
University of Phoenix
ENT/588: Innovation and Design: Capstone Project
Week 6 Assignment
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
Timberline Outfitters, Timberline Loop and all figures are composites written for a model paper.
This proposal asks Timberline Outfitters' executive team to approve Timberline Loop, a circular program of repair, rental and certified used gear. Timberline, an invented Colorado apparel company with $310 million in revenue, has seen flat sales for three years as younger customers rent, repair and buy used gear from competitors. Over five weeks, an exploration team defined the challenge, studied customers, tested prototypes, designed financing and planned scaling. This paper brings that work together.
The Opportunity
Shoppers younger than 35 admire Timberline gear yet purchase it less frequently than their elders; roughly one in three purchased secondhand outdoor equipment during the last twelve months. Competitors' resale and repair programs attract new customers and media attention. Interviews in Week 2 found three unmet needs: owners want unused gear to have a trusted second life, young adventurers want premium gear for occasional trips without owning it and customers with damaged gear want fast repairs.
The Innovation
Timberline Loop has three connected services. Fix-It-Fast offers same-day repair of zippers, seams and buckles at store counters at fixed prices. Trip Kits rents premium shells, packs and sleeping bags for one to three weeks, booked online and picked up in stores. Trade-Up takes used Timberline gear in exchange for store credit, inspects and certifies it and routes it to the rental fleet or an in-store certified used rack.
Evidence From Testing
Week 3's tests were designed as experiments with thresholds set in advance. Repair: 74 repairs in three weekends against a target of 60, satisfaction 4.7 and about $3,900 in add-on sales. Rentals: 56 bookings in three weeks against 40, with 71 percent of renters under 30. Trade-in: 238 items against 150. Online resale failed its target, with only 19 percent of items selling in four weeks, so the design changed to in-store racks and rental supply. Reporting the failure alongside the successes shows what the team learned.
Why a Circular Model Fits
Tukker (2004) classified product-service systems into product-oriented services, such as repair and maintenance, use-oriented services, such as renting and leasing, and result-oriented services, and assessed their economic and environmental potential, finding that use-oriented models can reduce material use when products are shared intensively. Bocken et al. (2014) reviewed sustainable business models and described archetypes including maximizing material efficiency, closing resource loops, delivering functionality rather than ownership and encouraging sufficiency. Timberline Loop combines several archetypes: repair extends product life, rental delivers use rather than ownership and trade-in closes the loop. Timberline's durability, the reason customers trust its gear, is what makes the model work.
Business Model
Revenue comes from repair fees, rental fees and certified used gear sales, plus add-on sales of new gear in stores. Key resources are skilled technicians, a rental fleet, a cleaning facility and booking and grading systems. Under the base case from Week 4, Loop grows to roughly $9 million a year in revenue within two years, at about 12 percent operating margin; under a weaker case, about $6.5 million at 5 percent.
Every repaired jacket and every rented shell is a reason for a customer to walk back into a Timberline store.
Financing
Following Week 4, the request is $3.6 million in staged internal funding from a dedicated innovation fund: $1.2 million for Stage 1 over six months and $2.4 million for Stage 2 over twelve months, to be released once the first-stage targets have been reached. Rental inventory will be financed through equipment loans, and a state sustainability grant will be sought for the cleaning facility. A rental platform partner provides booking software and logistics for the first year.
Scaling Plan
Week 5's plan rolls out repair to 12 stores in three waves, with gates requiring each new store to meet turnaround, satisfaction and volume targets before the next wave. Rentals expand to Salt Lake City, Seattle and Portland. A training lead certifies technicians, and systems are built before volume grows.
How Loop Serves the Core Business
Loop is not a side project competing with Timberline's main business; it strengthens it. Repair customers bought new gear while waiting at the counter. Renters who liked their kits asked to buy them, a path to full-price or certified sales. Trade-in credit brings owners back to stores, where they shop. Loop also gives the brand a story younger customers care about, built on durability, which is Timberline's oldest strength. Measuring new gear purchases by Loop customers will show whether these effects hold at scale.
Environmental Benefits
Extending the life of a jacket by repair or a second owner reduces the materials and energy needed for new production. Loop will report the number of items repaired, rented and resold each year and estimate garments kept in use, without claiming more precision than the data allow.
Organizational Changes
Christensen (1997) explained why profitable firms neglect models that look less attractive under existing processes. To avoid that trap, Loop gets its own small unit, led by a program manager who answers directly to the chief executive and works outside the product calendar. Store managers' bonuses will include a Loop measure, and leaders will practice the opening behaviors described in Week 1, asking what teams have learned before asking what ideas cost.
Risks and Responses
Rental demand outside Denver may be weaker: the expansion is gated and gear mixes are flexible.
Technicians may be hard to hire: training program, above-retail pay and a traveling technician.
Cannibalization of new sales: Stage 1 measures new purchases by Loop customers against a matched group.
Brand risk from poor-quality used gear: strict inspection standards and a certified label only for gear that passes.
Measures
Repair volume, same-day completion and satisfaction; rental utilization and margin; certified used sell-through; share of Loop customers under 35; add-on sales; and new gear purchases by Loop customers.
The Decision Requested
Approve Stage 1 funding of $1.2 million, create the Loop program unit with a manager reporting to the chief executive and adopt the store incentive change. The executive team will receive quarterly reports and decide on Stage 2 in month six based on the milestones above.
Reflection
The capstone showed that Timberline's barrier to innovation was not a shortage of ideas but leadership habits and budget rules built for the core business. Testing cheaply with customers changed the team's assumptions more than any internal debate, and the leaders who saw lines at the repair counter became the program's strongest supporters. If I were to repeat the work, I would bring a store manager onto the exploration team from the first week, since store support turned out to matter as much as customer demand.
Conclusion
Timberline Loop addresses a real shift in how younger customers use outdoor gear, builds on the brand's durability and has passed early tests. With staged funding, a dedicated unit, aligned incentives and clear gates, it gives Timberline a measured path to a new business and a renewed relationship with the customers it has been losing.
References
Bocken, N. M. P., Short, S. W., Rana, P., & Evans, S. (2014). A literature and practice review to develop sustainable business model archetypes. Journal of Cleaner Production, 65, 42-56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.11.039
Christensen, C. M. (1997). The innovator's dilemma: When new technologies cause great firms to fail. Harvard Business School Press.
Tukker, A. (2004). Eight types of product-service system: Eight ways to sustainability? Experiences from SusProNet. Business Strategy and the Environment, 13(4), 246-260. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.414
What the ENT 588 Week 6 instructions ask
The final ENT 588 assignment asks MBA students to present a complete innovation proposal. Prompts usually require a problem or opportunity statement, the proposed innovation, evidence from research and testing, a business model, implementation and scaling plan, financing, risks and mitigation and the leadership or organizational changes needed, often in the form of an executive proposal or pitch. Some versions ask students to reflect on what the capstone taught them about innovation. Integrate the work of earlier weeks rather than starting over, support claims with evidence and research and cite sources in APA. Spell out exactly what leaders must approve, in money, people and authority, and what they will get back.
How this ENT 588 Week 6 example is built
Our sample proposal opens with the opportunity: younger outdoor enthusiasts are renting, repairing and buying used gear, while Timberline's sales to them decline. Timberline Loop answers with same-day repair at store counters, trip-length rentals of premium gear and certified used gear from trade-ins feeding rentals and in-store racks. Pilot results show 74 repairs in three weekends with 4.7 satisfaction, 56 rentals in three weeks, mostly to customers under 30 and add-on sales from repair visits. Research on product-service systems and sustainable business models frames the program. The proposal asks for $3.6 million in staged funding over 18 months, a separate program unit and changed incentives, with gates tied to measures and clear risks and responses.
ENT 588 Week 6 grading rubric: where the points go
Graduate graders reward capstone proposals that integrate the course and ask for a clear decision. Strong papers define the opportunity with evidence, present an innovation tested with real users and describe a business model, financing, scaling and organizational plan that fit together. Credit goes to honest treatment of risks and uncertainties, to measures and gates that let leaders track progress and to research on innovation and business models. Graders also value a reflection on lessons learned. Graders also look for failed tests reported alongside successes, since they show how the design improved. A concise, executive-ready structure, specific figures and APA citations complete the capstone.
ENT 588 Week 6 help: mistakes to avoid
Capstone proposals often restate each week's paper in order. Integrate them into a single argument that leads to a decision. Another frequent gap is a proposal that describes the innovation but not what leaders must approve; state the request in money, people and authority. Students also present only positive results; include disappointing tests and how the design changed. Some papers ignore the organizational changes needed, such as incentives and structure, that determine whether the innovation survives inside the company. Address them. Finally, close with a reflection on what the process taught you. Working with a tutor, you can reduce a long proposal to its central argument and check that the request is specific.
Related ENT 588 sample papers
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- ENT 588 Week 3: Prototypes and Testing
- ENT 588 Week 4: Financing Innovation
- ENT 588 Week 5: Planning to Scale
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ENT 588 Week 6 questions, answered
What does ENT 588 Week 6 usually cover?
It usually covers a capstone innovation proposal: the opportunity, tested innovation, business model, financing, scaling, organizational changes, risks and the decision requested.
Where can I find a free ENT 588 Week 6 sample paper?
The Timberline Loop capstone proposal for ENT 588 Week 6 is above, open to read without charge.
What is a product-service system?
A business model that combines products and services to meet customer needs, such as renting or repairing products rather than only selling new ones.
What should an innovation proposal ask for?
A specific decision, such as funding, staffing and authority, tied to milestones and measures that let leaders judge progress.
How can an innovation proposal address risk?
By naming the main uncertainties, showing how tests have reduced them, staging investment and setting triggers for changing course.
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