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Breakthrough Innovation Strategy

Scaling AI Strategy

Lead With AI

Breakthrough Innovation Strategy: From Bold Idea to Business Impact

The Moonshot Factory, Google’s Innovation Lab, reveals the tools and frameworks to drive innovation, navigate uncertainty, and turn big ideas into real-world impact.


Advance your career in 15-20 hours with engaging video lessons, hands-on practice, and a capstone project.


The Moonshot Factory

Meet your instructors and explore the inner workings of X, The Moonshot Factory — Google’s Innovation Lab. Get an inside look at bold projects, the values and systems that drive them, and how this course will equip you to think and act like an innovation leader.


Lesson 1: Welcome

Thank you for joining us as one of the very first participants in the Alpha Test for *Breakthrough Innovation Strategy: From Bold Idea to Business Impact*, a Certificate course created by MasterClass in partnership with the The Moonshot Factory, Google's Innovation Lab. Your role is essential in helping us shape and refine this program before its full launch, and we’re excited to have you on board.

### **Important Reminders**

- **Confidentiality**: All materials, activities, and information related to this course and this Alpha Test are **strictly confidential**. Please do not share or discuss anything you see with anyone outside of this test.
- **Work in Progress**: You may encounter areas of the course that are still under construction — for example, formatting issues, placeholder graphics, temporary video, or sections that need refinement. Please continue through the course to the best of your ability. Every piece of feedback you provide will help us polish and finalize the experience.
- **Workbooks**: In some lessons, you may see instructions to “turn to” a workbook page. Please note that **workbooks are not available during Alpha Testing**. You can still complete the activities and learning without them by typing directly into the text boxes, and your feedback on this experience will help us finalize the supporting materials for the full launch.

### **How to Qualify for Rewards**

To receive your rewards as an Alpha Tester, you must:

1.  Complete the course in full by **September 16, 2025**. The course should take approximately 15–20 hours total to complete.
2.  Fill out the survey at the end of the course. Your feedback will directly influence improvements we make before launch.

### **Rewards You'll Get**

Upon successful completion of the Alpha Testing criteria listed above, you'll receive the following rewards:

- Official Certificate and class access after launch
- 1-year MasterClass membership
- $100 gift card
- Optional spotlight as a featured participant

![](https://www.masterclass.com/course-images/attachments/lq2999ruzrfnrd7r666bub93skga?id=15qIMNM9l4VqWYayyXb0HnUHJ_UtU0-k4)

We’re deeply grateful for your time, effort, and insights. This course will ultimately reach thousands of learners, and your input ensures it will achieve its best form.

Thank you again for being part of this important step. We can’t wait to hear what you think\!

*Note: If you run into any issues or have any questions throughout this process, please contact us at <support@masterclass.com>*


Welcome

Lesson 2: Unlearn to Unlock Innovation

The Moonshot Way

Unlearn to Unlock Innovation

Lesson 3: How this Course Works

How this Course Works

Lesson 4: Introducing Your V0.Sketchpad

Your space for messy drafts, putting ideas to paper, and "Aha!" Moonshot moments

Introducing Your V0.Sketchpad

Lesson 5: Welcome to X, The Moonshot Factory

This Is Where Bold Begins

Welcome to X, The Moonshot Factory

Lesson 6: 10X vs. 10%

Why Innovation is So Hard

10X vs. 10%

Lesson 7: From 10% to 10X: What's Holding You Back?

Rewriting your default approach to innovation.

From 10% to 10X: What's Holding You Back?

Lesson 8: V0.Sketchpad Activity: Rewrite your 10% as 10X

V0.Sketchpad Activity: Rewrite your 10% as 10X

Lesson 9: Self-Assessment: Where Are You Today From 10% to 10X?

Self-Assessment: Where Are You Today From 10% to 10X?

Welcome to the Moonshot Factory

Shape your idea using the 3-part Moonshot Blueprint, a method for identifying huge problems, radical solutions, and breakthrough technology or concepts.


Lesson 1: "What If" Before "What Is"

Turning Your Bold Thinking Into Business Impact

"What If" Before "What Is"

Lesson 2: Axioms

Your Compass in the Unknown

Axioms

Lesson 3: V0.Sketchpad Activity: Draft Your Axioms

V0.Sketchpad Activity: Draft Your Axioms

Lesson 4: The Moonshot Blueprint

Your Framework for 10X Innovation

The Moonshot Blueprint

Lesson 5: How to Brainstorm Your Blueprint

How to Brainstorm Your Blueprint

Lesson 6: How to Brainstorm the Moonshot Factory Way

How to Brainstorm the Moonshot Factory Way

Lesson 7: Draft Your Blueprint

Now that you’ve explored brainstorming and begun shaping bold ideas, it’s time to draft your disruptive product, service, or initiative using X’s high-level 10X innovation framework: the Moonshot Blueprint.

Your Moonshot Blueprint is the foundation of your Capstone Launch Plan. It’s a simple yet powerful framework to help you define the core of your 10X idea.

## The Moonshot Blueprint

**Three Parts:**

- **A Huge Problem**: An issue that matters to a massive number of people.
- **A Radical Solution**: A product or service that’s a leap, not a step, that sounds nearly impossible.
- **A Breakthrough Technology or Lever**: An idea, technology, model, or shift that’s outside the norm, has never been done, breaks convention and opens new possibilities.

This tool works across domains, regardless of the size of your company and budget. It can be a launchpad for transformational ideas, products, services, and changes, whether you’re an educator, entrepreneur, artist, or product manager.

Think of this course as the first chapter in your innovation story—your V0. We encourage you to reuse this blueprint to frame up ideas, pitch a bold new initiative at work, or tell a more meaningful story to potential stakeholders. This blueprint has helped numerous Moonshots get off the ground, and it can help you start thinking in ways to get yours off the ground, too. Think of this course as the early chapter in your innovation story.


Draft Your Blueprint

Lesson 8: Your Moonshot Mission

Your Moonshot Mission

Lesson 9: Capstone: Draft Your Mission

You’ve learned what a Mission is and seen examples of how X teams frame theirs. Now it’s your turn to write one for your Moonshot idea.

A Mission is a short, powerful call to action. It captures *why you’re doing this* and *why it matters right now*. This statement will become part of your Moonshot Launch Plan, evolving as your idea sharpens throughout the course.

### How to Approach It

- Aim for clarity, boldness, urgency, impact, and inspiration.
- Keep it short—1–2 sentences.
- Use active, direct language. Avoid jargon.
- Don’t worry about perfection. You’ll refine this again in the final module.

### Examples From X:

- **Waymo:** “To create the world’s safest driver.”
- **Skip:** “To make movement joyful.”
- **Taara:** “Bring fast, affordable, and abundant connectivity to people everywhere using beams of light.”

### Other Examples to Inspire You

- **Healthcare:** “To make early cancer detection affordable and routine so millions of people can live longer, healthier lives.”
- **Food Waste:** “To eliminate food waste in cities so that every household has affordable, sustainable access to fresh food.”
- **Education:** “To give every student a personalized AI tutor so they can master learning at their own pace and unlock their potential.”


Capstone: Draft Your Mission

Your Moonshot Blueprint

Learn how Xers apply market research and listening strategies to hunt for potential moonshots. You’ll surface your own “what if” idea to kick-start your own innovation plan.


Lesson 1: Market Listening

Market Listening

Lesson 2: Assess Your Market

PLACEHOLDER - TBD if we will keep this lesson. We will need an intro if so.

[Take the quiz here.](https://learning.masterclass.com/Moonshots-Module-3)


Assess Your Market

Lesson 3: Unlocking Hidden Moonshots

Look Back to Leap Forward

Unlocking Hidden Moonshots

Lesson 4: Capstone: Connecting Blueprint to Business

You’ve drafted your “what if?” idea, mapped your Moonshot Blueprint, and written a mission to give you and your team a strong “why.” Now it’s time to explore how your Moonshot might connect to a real-world business opportunity.

Don’t worry if you’re not a business-minded person. You’re not expected to showcase deep business knowledge, nor expected to create a buttoned-up plan guaranteed to succeed. This activity is meant to get you thinking of your Moonshot in a new way and practicing the skill of market listening, which entails spotting clues, signals, and conversations that suggest your bold idea might have a “there there.”

At X, innovators often set aside business outcomes early to move fast on ideas. But eventually, they ask, “Is there a world that needs this, and a way for it to thrive?” That’s the lens you’ll practice here. Sometimes that means revisiting an old project with fresh eyes. Other times, it means listening for friction in industries, unmet needs, or unexpected allies within the ecosystem. Being able to connect bold ideas to real opportunities can help make leaders stand out in their organizations.


Capstone: Connecting Blueprint to Business

Your Moonshot Market

Unlearn traditional thinking patterns to unlock a mindset that fuels bold innovation. You’ll learn how to embrace uncertainty, celebrate failure, and build resilience.


Lesson 1: The Moonshot Mindset

Unlearn to Unleash Innovation

The Moonshot Mindset

Lesson 2: Mindset Quiz

Placeholder copy for now - will link out to Outgrow


Mindset Quiz

Lesson 3: The Making of a Moonshot Thinker

A career dedicated to Moonshots is not easy.

Navigating ambiguity, often for months or years, failing often, and taking 10X swings at solving the world’s biggest problems demands a different kind of mindset, one that reframes risk, lets go of ego, kills ideas early and often, and weathers the extreme ups and downs that are all just part of the process.

At X, The Moonshot Factory, years of building teams, pursuing audacious projects, facing failures, and achieving breakthroughs have revealed consistent patterns. While there’s no single “perfect” mix, certain principles, behaviors, and mindsets show up again and again in the people who bring Moonshots to life.

Here are some of the most prominent mindset principles of Moonshot thinkers, how they’ve surfaced at X over the years, and ways you and your team can start building them over time. As you’ll notice, many of these overlap and build on each other.

## Mindset Principle: Dispassionately Passionate

At The Moonshot Factory, Xers are asked to face a paradox: to be *dispassionately passionate*. That means putting everything you’ve got into your work and being willing to let it go in a heartbeat.

“When you get to the end of some hypothesis you have that you’ve tested, we need to step back, and be dispassionate, and say, ‘I am not going to assess the results of our last six months of work like I need the answer to be yes, I’m going to try to treat this as evidence, as dispassionately as I can,’”says Teller.

That moment of detachment—when you stop trying to be right and start listening to what the evidence is actually saying—is essential to building the future.

| M4-SA2 SPOT ART: Approved photo of a Loon Balloon |
| :-- |

## 

> ### In Action: Letting Go of Loon
> 
> One of the clearest examples of this principle was Loon, a Moonshot that aimed to beam internet from the stratosphere using giant, mesmerizing, self-navigating balloons. The project delivered breathtaking technical feats and real humanitarian value.
> 
> As Ivo Stivoric put it, “The Loon balloon is the most elegant robot I can imagine ever built.”
> 
> But the economics didn’t work. Rather than keeping the dream alive because of the elegant tech, the team asked the hard question: “Is this the best way to solve the core problem?”
> 
> Their answer: No.
> 
> Ending Loon wasn’t a failure. It was a triumph of intellectual honesty and the beginning of something new.

## Mindset Principle: Problem-Obsessed

If *Dispassionately Passionate* is about letting go, *Problem-Obsessed* is about what comes next. Moonshot thinkers know that progress depends on loving the problem, not the solution.

“If at any point your current solution is not the best way to solve the problem—and you’re problem-obsessed—you’ll say, ‘I don’t care about my solution anymore. Your idea’s better than mine. Let’s try your idea instead,’” says Astro Teller.

### In Action: From Loon to Taara

That mindset shaped what came after Loon. The team realized there was still a massive challenge to take on: affordable connectivity for the billions still offline. So the team repurposed Loon’s breakthroughs into a new Moonshot: Taara.

Using beams of light to transmit data at fiber speeds, Taara is now bringing fast, affordable internet to underserved communities, including some that had never been connected at all.

As Joe Sargent explained: “Loon shut down, but back to the problems… we said, ‘What else can we do with this?’ And that comes from being problem-focused. It really all starts with being problem-focused.”

| M4-SA1 Spot Art If possible, include an X-supplied and approved image of a Taara. |
| :-- |

## Mindset Principle: Comfortable with Ambiguity

Xers at the Moonshot Factory often compare their jobs to working in the fog, without proven models, complete data, or a guaranteed roadmap, sometimes for years.

“You don’t even know if there’s something there,” says Teller. “Most of the things you try won’t work. You don’t have even a tenth of the information you will ultimately need to solve the problem. That is a weird, scary place to be sitting.”

### In Action: Facing the Unknown

Joe Sargent recalls that every new project at X begins with low odds of success. “Every time we start a new project here we know the odds of it succeeding are very low. And we still have to go wholehearted into it… You have to accept at the same time that, ‘I may throw all the work I’m about to do away in the garbage, and go do a different thing.’ That’s the ambiguity. That’s the work.”

Ambiguity isn’t a bug in the system. It’s a byproduct of building a future that doesn’t exist yet.

## Mindset Principle: Humble Curiosity

Moonshot thinkers must balance boldness with humility and make peace with being wrong most of the time.

“If you have low humility, then you will be in denial… long after the evidence has accumulated that you should stop doing the thing that you’re currently doing, you will still be frantically trying to keep it alive. That’s bad for you. That’s bad for your team. And that’s bad for your company,” says Teller.

Most effective innovators stress test their ideas, assume they might be wrong, and invite others to pick them apart, strengthen them, or kill them early. This takes humility, curiosity, and a drive to find the truth.

Teller sums it up the dynamic: “I’m proud of the current thing I’m working on. But not so attached to it that I need for it to be right.”

## Mindset Principle: Bias Toward Diverse Teams

A universal truth is that Moonshots are a team sport. The stereotypical image of the lone genius changing the world in a garage is a fallacy. Breakthroughs happen when diverse teams come together with open minds, complementary skills, and a shared obsession with the problem.

“If I just had an engineering team, they’re going to try to engineer a solution to a problem,” says Joe Sargent. “If I just have a design team, they’re going to try to design a solution to a problem. I don’t want any of that. I just want a problem-solving team.”

### In Action: Tapestry’s Team

When Page Crahan led Tapestry, X’s Moonshot to transform the electric grid, she intentionally recruited people outside the energy industry. One of her most exceptional hires had a robotics background, not electrical systems. Later, her team even drew insights from a biologist studying mitochondria.

As Crahan explained: “We didn’t need someone to tell us how they’d been doing things for the last 100 years. We needed someone who had never thought about the grid.”

That diversity helped unlock breakthroughs no traditional energy team would have seen.

| M4-SA4 SPOT ART This one is challenging because how do we visualize the grid? Perhaps we use some of Tapestry’s brand images here? Open to ideas. |
| :-- |

## 6\. Mindset Principle: Resilience

Pursuing Moonshots is long, messy work—and most ideas don’t make it. Resilience is what allows innovators to keep going.

As Astro Teller explains:

“Being resilient, being able to see the bigger picture, allows you to dust yourself off over and over again, where you can capture the feeling that each failure doesn't mean you suck or you won't succeed. What it means is: This way didn't work. And it's a learning opportunity for me… that feeling of resilience, that feeling that you're building, even when things don't go your way, is absolutely critical in the moonshot taking process.”

### In Action: Project Wing

Project Wing — X’s drone delivery Moonshot — is a story of persistence through false starts.

As Joe Sargent recalls, early prototypes hit some dead ends built on assumptions. It seemed logical to land the drone, until testing showed it was noisy, unsafe, and impractical.

“We absolutely thought that the Wing unit was gonna come down and land… and it was awful for all the reasons you can imagine,” says Sargent. “We all looked at each other and went, ‘Yeah, we're not gonna do it that way.’”

Instead of quitting, the team pivoted to hovering delivery, a change that became core to Wing’s success. By breaking challenges down and fixing bugs one by one, Wing grew into a reliable system that has now completed hundreds of thousands of deliveries.

| M4-SA6 Wing Drone |
| :-- |

## Putting It All Together: The Moonshot Mindset

These principles don’t stand alone. Together, they form a way of being that allows individuals and teams to bravely and productively explore what’s over the horizon. If you're open to being wrong, relentlessly curious, resilient, and team-centered, you’re well on your way to thinking like a Moonshot innovator.

### Reflection Prompts:

- Which of these principles comes most naturally to you?
- Which one do you want to grow—and why?
- How might building that trait help you pursue your own Moonshot more effectively?


Unpacking the mindset that drives world-changing ideas

The Making of a Moonshot Thinker

Lesson 4: V0.Sketchpad: Practice Shifting Your Mindset

V0.Sketchpad: Practice Shifting Your Mindset

Lesson 5: AI Self-Reflection Activity: Where Do You Embrace—or Resist—Moonshot Mindsets?

Take a moment to notice the thoughts and patterns that drive (or stall) bold innovation.

AI Self-Reflection Activity: Where Do You Embrace—or Resist—Moonshot Mindsets?

Lesson 6: Your Failure Resumé

Your Failure Resumé

Lesson 7: Culture Quiz

Culture Quiz

Lesson 8: Unpacking the Moonshot Culture

Your Foundation for Radical Risk Taking

Unpacking the Moonshot Culture

Lesson 9: Creative Contrasts

Creative Contrasts

Lesson 10: Building a Space for Innovation

Designing the conditions for creativity, courage, and experimentation

Building a Space for Innovation

Lesson 11: Workbook: V0.Sketchpad: Build Your Radical Sandbox

Workbook: V0.Sketchpad: Build Your Radical Sandbox

Lesson 12: AI Discussion: Build the Culture You Wish to Work In

Earlier in the course, we asked you to take a bold step for yourself—to take a moment to be vulnerable and try a new mindset shift.

Now, we’re inviting you to take a bold step *for someone else*.

Culture doesn’t change when someone at the top writes new values on a wall. It changes when people open doors for others. It changes when someone who thinks differently, works quietly, or challenges the norm is given the space to lead, question, or contribute in ways that feel natural to them.

The Moonshot Factory is made up of people who don’t “Fit” the stereotypical corporate mold—people with unconventional career paths, people who question the obvious and are unafraid to voice their unique perspectives.

Moonshot culture is built to make room for those people. *Is yours?*


AI Discussion: Build the Culture You Wish to Work In

The Moonshot Mindset & Culture

Craft a captivating narrative for your innovation idea, tailored to different audiences and stakeholders, to build belief and inspire action.


Lesson 1: The Power of Storytelling: Your TBD

The Power of Storytelling: Your TBD

Lesson 2: Creating a Unique Language

Creating a Unique Language

Lesson 3: Adapting Your Story to Different Audiences

How to structure your Moonshot narrative so people believe in your idea and want to help.

Adapting Your Story to Different Audiences

Lesson 4: Capstone: Craft Your Moonshot Narrative

You’ve come a long way: you’ve dreamed of a 10X “what if” idea to seed your Moonshot, written a disruptive Moonshot Blueprint tailored to your industry or organization, drafted a clear Mission for your Moonshot, and practiced remixing your story for skeptics and allies. Now it’s time to bring everything together and craft a short, tailored narrative that could move your Moonshot forward and gain buy-in from management and leadership.

In this Capstone Input, you’ll write a story aimed at a real-world stakeholder. This could be someone who might actually read your Moonshot Launch Plan. This could be a skeptical manager, a funder, a policymaker, or a future partner. Your task is to make them care, believe, and want to support your disruptive innovation.

**This activity will help you:**

- Translate your Moonshot Blueprint into a vivid, persuasive story
- Show tension (Huge Problem), possibility (Radical Solution), and credibility (Breakthrough Lever or Tech)
- Tailor your message for a real audience
- End with a clear call to action


Capstone: Craft Your Moonshot Narrative

10X Storytelling

Build the coalition your Moonshot needs to grow. You’ll identify the allies, challengers, and decision-makers who can help you move faster and smarter.


Lesson 1: Coalition Building: Internal Partners

Coalition Building: Internal Partners

Rallying Support

The Moonshot Factory, Google’s Innovation Lab, reveals the tools and frameworks to drive innovation, navigate uncertainty, and turn big ideas into real-world impact.

Breakthrough Innovation Strategy: From Bold Idea to Business Impact

Save 15% on this course when you pre-enroll by October 22, 2025.—available October 23, 2025

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