Customize Business Simulations for Your Class

🚧 The Challenge: Students Need Localized Content in Their Curriculum

As an instructor, you know that engagement is everything. The more students relate to what they’re learning, the deeper their understanding. But what happens when the simulation doesn’t match their reality?

Here’s the challenge:

The currency in your simulation is in USD, but your students use Euros.
The tax system is based on U.S. laws, while your students need to understand VAT.
The target market in the simulation doesn’t match local demographics.

If students don’t see themselves in the business environment they’re working with, how can they apply what they learn to the real world?

Traditional business simulations often take a one-size-fits-all approach, making it difficult for faculty members to tailor lessons to their students’ unique needs.

At Startup Wars, we believe business education should be as dynamic as the real world, so we built a solution that puts customization in your hands. With our new customization features, you can adjust key simulation settings to fit your curriculum, institution, and student learning objectives.

👩🏻‍🎓 Why Customization Matters in Business Education

Business education works best when students can see themselves in what they’re learning. When simulations match their real-world experiences, they stay engaged, make smarter business decisions, and develop skills that actually translate into their careers.

For instructors, customization means control, instead of adapting lesson plans to fit a generic simulation, you can now make the simulation fit your course objectives.

What Customization Brings to Your Classroom:

More engaging – Students recognize familiar locations, financial models, and business conditions.
More practical – Students work with realistic tax laws, pricing, and market trends.
More relevant – Simulations align with course objectives and learning goals.

💡 Example: A professor teaching international business can now adjust simulations to match regional tax policies, currency fluctuations, and consumer behaviors, ensuring students work with data that applies directly to their studies.

⚙️ What’s New: Customize Your Simulations Like Never Before

We listened to hundreds of instructors who wanted more flexibility in their simulations. These updates now allow you to customize key business elements before launching a class, making it easier than ever to create an engaging, region-specific learning experience.

1. Localized Business Environments: Reflect Real-World Markets

One of the biggest challenges faculty members face is teaching business concepts in a globalized world. Now, your students can build businesses in environments that reflect their local markets.

Choose from multiple country-specific cities – Every country includes at least two major cities, offering students exposure to different business environments.

Automatically adjust currencies & tax policies – The local currency and tax structures will instantly update when you select a country.

Region-specific tax models – Allow students to explore regional economic differences and compare how businesses operate in different financial climates.

💡 Example: A university in Spain can now run simulations using Euro-based pricing and European VAT tax laws, giving students a more accurate experience in business decision-making.

By aligning the simulation with real-world market conditions, students gain practical skills they can apply immediately.

2. Target Market Customization: Align With Your Course Objectives

Markets, customer behaviors, and industries vary across countries, cultures, and economic systems. Now, instructors can fine-tune their simulations to match their students’ learning goals.

Modify customer demographics to match local market conditions.
Customize industry-specific business models to better reflect real-world conditions.
Ensure students engage with relevant data that prepares them for the industries they’ll work in.

💡 Example: A marketing professor in Mexico can now adjust the simulation’s target audience to reflect local consumer population, income levels, and demographics, giving students hands-on experience in market research.

📝 How Customization Transforms Learning

The best learning experiences are practical, immersive, and relatable.

Customization doesn’t just make simulations more engaging—it makes them more effective. When students work with data that’s relevant to their region, they develop a stronger understanding of real-world business strategy.

For Students

✅ Increases engagement by making simulations feel realistic and relatable.
✅ Encourages critical thinking as they navigate country-specific challenges.
✅ Improves decision-making skills by working with authentic market conditions.

For Instructors

✅ Ensures an easy curriculum integration with flexible settings.
✅ Students perform better when learning feels applicable.
✅ Makes it easier to teach global business strategy with regionalized data.
✅ Instructors have more flexibility to design simulations that match their course objectives.

💡 Case Study: An international business program was struggling with engagement because students couldn’t relate to the U.S.-based tax and market conditions in their simulation. With these new customization tools, instructors can now adjust tax structures and currency settings to match their country’s economy, resulting in higher participation and better student performance.

👨‍🏫 Built for Instructors, Inspired by Your Feedback

Moe Ramirez, Lead Instructional Designer at Startup Wars, shares:

“Educators have been asking for more control over how their students experience Startup Wars, and this update delivers exactly that. Now, whether it’s adjusting tax systems, currency, or customer demographics, instructors can create business environments that feel natural for their students.”

We build our platform with instructors, for instructors and we know the best innovations come directly from the instructors who use our platform every day.

Over the past year, instructors have shared their experiences, challenges, and ideas with us. One common theme stood out:

“We love hands-on learning, but we need more flexibility to make simulations relevant to our students.”
“International business courses need tools that reflect different economic conditions, not just U.S.-based models.”

These new customization features were designed with instructors in mind, ensuring that business simulations are not just engaging but deeply relevant to students’ learning environments.

Would you like to share your experience using Startup Wars in the classroom? We’d love to hear from you! Reach out and help shape the future of business education.

📌 How Can I Access These Customization Features?

For Existing Users:

✅ Log into your account, create a New Section, and find the Configure option to explore the new customization settings. Need guidance? Book a free demo to see these features in action!

For New Users

✅ Interested in how Startup Wars can enhance your business courses? Schedule a demo today and experience the power of customization.

With these updates, Startup Wars is now the most adaptable entrepreneurship simulation platform available. Start customizing your business simulations today for a smarter, more immersive learning experience.

Help Students Apply Business Concepts with Custom Simulations

These new features aren’t just about flexibility, they’re about creating a learning experience that mirrors the realities of business.

Whether you’re teaching entrepreneurship, financial literacy, or marketing, customization ensures that students engage with relevant, real-world business challenges that prepare them for success beyond the classroom.

Ready to see the impact of tailored business simulations in your course?

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What aspects of the simulation can I customize?

You can adjust several key elements to ensure the simulation aligns with your course objectives: Location & economy – Select country-specific cities, and the currency/tax system will automatically update; Target market & demographics – Modify customer profiles to reflect the market conditions your students are studying; Industry & business settings – Choose product categories, adjust founder events, and customize business backstories to match your lesson plan. Once a class is launched, these settings remain locked to maintain consistency throughout the simulation.

2. Can I request additional locations or business models?

Yes! Startup Wars is continuously expanding its customization options based on instructor feedback. If you need a specific city, currency or tax model that isn’t currently available, let us know! Our team will work with you to explore adding it to future updates.

3. How difficult is it to integrate Startup Wars into my course?

Startup Wars is designed for seamless integration into business, entrepreneurship, and marketing courses. Educators can: Customize simulations before launching a class—no coding or complex setup required; Track student progress with built-in dashboards to monitor decisions and outcomes; Use it alongside existing course materials to complement lectures, case studies, and assignments. Our team also provides onboarding support and training to ensure a smooth implementation.

4. What technical requirements do students need to access the simulation?

Startup Wars runs entirely online, so students only need: A modern web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge); A stable internet connection; A Startup Wars account (provided by their instructor or institution). There’s no software installation required, making it easy to access from any device, anywhere.

5. How can I get help setting up my customization options?

If you're new to Startup Wars, you can schedule a meeting with our team to learn more about how customization works and how it can fit into your course. For existing users, feel free to reach out to [email protected] with any customization requests or book a meeting for additional guidance. We're here to help make your simulations as effective and relevant as possible!

Community Update #15: Introducing Customization for Your Business Simulations