Startup Wars · adaptable classroom resource

Food truck: two lunch plans

Student task: recommend a plan, test the assumptions, and explain what you would change.

This is an illustrative paper activity authored for teachers to adapt. The figures are hypothetical and are not a Startup Wars simulation output or built-in assignment. Use it on its own, or to introduce or debrief a related simulation decision. No student account is needed for this handout.

To save a PDF or print: use your browser’s Print menu. The teacher key begins on a separate printed page; share only the student pages before the activity.

Name: ____________________________________   Class/date: ____________________

Your decision

You are planning one lunch service for a food truck. Each meal prepared costs $2 in ingredients, and the event fee is $80. Unused meals cannot be sold later. Assume the event fee is the same for either plan and ignore all other costs for this exercise.

Plan A

Prepare 60 meals
Charge $7 per meal
Forecast: 50 meals sold

Plan B

Prepare 80 meals
Charge $6 per meal
Forecast: 65 meals sold

Profit = meals sold × price − meals prepared × $2 − $80

  1. Calculate the forecast. Show revenue, ingredient cost, event fee, and profit for each plan.
  2. Make a recommendation. Which plan would you choose? Name an assumption that could make your recommendation wrong.
  3. Test the change. The teacher now tells you that either plan sells only 45 meals. Recalculate profit and unused meals for each plan. Does your recommendation change?
  4. Write an individual decision memo. In 3–5 sentences, explain your choice, cite the calculation, identify a risk, and propose one piece of evidence to collect before the next lunch service.

Teacher notes · keep separate from student handout

Preparation and suggested sequence

Purpose: distinguish revenue from profit, connect demand assumptions to inventory costs, and use evidence to revise a recommendation. Suggested context: introductory high-school business, entrepreneurship, or a CTE class. Adapt the vocabulary, scaffolding, and pacing to your learners.

Materials: student pages, paper or a writing document, and calculators if helpful. Review the arithmetic below. Decide whether students discuss in pairs; collect an individual memo so each learner explains their reasoning. For a platform extension, separately preview your selected scenario and confirm student access before class.

  1. 5 minutes — frame: review revenue, costs, profit, and a forecast. Ask why a busier truck might earn less.
  2. 10 minutes — choose: students calculate both forecasts and defend a recommendation.
  3. 15 minutes — revise: introduce 45 sales for either plan, recalculate, and discuss unused meals.
  4. 15 minutes — debrief: compare reasoning and collect individual decision memos.

This 45-minute plan is a teaching suggestion, not an estimate of the time required to complete a Startup Wars simulation.

Worked answer key

Forecast and changed-condition calculations
Measure Plan A Plan B
Forecast revenue 50 × $7 = $350 65 × $6 = $390
Ingredient cost 60 × $2 = $120 80 × $2 = $160
Forecast profit $350 − $120 − $80 = $150 $390 − $160 − $80 = $150
Profit at 45 sales 45 × $7 − $120 − $80 = $115 45 × $6 − $160 − $80 = $30
Unused meals at 45 sales 60 − 45 = 15 meals 80 − 45 = 35 meals

Both forecasts produce the same profit. The initial choice therefore needs an explanation beyond total sales. Under the stated 45-sale condition, A earns $85 more and leaves 20 fewer unused meals. That does not prove A is always better: actual demand at each price, capacity, food waste, and other operating costs would matter in a real business.

Debrief prompts: Which assumption changed? Why do we charge ingredients for prepared meals rather than only sold meals? What evidence would improve the next forecast? Which real costs did this simplified model leave out?

Adaptable 12-point rubric

Score each criterion from 0–4. This is a teacher-scored example, not an automatic platform assessment or a standards certification.

Criteria for the individual decision memo
Criterion Evidence for 4 points
Use the numbers Shows accurate revenue, costs, and profit for both plans in the forecast and changed condition; distinguishes prepared from sold meals.
Explain the tradeoff Compares alternatives using evidence and explains both a demand assumption and the consequence of unused inventory.
Reflect and revise Uses the changed condition to justify the next recommendation and names relevant evidence to collect.

Score descriptors for each criterion: 4 = complete and accurate; 3 = sound reasoning with a minor omission or error; 2 = partial evidence or explanation with a material gap; 1 = an attempt without supporting reasoning; 0 = no relevant evidence. Give feedback on the specific criterion. Do not grade only whether the student chose A or B.

Adapt and extend

Support learners with a worked revenue calculation, a vocabulary list, or a sentence starter: “I recommend ___ because ___, assuming ___.” Extend by changing demand at each price or adding labor costs. If using the Food Truck simulation, ask students to compare this simplified model with the decisions and feedback they actually encounter.