Entrepreneurship, Innovation And New Ventures

Week 1: Becoming an Entrepreneur

Discuss about the Entrepreneurship, Innovation and New Ventures.

This paper would take in the course studies related to entrepreneurship and innovation associated with it. The topic ‘Learning the ways of Entrepreneurial Innovation and Essential Start-up Requirements’ is what this paper deals with. It is important for students to have a zest of what they have learnt so that keep track of the things happening.

Week 1 witnessed me getting into the groove of an entrepreneur and learning the exact importance and need of people vying to become an entrepreneur and the process that develops with one being an entrepreneur. Moreover, it is important to understand the ways entrepreneurial firms influence the societies and economies. I understood that being an entrepreneur involves a lot of risk taking where resources are transformed into a practicable business.  An entrepreneur can never be shy of taking risks, which is why many move away from the idea (Kiel, 2014).  People like me who likes the idea of being an entrepreneur needs to have that zeal and creativity in them. I heard this many times that entrepreneurs are born and not made and I did believe that notion till I got to know through this course that being an entrepreneur totally depends on experience of life and personal choices.  I came to know through proper examples how companies like Google and Zappos have been highly successful entrepreneurial firms. This weekly course helped me in understanding the process and development of business ideas and managing an enterprise.

Week 2 took into account the 3 methods entrepreneurs utilize to categorize opportunities. Opportunities must always be timely and attractive enough to lure entrepreneurs. Through this course, I understood that there are certain ways through which opportunities can be identified like observance of trends, and solving problems. I was able to connect this week’s course with the previous one when I learned that failure of business not always depends on the capability of entrepreneurs but also on the lack of perceived opportunity. It was critical on my part to learn the different factors leading to the observing trends like the ways technology plays its part in transforming the setting of an industry. Resolution of problem is another important factor that is derived from opportunities. Lastly, it is all about identifying finding gaps in the marketplace. I understood that a market place gap is created when there is a definite group of people for a particular product but does not create much interest among manufacturers to produce the same. By knowing the personal characteristics of an entrepreneur, I had to self-check myself on how many do I possess like being creative, any previous experience or the so-called ‘sixth-sense’ of entrepreneurs.

Week 2: Identifying Opportunities

Week 3 was all about analyzing feasibility related to product, industry and financial. This feasibility part is required to be utilized after the process of opportunity recognition but before the business plan is structured. Being an entrepreneur is not an easy job. It is essential to understand the demand for a particular product or service and the target market for that particular product. It is not just producing goods and delivering into the market. I learned that products should be according to the benefit of the target market that they desire to get from the use of the same. It is important to take into consideration the effectiveness of the target market and the market size that determines the competitor’s size. In case of financial feasibility, things like start-up cash and total financial attractiveness of the proposed venture should be taken in (Kuratko, 2016).

Week 4 looked into the business plan purpose and focused on two sets of primary audiences like a firm’s employees and investors. In this course, I got to know the ways of writing a proper business plan and the things that is taken into consideration while proposing business plan. A plan should always start from executive summary along with analysis regarding industry and company description so that others understand what industry it plies its trade in and what the organization is all about. Analyzing market is important too, for understanding target market and buying behaviors. Marketing and development plan are essential that considers the risks and challenges associated with it. An overall schedule should also be incorporated. Different business models were considered like auction business model, advertising business model, franchise business model, subscription business model and many others. It is important to understand the logic behind a company’s proposition value in deciding the business model they would follow (Schaper et al., 2014). It is essential to understand the ways business value is shaped and confined. Every company should apply models keeping in mind the customers, their value and delivering the same.

Week 5 helped in understanding the significance of industry analysis. Porter’s Five Forces model was applied to understand the ways an organization faces the threat of substitutes, new entrants, bargaining power of buyers and suppliers and threat of new entrants.  It makes us understand where the company stands in terms of competition, financial ability, stability and positioning. The opportunities lying in industries were considered too and the competition that lies in market place depending on the product similarity, its direct and indirect competitors and the ways it uses the market information to edge past its competitors by making good tactical decisions (Wu & Wu, 2014).

Week 3: Analyzing Feasibility

Week 6 dealt with business plans and the ways it can be outlined in a proper way. It is same as the things I learned in week 4 in making a business plan. The importance of executive summary was stated to us, as that is the last thing that an investor or reader goes through though it appears first in a report or plan. This week’s course was similar to that of week 4, which helped me understand the things in a better way one more time. Emphasis was also on oral presentation and the way it should be presented before them. one should not falter while presenting and they should be able to counter questions from investors with slides illustrating clear points.

In week 7, it was mainly about ethical issues posed in front of a new firm. This week depicted the ethical culture of a firm and its importance in building up a strong culture that represents good working environment. It was also important for us to know that start-up businesses need an attorney who understands the work procedures and a founder’s agreement and how legal disputes can be tackled. In business it is important to meet contractual responsibility. Importance of license and permits are essential in business and the kind of business one desires to get involved into like partnership or sole trade as different business propositions require different procedures to get going (Kirzner, 2015).

Week 8 took into account market segmentation for a target market and different forms of pricing. It is important to understand that market segmentation and the proper study of the market in understanding the circumstances under which the firm would compete (Finch, 2016). I injected one thing into my mind that organizations need to be unique somewhere to last long in the consumers’ minds. Different sales procedures were also considered with focus on proper advertisements to gain attention. At this age, it is highly imperative to invest in advertisements. The importance of public relations was also considered along with other marketing activities.

Week 9 explained the functions of financial management and checking out at times the financial position of the firm and the path it has taken for utilizing its assets. Financial statements are important in determining the company’s previous performances and whether its objectives are getting attained. The financial health of the company needs to be assessed. Estimation is important for accessing the firm’s future income and expenses it might incur. Balance Sheet, Ratio Analysis and cash flow statement were dealt with to understand the ways an organization works and keep track of its performance.

Week 10 emphasis on building a strong team that is important for successful business venture. It brings in talent and ideas at a place. I learned the ways a new business should tackle itself in a market through a team of highly talented individuals. Management holds key as they recruit people who they think are suitable for the job. The role of Board of Directors was considered with their initiatives for a start-up business. Interests of lenders and investors and reasons for they getting involved in a firm were also made understood. Investors have always helped new firms with guidance and providing advice (Drucker, 2014).

Week 11 looked into attributes pertaining in the team of new founder and the difference between the inside and outside directors. Moreover, focus was also on forming an advisory board in the organization the idea of venture capitals invested in firms having high growth potential rate. Things like crowd funding and other grants initiatives were focused on in this course and the strategic partners who have been the source of new ventures.

Reference:

Boons, F., Montalvo, C., Quist, J., & Wagner, M. (2013). Sustainable innovation, business models and economic performance: an overview. Journal of Cleaner Production, 45, 1-8.

Drucker, P. (2014). Innovation and entrepreneurship. Routledge.

Finch, B. (2016). How to write a business plan. Kogan Page Publishers.

Kiel, I. H. (2014). Entrepreneurial marketing.

Kirzner, I. M. (2015). Competition and entrepreneurship. University of Chicago press.

Klandt, H. (2015). Trends in small business start-up in West Germany. Entrepreneurship in Europe (Routledge Revivals): The Social Processes, 26.

Kuratko, D. F. (2016). Entrepreneurship: Theory, process, and practice. Cengage Learning.

Schaper, M. T., Volery, T., Weber, P. C., & Gibson, B. (2014). Entrepreneurship and small business.

Tricker, R. B., & Tricker, R. I. (2015). Corporate governance: Principles, policies, and practices. Oxford University Press, USA.

Wu, J., & Wu, Z. (2014). Integrated risk management and product innovation in China: The moderating role of board of directors. Technovation, 34(8), 466-476.