Description
Book SynopsisSuccessful entrepreneurship requires a specialized mix of innovation, drive, business acumen, and communication; an entrepreneur sees the potential and pitfalls in any idea, and understands the product, the market, and the business climate well enough to make smart decisions for the venture. This book is designed to go beyond the nuts and bolts of entrepreneurship and help students develop the critical foundation referred to as entrepreneurial thinking. Organized to align with the typical flow of development, the text allows students to develop their own ideas alongside each lesson. Coverage of goals, opportunities, and resources includes detailed discussion of venture funding, financial resources, and the relationships needed to get an idea off of the ground; subsequent chapters include clear guidance on keeping the momentum going through product development, enterprise growth, value creation, and the evolution of the business model. Based on the latest research and providing a truly
Table of ContentsPreface vi
About the Authors vii
Acknowledgments viii
1 Introduction to Entrepreneurship 1
1.0 What is Entrepreneurship? 2
1.1 Where do Entrepreneurs Operate? 3
1.3 Why do It? 4
1.4 Who are Entrepreneurs? 5
1.5 How do Entrepreneurs Operate? 7
Creating the Context for Success 7
1.6 Real-World Entrepreneurship 8
1.7 Telling the Entrepreneur’s Story 9
2 Social and Sustainable Entrepreneurship 13
2.0 So You Want to Change the World? 14
2.1 Social Entrepreneurship Today 14
2.2 So, What Does a Social Entrepreneur Look Like? 15
2.3 Why Do It? 15
Why Do Individuals Do It? 16
User Innovators 17
Sustainability as Social Innovation 17
2.4 Social Entrepreneurship as a Process 20
Challenges in Social Entrepreneurship 20
2.5 Let’s do it. . . 21
Who Could Help Me Explore This Further? 21
3 Entrepreneurial Creativity 23
3.0 What is Creativity? 24
3.1 Who is Creative? 26
The Power of the Group 27
3.2 How Does Creativity Happen? 28
3.3 Enabling and Enhancing Creativity 29
3.4 Developing Your Personal Thinking Skills 30
3.5 Developing Group Level Creativity 32
Variations on A Theme 33
Using Online Groups and Communities 34
Limits of Brainstorming 34
3.6 Developing a Creative Environment 35
Putting it All Together – Developing Entrepreneurial Creativity 37
4 Searching for Opportunities 39
4.0 Where Do Innovations Come From? 40
4.1 Where Could We Innovate? 41
What About the Small Stuff? The Importance of Incremental Innovation 43
From Components to Systems? 45
4.2 How to Search: The Opportunity Treasure Hunt 46
5 Building the Case 49
5.0 Why Develop a Business Plan? 50
5.1 What’s in a Business Plan? 50
A Question of Balance 50
5.2 Assess Market Opportunities and Competition 52
Customer or Market Surveys 54
Scenario Development 56
5.3 Identify and Manage Critical Risks and Uncertainty 58
Risk as Probability 58
Perceptions of Risk 62
5.4 Evaluate the Costs, Resources, and Value of a Project 63
Financial Methods 63
Qualitative Methods 65
6 Raising Resources and Funding 69
6.0 Finding Resources 70
6.1 Identifying Resources Needed 70
Dynamic Capabilities 71
6.2 Assessing Capabilities 71
6.3 Acquiring Funding 77
Business Angels 78
Crowd-Funding 79
The Uses and Limitations of Venture Capital 79
6.4 Enlisting Suppliers and Partners 81
Outsource 82
License 82
Joint Ventures & Strategic Alliances 83
7 Building the Team 87
7.0 The Innovating Organization 88
7.1 Individual Characteristics 88
Entrepreneurial Disposition 90
Background 90
Psychological Profile 90
Education and Experience 91
Entrepreneurial Pairs and Partners 91
7.2 Leadership and Shared Vision 93
7.3 Entrepreneurial Teams 95
7.4 Venture Climate and Culture 100
Trust and Openness 101
Challenge and Involvement 102
Support and Space for Innovation 103
Conflict and Debate 103
Risk-Taking 103
Freedom 104
8 Building and Working with Networks 107
8.0 No Man is an Island 108
8.1 The Spaghetti Model of Innovation 108
8.2 Working with Networks 109
8.3 Networks to Share Knowledge and Ideas 110
8.4 Networks to Share Resources 111
8.5 Networks for Support 112
8.6 Networks to Help Learning 112
8.7 Networking with Users 113
8.8 Networking in an Open Innovation World 115
8.9 Building and Working in Networks 116
9 Developing New Products and Services 118
9.0 The New Product/Service Development Process 119
9.1 Concept Generation 121
9.2 Project Selection 122
9.3 Product Development 122
9.4 Product Commercialization and Review 122
9.5 Success Factors in New Products 123
9.6 Service Development 125
9.7 Tools to Support New Product Development 128
(a) Concept Generation 128
(b) Project Selection 129
(c) Product/Service Development 130
9.8 Diffusion: Promoting the Adoption of Innovations 132
Factors Influencing Adoption 135
Relative Advantage 135
Compatibility 136
Complexity 136
Trialability 136
Observability 137
10 Creating a New Venture 140
10.0 New Venture Creation 141
10.1 Motives and Goals 141
10.2 Context for Entrepreneurship 144
Enterprise Incubators 144
10.3 Choosing the Best Structure for a New Venture 147
Sole Proprietorship 147
Partnership 147
Private Company 147
10.4 Identifying and Exploiting Intellectual Property 148
Patents 148
Copyright 149
Design Rights 150
Licensing IPR 151
10.5 Challenges at Different Stages of Venture Development 153
Opportunity Recognition and Assessment 153
Entrepreneurial Commitment 153
Venture Credibility 153
First Client or Sale 153
Some Final Advice for Entrepreneurs 153
11 Growing the Enterprise 157
11.0 Growing Enterprises 158
11.1 The Influences of Initial Conditions on New Venture Success 158
11.2 Factors which Entrepreneurs can Influence and Manage 161
11.3 External Environment and Stakeholders 165
12 Building Resilient Business Models 171
12.0 What is a Business Model? 172
12.1 Why use Business Models? 172
12.2 What’s in a Business Model? 174
12.3 Building a Business Model 175
Value Proposition 175
Target Market 176
Creating and Delivering 177
Value Capture 177
Cost Structure 178
Sustainability and Resilience 178
12.4 Business Model Innovation 178
Pivoting the Venture 179
Business Model Sustainability 180
The Problem of Letting Go 184
13 Learning to Manage Entrepreneurship 187
13.0 Introduction 188
13.1 Making Innovation Happen 188
13.2 The Lessons of Failure 189
13.3 How Learning Happens 190
13.4 Learning and Building Capability 191
Recognizing the Opportunity 191
Finding the Resources 191
Developing the Venture 192
Capturing Value 192
Entrepreneurial Strategy – Having a Clear Sense of Direction 192
Building an Innovative Organization 192
Learning to Manage Innovation 193
13.5 Getting Fit for Innovation 193
13.6 Managing Entrepreneurship 194
Index 196
