ENTREPRENEURSHIP: IDEASStephen DazeDom Herrick Entrepreneur in Residence and

Visiting Professor

Telfer School of Management

Idea Inspiration

Guy Kawasaki on Innovation (4:14):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mtjatz9r-Vc

Where Ideas Come from (4:30):

http://www.ted.com/playlists/20/where_do_ideas_come_from

Fundamental Premise

Entrepreneurship is neither a science nor an art. It’s a practice.

Peter Drucker

• Generating business ideas is nothing more than a practice surrounded by some core principles.

Idea Generation Principles

1. Good Business Ideas make Money.

They have a value proposition for a critical mass of addressable customers.

- Value Proposition = 1) there is enough pain to pay for a solution and 2) relative to competition.

- Critical Mass = big enough market that can be efficiently addressed.

- Addressable = I can reach them with my revenues greater than expenses.

Idea Generation Principles

2. Ideas evolve over time (eg. Facebook, Blackberry) or start as mistakes (eg. 3M Sticky Notes.)

IKEA- Ingvar Kamprad founded IKEA in 1943 at his Uncle Ernst’s kitchen table. IKEA was basically an acronym of his name Ingvar Kamprad and Elmtaryd, his family farm and the village Agunnaryd. At first the business was typically mail-order and included only small household goods such as picture frames, wallets, nylon stockings, pens and wallets.

Nintendo: The Nintendo Corporation’s domination of the gaming industry didn’t start with their first video game console. They have actually established themselves 70 years before the first video game came to life, in the 19th century when they brought back the popularity of card games to Japan.  A new card game, Hanafuda, was invented, by Fusajiro Yamauchi (Nintendo founder) which used images instead of numbers, making it difficult for gambling.

Netflix : The genesis of Netflix came in 1997 when I got this late fee, about $40, for Apollo 13. I remember the fee because I was embarrassed about it. That was back in the VHS days, and it got me thinking that there's a big market out there.

So I started to investigate the idea of how to create a movie-rental business by mail. I didn't know about DVDs, and then a friend of mine told me they were coming. I ran out to Tower Records in Santa Cruz, Calif., and mailed CDs to myself, just a disc in an envelope. It was a long 24 hours until the mail arrived back at my house, and I ripped them open and they were all in great shape. That was the big excitement point.

Idea Generation Principles

3. Ideas can come from anywhere, most often we see good business ideas starting with one (or more) of the following:

Personal Pain• I have a problem that needs solving.

120,000 customers in 80 countries and a $1B valuation.

Market Gap• A critical mass of customers are looking for solution.

Interest• I love this so much, I can see myself working on it 24/7.

Insight• I understand the industry and see where it is going.

Good Business IdeasNecessary conditions: Can make money (or not loose it): value proposition;

critical mass; and addressable customers.

And: Evolve over time. Usually start with one or a combination of:

• Personal pain (I have a problem that needs solving.)• Market gap/need (Others will pay for a solution.)• Interest (I can see myself doing this 24/7.)• Insight (I understand the industry and the trends.)

The best business ideas satisfy most (or all) conditions- If your current idea doesn’t, look to evolve it sufficiently such that it does.

Exercise

Part 11. Generate as many

potential business ideas as you can. They don’t have to be good.

2. Look to combine ideas, eliminate and make existing ideas as good as possible.

3. Pick the best business idea.

4. Prepare to discuss why this is the best idea.

Opportunity Assessment

• http://ecorner.stanford.edu/authorMaterialInfo.html?mid=1802

Opportunity Assessment Considerations

1. Idea• What is the pain or gap hypothesis?• What is the potential solution (v.1)?• Do you have some advantage?

Opportunity Assessment Considerations

2. Market• Who is the typical customer?• What is the size of that market?• What does the competitive landscape look like?• Do you have an advantage?

Opportunity Assessment Considerations

3. Any Big Issues• What are the big costs?• What key resources are required?• What are the rules; regulations; risks: economic, political etc?• Any advantage? Any concerns?

Opportunity Assessment Considerations

4. Revenue Model• How do you get paid; how do you make money? • Any advantage?

Exercise

Part 21. Using your “best” idea” -

consider and record your thoughts related to the main Opportunity Assessment considerations – likely guesses at this time.

2. Prepare your thoughts in order to present (informally).

Next steps• Validate these assumptions.• Learn about:

• Business Model Canvas• Customer Validation

12:00pm – 3:00pm: Startup BasicsLocation: Desmarais Building, Room 4101Description:

Starting a new business has always been a hit or miss proposition. In fact according to

research 75% of all start-up fail. However, careful consideration of the business strategy can make the difference between having a great technology and building a great company. This hands-on workshop will introduce you to lean start-up methodology and help you develop your business model that can be validated by customer feedback.

Parting Thoughts?