TEMPLE UNIVERSITY

A national leader in entrepreneurship education and applied learning

Ranked 13th in the U.S. for undergraduate programs by Entrepreneur magazine and the Princeton Review

Cited for excellence in entrepreneurship by Fortune Small Business, forbes.com and U.S. News and World Report

Awarded for “Outstanding Contributions to the Discipline of Entrepreneurship” by the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers in fall 2009 – just one of three universities globally

SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEURS[ CHARACTERISTICS ]

Passion for the business Vision and endless ideas Product/customer focus: Must satisfy

customer needs Persevere through setbacks and failures Executional excellence: Translate

creativity into action & generate measurable returns

POWER OF ENTREPRENERIAL THINKING

What makes a successful entrepreneur? Seeing opportunity where others don’t Innovation: better, faster, cheaper, easier “Fire in the Belly” Willingness to take risks Extreme work ethic

3 KEY PROCESSES

Idea Generation Creativity

Opportunity

Recognition

Increasing Relevance to Founding Venture

TYPES OF INTELLIGENCE

ANALYTIC INTELLIGENCE- The ability to analyze and evaluate ideas, solve problems and make decisions

CREATIVE INTELLIGENCE- Going beyond what is given to generate novel and interesting ideas

PRACTICAL INTELLIGENCE- The ability that individuals use to find the best fit between themselves and the demands of the environment

SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE- The ability to understand and manage all types of people and to act wisely in human relations

SUCCESSFUL INTELLIGENCE- The acquisition and use of what you need to know to be successful in a particular environment

SUCCESSFUL INTELLIGENCE

SUCCESS

PRACTICALINTELLIGENCE

ANALYTICINTELLIGENCE

CREATIVEINTELLIGENCE

SUCCESSFULINTELLIGENCE

CONFLUENCE APPROACH

Creativity emerges from a confluence of Intellectual abilities Broad, rich knowledge base Appropriate style of thinking Personality attributes Intrinsic, task-focused motivation Environment supportive of creative ideas

ADDITIONAL ASPECTS

OPPORTUNITYRECOGNITION

ACTIVE SEARCH

PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

ENTREPRENEURIALALERTNESS

SOCIAL NETWORKS

PATTERN RECOGNITION

Seeing links between seemingly unconnected trends, changes, events

Connections form an identifiable pattern

ENTREPRENEURIAL OPPORTUNITY

Situation in which a person can develop a new business idea

that has potential to generate profit

OPPORTUNITIES FROM CHANGE

Truly valuable entrepreneurial opportunities come from an external change that either: Makes it possible to do things that had not been

done before Makes it possible to do something in a more

valuable way

CHANGE LEADS TO POTENTIAL

New technology Political and regulatory shifts Social and demographic change

POTENTIAL

FORMS OF OPPORTUNITY

Entrepreneurs develop business ideas by:• Developing new products and services• Tapping new markets• Formulating new methods of production• Identifying new raw materials• Developing new ways of organizing processes

RECOGNIZING OPPORTUNITIES& GENERATING IDEAS

Idea is thought, impression, notion Opportunity: favorable set of circumstances

that create need for product or service. Ex: Jeff Bezos/Amazon

Opportunity has four essential qualities Attractive Durable Timely Creates/adds value for buyer/user

RECOGNIZING OPPORTUNITIES& GENERATING IDEAS

Observing/Study Trends Economic factors Social factors Technological Advances Political Action and regulatory statutes

RECOGNIZING OPPORTUNITIES& GENERATING IDEAS

Economic Forces– Consumers level of disposable income– Interest rate changes– More women in workforce– Currently: global recession

Social Forces– Both parents working: fast food– People too busy: digital organizers– Life stress: spas, wellness clinics

RECOGNIZING OPPORTUNITIES& GENERATING IDEAS

Family & work patterns Aging of the population Increasing diversity in the workplace Globalization of industries Increased focus in health care & fitness Proliferation of computers & Internet Increase in numbers of cell phone users New forms of music & entertainment

RECOGNIZING OPPORTUNITIES& GENERATING IDEAS

Technological Advances Cell phones: allows people to be mobile E-commerce: accommodates busy

schedules and working from home/remote locations

Political Action New laws: help companies comply; ex: SoX Terrorism: Products & services to protect

RECOGNIZING OPPORTUNITIES& GENERATING IDEAS

Solving a Problem Observe people’s challenges Look for problems Listen to people’s complaints Think of your own challenges

RECOGNIZING OPPORTUNITIES& GENERATING IDEAS

Personal characteristics for opportunity recognition Prior experience in an industry Entrepreneurial alertness/6th sense Social networks Creativity: preparation, incubation, insight,

evaluation, elaboration

SMALL GROUP EXERCISE

What opportunities exist? Group should choose a market and identify a BIG

PERVASIVE PROBLEM customers face. Brainstorm some products or services to solve

those problems Share ideas with larger group

TECHNIQUES IN GENERATING IDEAS

Brainstorming: generate ideas quickly, no analysis or decision making Enthusiasm, originality, lots of ideas Freewheeling, lively No criticism allowed Session moves quickly Leapfrogging encouraged

TECHNIQUES IN GENERATING IDEAS

Focus groups People selected are familiar with issues What’s on customers mind Conducted by trained moderator Success depends on moderator’s ability to

ask questions and keep on track

TECHNIQUES IN GENERATING IDEAS

Surveys: gathering info from sample of individuals By phone, mail, online, in person Random portions of population Customer Advisory Boards

FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS

The process to determine if a business idea is viable worth pursuing Product/service feasibility analysis Industry/market feasibility Organizational feasibility Financial feasibility

FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS[ PRODUCT / SERVICE ]

Concept testing: validate customer interest, desirability & purchase intent Validate underlying premise Help develop the idea Try to estimate sales

FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS[ PRODUCT / SERVICE ]

New Business Concept Paper Description of product/service offered Intended target market Benefits of product/service Description of how the product will be

positioned versus similar ones in market Description how the product would be sold or

distributed

FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS[ PRODUCT / SERVICE ]

Usability Testing: Measures product’s ease of use and the user’s perception of the experience using model or prototype

FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS[ INDUSTRY / MARKET ]

Industry attractiveness

Market timeliness

Identification of niche market

FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS[ INDUSTRY / MARKET ]

Industry Attractiveness Large and growing Important to the customer Fairly young rather than

older/mature High rather low operating margins Not being crowded

*Primary and secondary research is needed

FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS[ INDUSTRY / MARKET ]

Market Timeliness Improved product = market exists

Breakthrough product: First mover advantage Second mover advantage

Identifying a niche market

FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS[ ORGANIZATIONAL ]

Sufficient management expertise, organizational competence & resources to successfully launch a business

Management ability Resource sufficiency

FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS[ FINANCIAL ]

Total start-up cash needed Financial performance of similar

businesses Overall financial attractiveness of the

proposed venture

EVALUATING OPPORTUNITIES[ QUICK SCREEN ]

Looks at: Markets and Margins Competitive Advantages Value Realization Overall Potential

Exercise: Evaluate your group’s idea using the first two screens

MARKETS & MARGINS

Need/want/problem Identified Unfocused

Customers Reachable, receptive

Unreachable, loyal to others

Market Size $100 million + Less than $10 million

Market Growth Rate More than 20% Less than 20% or shrinking

Gross Margin >40%, durable <20%, fragile

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES

Barriers to Competitors’ Entry

Defensible None

Contacts and Networks

Key access Limited

Degree of Control High Low

Prices and Cost High Low

Supply & distributionchannels

High Low

THOUGHTS

I know quite certainly that I myself have no special talent; curiosity, obsession and dogged endurance, combined with self-criticism, have brought me to my ideas.

- Albert Einstein

The air is full of ideas. They are knocking you in the head all the time. You only have to know what you want, then forget it, and go about your business. Suddenly, the idea will come through. It was there all the time.

- Henry Ford

A mediocre idea that generates enthusiasm will go further than a great idea that inspires no one.

- Mary Kay Ash