Week 4

Question 1

T/F: Growing firms survive longer…

Answer 1

True

According to Bezos, what is dangerous is Not to grow

Question 2

Of the two methods of growing a business, describe “Scaling the existing business”

Answer 2

buying more land on the original orchard, penetrating existing markets, and growing operating capacity

new leaders needed to handle larger capacity

Question 3

Of the two methods of growing a business, describe “Expanding the scope of the existing business”

Answer 3

Entering new markets, introducing new product categories, and launching new business lines

New leaders are needed with different domain/market expertise to manage new businesses

Question 4

Enhance, expand and explore, describe enhance

Answer 4

penetrate existing markets, refine products, streamline operations

Question 5

Enhance, expand and explore, describe expand

Answer 5

launch new products, enter new markets and build new relationships

Question 6

Enhance, expand and explore, describe explore

Answer 6

identify opportunities to launch new BUSINESSES; test and refine new business ideas, build capabilities needed to launch and grow

Question 7

Reasons for failure: customers, product, team, financials, business model; define customers

Answer 7

spending too much on customer acquisition before product market fit

overcompensating with addtl. marketing

Question 8

Reasons for failure: customers, product, team, financials, business model; define product

Answer 8

building a product without a problem-solution fit

investing in the scalability before prob.-sol. fit

Question 9

Reasons for failure: customers, product, team, financials, business model; define team

Answer 9

hiring specialists before they’re needed

hiring too many people too early

Question 10

Reasons for failure: customers, product, team, financials, business model; define financial

Answer 10

raising too much / too little

Question 11

Reasons for failure: customers, product, team, financials, business model; define business model

Answer 11

focusing on profit maximization too early

too much planning without feedback loop

Question 12

why are NETWORKS valuable to entrepreneurs

Answer 12

provide access to resources, ideas, and confer legitimacy of the entrepreneur through alliances

Question 13

social network

Answer 13

set of individuals that are connected by some relationships, allowing the flow of information and resources`

Question 14

3 categorical qualities of social networks

Answer 14

quantity of connections
relationships of clusters
pattern of these relationships

Question 15

why are SOCIAL networks valuable to entrepreneursq

Answer 15

Access to private / trustworthy information

Only works if you are a trustworthy person yourself
Access to diversity of skills/perspectives that you don’t have

Together these aspects work together to give power: helps the flow of non-redundant information

Question 16

characteristics of high quality social networks

Answer 16

Not just having a ton of business cards, but having …

Diversity
Brokerage
Trust

Question 17

define diversity in the context of networks

Answer 17

Two people can have the same number of contacts, but the diverse backgrounds of each can separate the value of both of their networks

adds knowledge diversity, better ideas, innovation

Question 18

define brokerage in the context of networks

Answer 18

Not just about who your contacts are but the shape of your contacts

Both examples below started with 4 contacts but in B, the network is more widespread and captures more information

Question 19

In Brokerage, describe benefits of both open/sparse vs. small/tight social networks

Answer 19

open/sparse networks are better at unique information flow

close/tight networks has better long term relationships and cooperation

Question 20

what type of network would be better, an open/sparse network or a close/tight network for a management team

Answer 20

a close/tight network will be better because these relationships need to be trusting, cooperative, and long lasting

Question 21

define trust in the context of networks

Answer 21

strong ties and weak ties

tie type shapes the willingness of partners in the network to provide resources

Question 22

pros and cons of strong ties

Answer 22

helps transmit complex information as members put more time into explaining ideas

however, it can constrain the search for new info, which often comes from weak ties (more of them)

Question 23

pros and cons of weak ties

Answer 23

Weak ties are not necessarily a bad thing
Can lead to more heterogeneous ties, enabling information flow
can serve as a bridge for disconnected groups

Question 24

self similarity principle

Answer 24

when you introduce yourself to network contacts, you tend to choose people who resemble YOU

Question 25

proximity principle

Answer 25

not only resemble you, but are too close to you to provide diversity of information

Question 26

effectively diversifying your network

Answer 26

strong networks aren’t formed through casual interactions but through high stakes activities