Midterm

Question 1

What are the 6 core attributes of an entreprenuer

Answer 1

1. Commitment and determination
2. leadership
3. opportunity obsession
4. tolerance of risk, ambiguity and uncertainty
5. creativity, self-reliance, and adaptability
6. motivation to excel

Question 2

describe commitment and determination

Answer 2

tenacious and decisive, able to recommit/commit quickly;
ability to not get discouraged;
intensely competitive in achieving goals
persistant in solving problems, disciplined
willing to undertake personal sacrifice
immersed

Question 3

describe leadership

Answer 3

guider and motivator;
ability to give direction by guiding;
making people want to follow and get excited by motivating;
self starter; high standards but not a perfectionist
team builder and hero maker; inspires others
treats others as he/she wants to be treated
shares the wealth with all the people who helped create it
honest and reliable; builds trust; practices fairness
not a lone wolf
superior learner and teacher; courage
patient and urgent

Question 4

describe opportunity obsession

Answer 4

always looking carefully and diligently at new opportunities;
has intimate knowledge of customers needs and wants
market driven
obsessed with value creation and enhancement

Question 5

describe tolerance of risk, ambiguity and uncertainty

Answer 5

calculated risk taker
risk minimizer
risk sharer
manages paradoxes and contradictions; works through the unclear and complexity issues
tolerates uncertainty and lack of structure
tolerates stress and conflict
tolerates risk and ambiguity
able to resolve problems and integrate solutions
understands things may go wrong and how to deal with that
knows there is an unknown to how things may work out but still tries.

Question 6

describe creativity, self-reliance, and adaptability

Answer 6

non convenient, open minded, lateral thinker
restless with status quo
able to adapt and change as things progress; creative problem solver
quick learner
no fear of failure
able to conceptualize and “sweat details” (helicopter mind)
independent
confident

Question 7

describe motivation to excel

Answer 7

Goa and results oriented; high but realistic goals
drive to achieve and grow
low need for status and power
interpersonally supporting (versus competitive)
aware of own weaknesses and strengths
has perspective and sense of humour

Question 8

What is entrepreneurship

Answer 8

simply put entrepreneurship is a mindset. a way of thinking, reasoning, acting that is:
opportunity obsessed;
holistic in approach - everything is interconnected;
leadership balanced;
individuals categorized as entrepreneurs could be called change agents because they believe in doing things effectively and efficiently, changing for the better more practical way of doing things. These individuals possess an internal locus of control based on 6 core attributes: commitment and determination;
leadership;
opportunity obsession;
tolerance of risk, ambiguity, and uncertainty;
creativity, self-reliance, and adaptability;
motivation to excel.

Question 9

what are the desirable attributes of an entrepreneuer

Answer 9

capacity to inspire
values
energy, health and emotional stability
creativity and innovativeness
intelligence

Question 10

what is leadership

Answer 10

leadership is to provide direction. instead of immediate instructions and plans. leadership will provide strategies to help achieve these plans. aligning people to work with others and co operate as a team. they are there to motivate and inspire people against barriers to change by satisfying basic human needs. they have the potential and power to produce dramatic change.

Question 11

what is the entrepreneurial leadership paradigm

Answer 11

where successful ventures occur at the convergence of:
the lead entrepreneur;
the venture team;
external environmental influences.

Question 12

What is the lead entrepreneur?

Answer 12

has a realists attitude rather than one of invincibility = self concept
trustworthy, his/her work is his/ her contrac. Admits what and when he/she does not know = intellectually honest.
displays a high energy level and a sense of urgency = pace maker
capable of making hard decisions: setting and beating high goals = courage
maintains an effective dialogue with the venture team, in the marketplace, and with other venture constituents = communication skills
competent in people management and team-building skills = team player

Question 13

what is the venture team

Answer 13

organizational style = the lead entrepreneur and the venture team blend their skills to operate in a participative environment
ethical behavior= practices strong adherence to ethical business practices
faithfulness= stretched commitments are consistently met or bettered
focus = long term ventures strategies are kept in focus but tactics are varied to achieve them
performance/reward= high standards of performance are created and superior performance is rewarded daily and equitably
adaptablity= responsive to rapid changes in product/technological cycles

Question 14

what are external environmental influences

Answer 14

constituent needs= organizations needs are satisfied, in parallel with those of the public the enterprise serves.
prior experience - extensive prior experiences are effectively applied
mentoring- the competencies of others are sought and used
problem resolution- new problems are immediately solved or prioritized
value creation - high commitment is placed on long - term value creation for backers, customers, employees and other stakeholders.
skill emphasis - marketing skills are stressed over technical ones

Question 15

what are the core components in opportunity recognition?

Answer 15

1. there must be a clearly defined market
2. proposed business must be able to achieve durable or sustainable competitive advantage
3. economies of the venture must be rewarding
4. good fit between entrepreneur and opportunity
5. there must be no fatal flaw in the venture

Question 16

when is an idea and opportunity? 4 anchors

Answer 16

1. create or add significant value to a customer or end user
2. achieve this by doing something that is valued and;
   solving a significant problem or the true market problem;
   removing a serious pain point;
   or, meetings a significant want or need that will command a premium.
3. offer robust market, margin and money making characteristics that are communicable to potential stakeholders:
   -significant sales;
   -high sales growth;
   -high gross margins;
   -strong and early free cash flow;
   -high profit potential;
   -attractive, realizable returns for investors.
   The need for the product or service that is widely shared. Does the customer care enough to pay?
4. a good fit with the founder, management team and market (timing). How big is the market and can the available market be proven?

Question 17

how do you identify an opportunity

Answer 17

when we start a new venture we base it on hard research and analysis, typically we review the industry and put ourselves in the customers shoes to see what could make it better.

Question 18

what are the fundamental questions to spot an opportunity>

Answer 18

• is that an opportunity for restricting a market and creating competitive advantage?
• what are the competitors doing?
• is the customer confused or badly served?
• is this an opportunity for building the virgin brand?
• can we add value?
• will it interest with our other businesses?
• is there an appropriate trade off between risk and reward?

Question 19

Explain the Timmons model

Answer 19

where theory and practice collide in the real world. includes the driving forces of value creation.

Question 20

what are the driving forces of value creation

Answer 20

-it is opportunity driven
-it is driven by a lead entrepreneur and an entrepreneurial team
-it is resource parsimonious and creative
-it depends on the fit and balance among these
-it is integrated and holistic
-it is sustainable
these are the controllable components that can be altered. founders focus on these forces during there careful due diligence process to analyze the risks and determine what changes can be made to improve a ventures chances of success.

Question 21

Define opportunity from the Timmons model

Answer 21

what is the size of the opportunity and what gap will the opportunity fill. where is the need being filled and what is the need that is going to be filled. the heart of the process. not every good idea is a good opportunity. opportunity must be measured and reviewed through due diligence by the lead entrepreneur. Market demand is a key ingredient to measuring an opportunity(because of the value added properties of the product or service and the markets current size and potential for 20 plus percent growth).how quickly will it grow? Will customers pay a premium for this? Does the opportunity fit the entrepreneur? market structure and size help define an opportunity. margin analysis helps differentiate an opportunity from an idea. Durability exists when the investor gets his or her money back plus a market or better return on investment. the more imperfect the market the greater the opportunity

Question 22

define resources from the Timmons model

Answer 22

money follows high potential opportunities conceived and led by a strong management team. successful entrepreneurs devise ingeniously creative and sting strategies to marshal and gain control of resources. Understand and marshal resources, don’t be driven by them. “bootstrapping” can create a competitive advantage. A common idea is to minimize and control rather than maximize and own. Can you have the resources and can you hang onto them? What does it take to respond to the opportunity (financially)? What are the resources needed to fill the gap with this opportunity?

Question 23

define the entrepreneurial team from the Timmons model

Answer 23

key ingredient in the higher potential venture. very hard to grow a venture without a team. you need to find the right fit with the right people and opportunity lead by an entrepreneur. a lead entrepreneur is excellent at team building and adapts a philosophy that rewards success and supports honest failure, shares the wealth with those who help create it, and sets high standards for both performance and conduct. an entrepreneurial leader:
-learns and teaches-faster, better;
-deals with adversity, is resilient;
-exhibits integrity, dependability, honesty;
-builds entrepreneurial culture and organization.
Important aspects of the venture team:
-relevant experience and track record;
-motivation to excel;
-commitment, determination, and persistence
-tolerance of risk, ambiguity, and uncertainty;
-creativity;
-team locus of control;
-adaptability;
-opportunity obsession;
-leadership and courage;
-communication.

Question 24

what are opportunity traps

Answer 24

1. opportunities are situational
   -must know the concept and critical success factors as these are an absolute must
   -some success factors arise from specific conditions, while others are transferrable
   -External critical success factors vs internal:
   -internal-importance of corporate culture, the ability to execute.
   external - new combinations, sea changes
2. ideas are not opportunities
   -mousetrap fallacy
3. opportunities are either market driven or product driven.

Question 25

Companies that stay close to needs of customers end up being vulnerable. talk about this

Answer 25

sometimes customers don't know what they want, brands or companies show them what they want. Companies that stay too close with their customers wants are giving control to them and end up making too many changes to products and competitors are coming out with new products that your customer will want. Companies must list themselves from what customers tell them, they may tell you they want something but they actually don't. Or they don't know. The McPizza example, customers loved it but it just didn't fit in with the corporate structure of mcdonalds, it was too long of a processing time.

Question 26

Entrepreneurship requires action bias but also patience and pursuance. talk about this

Answer 26

Action bias is the focus on producing results, especially in the first stage of a venture you must be focused on getting products produced and out to customers, there is an urgency in the first stage of the product life cycle. Then you need the patience to see how well customers reacted to this, during the product and sales life cycles its not until the growth stage ventures start making money. Things can go wrong in the introduction stage but you must still be able to pursue. There was a video played in class where this man that made cookies said "when theres 5 disasters in a row, you can only hope the 6th one is good". And another example of patience is Starbucks was stuck in a loss position for 3 years before it took off. They kept their patience and pursued the opportunity.

Question 27

two commonly known ways to segregate markets are demographics and psychographics - describe them

Answer 27

Demographics: describing markets, segregating markets by gender, age, income, externally observable traits. Psychograpgics: -self perception -describes a market on how stye see themselves 3 categories: -social - seeing yourself in relation to others and example would be the Harley davidons group for people that buy motorcycles they can be in a club the owners group. -psychological - who you see yourself as -lifestyle- your self perception based on your choices of how you want to be perceived. and example would be when you buy from Patagonia you are buying into that lifestyle, chill outdoors adventure style.