Questions and Answers of Launching New Ventures

1. Describe the background of AdRoll to insure that the facts of the case are clear in preparation for strategy questions.2. Perform a SWOT Analysis of AdRoll.3. What is the current
Of the three categories of knowledge, which category has legal rights associated with it and what are those rights?
Define the term entrepreneurship.
1. Describe the background of AdRoll.2. Perform a SWOT Analysis of AdRoll.3. What was the core business level strategy that AdRoll used? Is this an appropriate strategy? If not, what would you
Describe the current environment for entrepreneurship. Compare that environment to another country in a different part of the world. To introduce this topic, you might want to have students look at
Interview an entrepreneur in an industry or business that interests you. Be sure to choose someone you don’t know (no relatives or friends); choose someone who has started and is still running his
Why are there so many myths about entrepreneurs?
1. Who are CleanBeeBaby’s target customers, and what is the value proposition that CleanBeeBaby offers? What problem is Beall solving?2. Why does it matter that smaller retailers are experiencing
How do corporate entrepreneurs differ from other types of entrepreneurs?
Identify an entrepreneur who is leading the kind of personal and business life that you aspire to lead. Interview that person to find out more about how he or she achieved that lifestyle. During the
Entrepreneurship is a journey, and many people contribute to that journey. Begin a contact portfolio that will contain the names of all the people you meet as you network. Record their contact
1. Discuss the childhood, background, education, and personality of Andrew Mason. How did these factors play into the Groupon opportunity?2. What strategies did Mason and Groupon employ to grow their
Identify the challenges you face in becoming more creative. What three things will you do to address those challenges?
What is the value of early and thorough product definition?
Spend an afternoon walking around your community or your university or college campus. Don’t look for anything in particular. Simply observe the things that you don’t normally pay attention to
Pick one of the sources of new product/service ideas discussed in Table 3.3. Using that source, come up with an opportunity that has business potential. Then, searching the Internet or talking to
1. What problem is VTL trying to solve? How does VTL solve this problem?2. What accounts for VTL’s early and quite substantial success?3. Identify the central lessons of the Sacramento
Choose an industry that interests you. Create a status report using the Internet, LexisNexis or other industry source, current periodicals, and interviews with people in the industry. In your
Pick a product or service that interests you, and formulate a plan for researching customer needs. Identify what information must be collected (secondary and primary) and how to collect it. Justify
What are some ways to innovate in a business model?
Compare and contrast the business models of two early-stage companies. How are their business models sources of innovation for the company?
Suppose you intend to start a theme restaurant that can be replicated and franchised. Based on an analysis of some existing theme restaurants, what types of revenue streams could this business
Visit an entrepreneurial company that is developing new products. What is the company’s product development strategy, and how effective is that strategy? What criteria did you use to measure
Interview an entrepreneur who uses the lean approach to new product development. How did they test their MVP?
Interview an entrepreneur who outsourced his or her product development overseas. What challenges did they face? Is outsourcing typical in this industry? Was this a good decision? Why? Why not?
What are three ways you can preserve the confidentiality of your trade secrets?
What actions can you take that will cause you to infringe another company’s trademarks?
What types of assets in your business might you want to protect with copyrights?
Under what circumstances would you decide to patent your new technology?
Visit the U.S. Patent Office at www.uspto.gov. Pick a patented invention that interests you and for which a product has been developed and commercialized. Alternatively, start with a patented product
Interview an entrepreneur who is producing a product. What is their IP strategy? What forms of IP are they using to protect their assets?
How can you ensure that you are using independent contractors correctly and in accordance with the law?
Suppose you are starting an apparel company where you will design and manufacture a unique line of clothing. What kinds of independent contractors can help you start this venture?
Interview an entrepreneur who started a venture as a soloist, and then visit an entrepreneurial venture started by a team (two or more people). Based on your interviews, write a two-page report
You need to choose a lawyer, accountant, or banker as a potential professional advisor to your business and you want to interview that person. What information will you need to secure from him or her
Describe the typical metrics for a startup business.
Make a list of all the sources of friendly money you can tap to start a new business. Be sure to include your personal resources. How much startup money could you reasonably raise? At what points in
Interview an angel investor and a banker to learn what his or her expectations are when reviewing business plans for new ventures. In a two-page report, compare their criteria for choosing to fund or
Interview someone who invests in small businesses (generally an angel investor) about what she or he looks for in a business plan. On the basis of your discussion, what will you need to remember when
Go to www.bplans.com and select a business plan to review. Using the guidelines for an effective plan given in this chapter, evaluate the plan in about two to three pages. What are the plan’s
How can design thinking principles be employed to organize your business?
Choose an industry in which you have an interest. Find a business in that industry and do the following: (1) Arrange to visit the business and talk with key personnel; (2) Do a flowchart of the
What are three factors that an entrepreneur must take into consideration when choosing vendors to meet materials requirements?
Interview an entrepreneur about his or her hiring practices. How successful have those practices been in getting and retaining good employees?
Suppose you launched a new advertising firm where you create copy, graphics, videos, etc. for print, broadcast, and online distribution. How could you schedule activities to create more efficiency in
Interview an entrepreneur with a product company about his or her views on quality. How is this entrepreneur implementing quality control in his or her organization?
Choose a young company that has a global supply chain. Develop a process flow chart depicting the supply chain, and analyze it for efficiency and flexibility based on information provided in the
Employing this text and additional online research, acquire a basic understanding of the different legal forms of organization. Then, using a business that you are considering launching, create an
Visit an entrepreneur whose business is set up as a partnership. How do these partners describe the experience of setting up the business? How have they divided up the duties and responsibilities?
Do you believe that your code of ethics should remain firm in any situation? Why or why not?
Suppose you are doing business in a country where paying fees (bribes) to get through the process more quickly is standard practice. In the United States, bribery is against the law. How will you
In addition to the suggestions given in the chapter, name two ways your company can demonstrate its social responsibility.
Would you require your employees to give back to the community as part of their work contract with your company? Why or why not? If yes, how could you implement this policy?
How do you define your personal success? How can your definition be applied to your business?
Choose an industry that interests you and interview a manufacturer, a distributor, and a retailer about the code of ethics in that industry. In a two-page report, discuss whether these three industry
Choose two companies in different industries. Interview a manager in each company about how the company practices social responsibility. In a two-page paper, compare these managers’ answers and
Contrast funding with equity and funding with debt or non-dilutive sources.
Make a list of all the sources of friendly money--including your personal resources--that you can tap to start a new business. How much startup money could you reasonably raise?
What questions should you ask at each level of a new venture’s growth?
Interview an angel and a banker to learn what his or her expectations are when reviewing business plans for new ventures. In a two-page report, compare their criteria for choosing to fund or not fund
What are the possible exit strategies that entrepreneurs can employ?
You are launching a business to create custom, short-form documentary films for businesses that want to use these films to engage with their customers to inform, to advise, to entertain, and to
Interview an entrepreneur whose new venture is in its early stages, and question him or her about the growth strategy for the business. Has the entrepreneur given sufficient thought to a growth