Entrepreneurship takes many forms, from small businesses to social ventures, each with unique challenges and opportunities. This discussion explores the four

Entrepreneurship & Ideation

COURSE READER

Becoming an entrepreneur requires various skills and talents. First you must

understand who you are and what you want by identifying your skills and knowing

your passions. A successful entrepreneur matches his or her skills and passions

with the right opportunity. However, it takes more than passion to be successful;

it also takes hard work and preparation. Analyzing the industry and the feasibility

of your idea is critical to success. This course gets you started.

As you proceed through this section of the course, you will be asked to

refer to chapters within this course reader. The content of each chapter in this

reader reinforces and expands on the key ideas that are presented in the course.

You are introduced to the history and foundations of entrepreneurship and given

tools for success. Throughout the chapters, you are presented with two cases

studies that describe two companies, Starlink (satellite internet) and Hometown

Brewery. The case studies are used to illustrate important concepts using “real-

world” examples.

There are many steps along the path to creating a successful

entrepreneurship. Each chapter gives you the background and the basics you need

to understand the first steps to creating the idea. You must

1. Identify an opportunity (Chapter 2)

2. Conduct feasibility analysis (Chapters 3–6)

3. Develop the concept (Chapter 7)

Once you have completed these steps, you will be ready for implementation

and management! Good luck!

Page ii

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction to Entrepreneurship

1

Chapter 2: Opportunity Identification 9

Chapter 3: Technical Feasibility 14

Chapter 4: Market Feasibility 18

Chapter 5: Industry Feasibility 25

Chapter 6: Financial Feasibility 31

Chapter 7: Developing the Concept 39

Epilogue: Personal Reflection 43

List of Key Terms by Chapter 45

Sources 48

Page iii

Entrepreneurship & Ideation

Entrepreneurship & Ideation Chapter 1 page 1

1 INTRODUCTION TO ENTREPRENEURSHIP Entrepreneurship has much to offer to anyone who has the passion and

drive to start a venture and follow it through. To be a successful

entrepreneur, you need to be aware of your own passions, motivations,

skills, and objectives, and you must know what areas you may need to

improve on or develop. Then, ideally, you will be able to align your skills

and desires with your venture.

History of entrepreneurship Our definition and understanding of entrepreneurship has evolved over the years,

and it continues to evolve in terms of focus and scope. In the broadest terms, we define

entrepreneurship as the pursuit of an opportunity without regard to the resources that

the entrepreneur currently controls. An entrepreneur is therefore a person who identifies

an opportunity, then acquires the resources needed to pursue that opportunity as a

venture.

This is how we think about entrepreneurship today. However, the concept has

taken quite a journey from its roots over 500 years ago. The word entrepreneur comes

from the word enterprise, which has roots in the Latin language in the 15th century—

from the words entre, meaning “between,” and prehendere, meaning “to grasp or take

hold.” Then the word enterprise made its way into French and become entreprendre, which

means “to undertake.” From there, the word evolved and became entrepreneur.

In 1755, the French economist Richard Cantillon (in Essay on the Nature of Trade

in General) was one of the first individuals to define an entrepreneur in a business sense

as someone who uses business judgment to take on a difficult commercial enterprise. Key

to Cantillon’s definition were the ideas that this commercial enterprise had uncertain

outcomes and that the business person was motivated by personal gain. Both of these

features have carried down to our modern thinking about entrepreneurship. Adam Smith,

the Scottish philosopher and economist, added to Cantillon’s definition by incorporating

the idea that an entrepreneur is someone who accumulates capital and is an agent of

progress.

By the mid-19th century, the word entrepreneur was firmly part of the English

language of business. Around this time, the German mathematician Hans von Mangoldt

expanded the idea to include an element of risk; in his mind, risk was essential to the

concept. Then in the early 20th century, Joseph A. Schumpeter, an Austrian economist,

suggested that key elements of entrepreneurship are innovation, vision, and creativity.

Scholars and practitioners further refined the concept, and by the early 20th

century, an entrepreneur was someone who used business judgment in commercial

enterprises with uncertain outcomes, accumulated capital, took risks, and was innovative

and creative. Some people believe that to be truly entrepreneurial, a person has to create

something disruptive, such as a new product, industry, or market, or identify and serve

needs that are not currently being met.

Entrepreneurship & Ideation Chapter 1 page 2

In modern times, the definition of entrepreneurship has been broadened to

describe an entrepreneur as someone who starts a commercial venture, such as

developing and selling a brand-new product or starting a small accounting business in the

downtown of a big city, and someone who starts a nonprofit organization designed to

address a social issue or problem in the community.

Today there is no single commonly accepted definition of the word entrepreneur.

For some people, being an owner or operator of a business is enough. For others, to be

properly classified as an entrepreneur, the business owner must also be the founder of

the business. The common thread that runs through the definitions is the concept of value

creation, such as economic value for the entrepreneur, or social value for the community.

Table 1-1 lists several successful 21st century entrepreneurships, each of which has

created value either as a profitable venture for the founder or as a beneficial resource for

a community.

Goals and objectives of entrepreneurship The goals of entrepreneurship are to create a new venture and to create value of

some kind, such as social, intellectual, or financial value.

Commercial entrepreneurs often come to mind when one thinks about

entrepreneurship. Their goals are to create viable businesses and to create value, usually

in the form of financial value. One commercial entrepreneur may choose a technology

start-up with the goal of making large profits, growing quickly, and selling the business

to another company. Another commercial entrepreneur may choose to build a small

business with the goal of growing very slowly and generating income for himself or

herself.

Social entrepreneurs are individuals who seek to create nonfinancial value, such as

providing products or services to a community in need. These individuals use the

entrepreneurial process to start nonprofit ventures or otherwise create social value. Their

objectives are not necessarily money or profit; quite often, the goal is to create change in

society and further specific nonfinancial goals (see Table 1-2). These entrepreneurs seek

to build organizations with strong, well-defined missions and to operate within a structure

that enables them to attract funding from people who believe in the mission.

Intrapreneurs are individuals who seek to create new products or services from

within an existing organization (see Table 1-2). These individuals usually work with the

support of the organization, and their objective is to generate a profit for the larger

company.

Hybrid entrepreneurs are individuals who seek to create organizations that have

both nonfinancial and financial goals, such as providing a service to a community and

creating financial value for the owners and investors (see Table 1-2).

Entrepreneurship & Ideation Chapter 1 page 3

Table 1-2: Types of Entrepreneurships

Type of entrepreneurship

Goals

Commercial Business creation

Innovation

Wealth

Social Social mission Social engagement

Intrapreneurship Innovation

Business creation within

existing organization

Profit

Hybrid Business creation

Social mission

Wealth

The entrepreneurial process

The entrepreneurial process can be broken into seven key steps, which can be

applied to any type of venture.

1. Identify an opportunity. Use creative techniques to come up with a new idea, seek

inspiration from existing sources to find an opportunity, or create one of your own

(see Chapter 2).

2. Conduct feasibility analysis. Understand the attractiveness or profitability of the idea

with a technical feasibility analysis (see Chapter 3%

Collepals.com Plagiarism Free Papers

Are you looking for custom essay writing service or even dissertation writing services? Just request for our write my paper service, and we'll match you with the best essay writer in your subject! With an exceptional team of professional academic experts in a wide range of subjects, we can guarantee you an unrivaled quality of custom-written papers.

Get ZERO PLAGIARISM, HUMAN WRITTEN ESSAYS

Why Hire Collepals.com writers to do your paper?

Quality- We are experienced and have access to ample research materials.

We write plagiarism Free Content

Confidential- We never share or sell your personal information to third parties.

Support-Chat with us today! We are always waiting to answer all your questions.