08 Oct Create a new profit center for an existing company.

NEW BUSINESS VENTURES AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Introduce Yourself and Set Your Direction in the Course

 

During this course, you will create a Business Plan for a new venture.  You will be choosing one of three options, as described below:

 

Intrapreneur:  You will work to create a new profit center for an existing company.

 

Entrepreneur:  You have an idea for a new product or service and want to launch your own company.

 

Nonprofit:  You have identified a need in the community and want to start a 501c3 nonprofit to address that need.

 

Use the prompts below to introduce yourself to your classmates:

 

Briefly introduce yourself to the class.

 

Identify the type of idea you would like to focus on in this class: Intrapreneur, Entrepreneur, or Nonprofit.

 

After watching the Tio video for this week, what resonated the most with you? Why?

 

 

 

JWI575 NEW BUSINESS VENTURES AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

 

Week 2 Discussion

 

Pitch Your Big Idea in Video

 

For your course project, you need to identify an innovative “big idea” for your Business Plan. This DQ is designed to help you select and refine your “big idea.” You will prepare and record a short video recording (2 minutes or less) about your “big idea” as your initial DQ post. Work through the steps below to plan and create your DQ video:

 

Step 1. What is your “big idea?” If you don’t have one, see the Assignment 1 Instructions for resources to help you identify one.

 

Step 2. Using the prompts below, draft notes for a brief, succinct pitch on your “big idea”:

 

What type of Business Plan will you develop: Entrepreneurial, Intrapreneurial, or Nonprofit?

 

Briefly describe your “big idea” and explain what you find exciting about this product or service.

 

What problem in the market or in the community will your “big idea” solve?

 

Why doesn’t this product or service already exist in the market?

 

Identify the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats for your “big idea.”

 

Step 3. Use the PowerPoint SWOT template, provided in the Assignment 1 resources, to create a visual SWOT analysis chart for your “big idea.” The content in the SWOT chart comes from your notes for the last bullet point in Step 2.

 

Step 4. Use Zoom or the software of your choice to record your “big idea” pitch. Then post the MP4 video recording as your initial DQ response. Your video should last no more than 2 minutes.

 

 

 

JWI575 NEW BUSINESS VENTURES AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

 

Week 3 Discussion

 

What Is Your Value Proposition?

 

In this week’s Tio video, Austin talks about his belief in his product as a new type of savory snack meal that could appeal to busy Americans. Here he is discussing his value proposition for the customer segment he serves.

 

Read the definitions below for Market (Customer) Segments and Value Proposition, and think about how they apply to your new idea: 

 

MARKET (CUSTOMER) SEGMENTS: Defines the different groups of people or organizations an enterprise aims to reach and serve.

 

VALUE PROPOSITION: Describes the bundle of products and services that create value for a specific Customer Segment.

 

Then, for your initial post, answer the questions below:

 

For whom are you creating value?

 

Who are your most important customers and where is the customer experiencing the product or service (in person, online)

 

What value do you deliver to the customer? Which customer needs are you satisfying?

 

Which one of your customer’s problems are you helping to solve?

 

 

 

JWI575 NEW BUSINESS VENTURES AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

 

Week 4 Discussion

 

What Key Resources Do You Need?

 

Review the below definition and then answer the questions below that apply to you:

 

KEY RESOURCES: Describes the most important assets required to make a business model work.

 

Questions for Entrepreneur or Nonprofit:

 

What Key Resources does your Value Proposition require?

 

What Key Resources do your Customer Relationships require?

 

What Key Resources for your Revenue Streams and Distribution Channels require?

 

Questions for Intrapreneur:

 

What does your internal leadership require to fund your idea or concept?

 

What Key Resources do your Customer Relationships require?

 

What Key Resources for your Revenue Streams and Distribution Channels require?

 

 

 

JWI575 NEW BUSINESS VENTURES AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

 

Week 5 Discussion

 

The Cost of an Effective Launch

 

Before you can bring a new idea to the market, you have to understand the costs associated with developing and launching your business. As we have learned from the case of Tio, there are many costs associated with a new concept.

 

Review the definitions below:

 

KEY RESOURCES: Describes the most important assets required to make a business model work.

 

KEY ACTIVITIES: Describes the tasks or milestones that need to be accomplished. Examples would be creating a website, developing a prototype product, purchasing or renting real estate and equipment, etc.

 

COST STRUCTURE: Describes all the costs incurred to operate a business model.

 

For your initial post, respond to the questions below:

 

Which Key Resources that you identified in the Week 4 Discussion are the most expensive?

 

Looking at your current plan for your business model, which Key Activities are most expensive?

 

What is the one thing you will have to do to brand your product to your target market?

 

 

 

JWI575 NEW BUSINESS VENTURES AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

 

Week 6 Discussion

 

Adaptability

 

After an initial period of selling, Austin changed the way in which he branded his product. In the Week 3 Discussion, you introduced your Value Proposition. Now you are going to take this to the next level.

 

Use the Assumptionator PowerPoint Tool in your Weekly Materials to reexamine your previous assumptions about your product or service. Then answer the questions below:

 

What are the key actions you need to take to deliver your Value Proposition to your Customers?

 

What have you done to test your Value Proposition?

 

What will you do if it turns out that your original Value Proposition is not resonating with your Customers?

 

 

 

JWI575 NEW BUSINESS VENTURES AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

 

Week 7 Discussion

 

Branding

 

Austin took some time to define the essential brand for Tio as a drinkable soup that replaces a meal. According to Heaton, “Branding is the expression of the essential truth or value of an organization, product, or service.”

 

Review the definitions below:

 

CHANNELS: Describes how a company communicates with and reaches its Customer Segments to deliver a Value Proposition.

 

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS: Describes the types of relationships a company establishes with specific Customer Segments.

 

Think about branding in relation to your “big idea” and answer the prompts below:

 

How will you reach the necessary Channels to communicate with your prospective Customer Segments?

 

What type of relationship does each of your Customer Segments expect you to establish and maintain with them?

 

What questions or uncertainties do you have about the brand you would like to create?

 

 

 

JWI575 NEW BUSINESS VENTURES AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

 

Week 8 Discussion

 

The Benefits of Partnerships

 

Companies form partnerships for many reasons: for example, a company may create alliances to optimize its business models, reduce risk, or acquire resources. Such partnerships are becoming the cornerstone of many contemporary business models.

 

Austin discusses the benefits of two major partnerships, one with General Mills and one with ThinkFoodGroup. Think about Austin’s experiences with these partners, and then consider what partnerships you may need to be successful with your new idea.

 

KEY PARTNERSHIPS: Describes the network of suppliers and partners that make a business model work.

 

After reviewing the above definition, answer the following questions:

 

What have you learned from the Tio case to help you develop strong partnerships in the future?

 

Who are your Key Partners? Why?

 

Who are your Key Suppliers? Why?

 

 

 

JWI575 NEW BUSINESS VENTURES AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

 

Week 9 Discussion

 

The Four P’s and Your Learning from the Tio case

 

This week Austin talked about what he learned from the stories of previous product launches that came from other cultures, such as hummus and Greek yogurt. In preparation for this week’s Discussion, think about the Tio Gazpacho story that you have been following throughout this course and what lessons you have learned from it.

 

Also, before writing your post this week, review The Four P’s of Marketing document in your Assignment 3 Resources. It defines the Four P’s as: (1) Product or Service, (2) Place, (3) Price, and (4) Promotion. Use the questions in the document to help you define the Four P’s for the product or service in your Business Plan.

 

For your initial post, answer the following questions: 

 

Briefly describe and define the Four P’s of your Marketing Plan.

 

What is the most important lesson that you learned from the Tio case study?

 

 

 

JWI575 NEW BUSINESS VENTURES AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

 

Week 10 Discussion

 

Best Innovation Pitch

 

This week’s DQ hosts a friendly class competition. First, create and post a pitch on why your innovation business plan is “best in class.” Then, from your peers’ videos, select the two that impress you most. At the end of the week, the professor will announce two winners, based on peer feedback and his/her own assessment.

 

Using the prompts below as a guide, write a succinct pitch for your innovation business plan:

 

Briefly describe your new product or service

 

What is exciting and innovative about your product or service?

 

How are you financing your project, and when will it break even?

 

Explain why your product or service will succeed in the market?

 

Why should your peers vote for your innovation pitch? 

 

Using Zoom, record your pitch and post the recording as your initial response. Your video should be no more than 3 minutes long.

 

For your required response, cast your vote by replying to your professor. Select your top two choices and briefly explain how these pitches impressed you. Of course, you may also respond to individual classmates with appreciative comments.