Entrepreneurship

Start, Survive and Grow

Dr. Travis Perera

Postgraduate Institute of Management [email protected]

Who Are Entrepreneurs?

• Entrepreneurs are: — Persons who start and/or operate a business.

— Individuals who discover market needs and launch new firms to meet those needs.

— Risk takers who provide an impetus for change, innovation, and progress.

— All active owner-managers (founders and/or managers of small businesses).

8 reasons why people start their own businesses

1. Creating true wealth and financial freedom 2. Being in control of your own future 3. Lifestyle choices 4. Desire for independence 5. Feeling like you have a purpose 6. Change in circumstances 7. Necessity – not enough income 8. Necessity – no income

What Makes a Successful Entrepreneur?

THE DNA Innovative, Action oriented, Extremely self confident, Achievement Oriented, Decisive, Affiliation oriented

Entrepreneurial Qualities Quality Opportunity

SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEUR ENVIRONMENT An innovative technology, An attractive market, Risks Market, Technology, Team, Financial COMPONENTS Idea, Startup, Technology, Customer, Financials

Strong Business Plan Execution

MANAGEMENT Business formation. Product development, Customer development, Financial management

5 Signs That You're an Entrepreneur at Heart

1. Entrepreneurs are passionate, inside and outside of work 2. Entrepreneurs are committed to building businesses, not just coming up with great ideas 3. Entrepreneurs know how to focus, yet are comfortable moving in multiple directions at once 4. Entrepreneurs are happy 5. Entrepreneurs can be employees Ref: Inc.com, 2012

1. Not starting small 2. Founders give up 3. Not continuously learning 4. Not innovating 5. Poor team 6. Startup over-spends 7. Lack of planning

Identifying Startup Ideas

• • • Opportunity Recognition – Identification of potential new products or services that may lead to promising businesses Entrepreneurial Alertness – Readiness to act on existing, but unnoticed, business opportunities Good Investment Qualities – Products that serve clear and important needs – Products that customers know about – Products that customers can afford –

A good idea is not the same as a good opportunity.

Ref: Inc.com, 2012

Start Lean, Pivot/Persevere

• • — What do successful startups have in common?

They started out with one idea, learnt and changed to another

Pivot: change directions but stay grounded in what

we’ve learned.

Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

• — The minimum set of features needed to learn from early customers and partners Avoid building products that nobody will need — Maximize the learning for every Rupee spent

Minimum Viable Product Product Vision

• • • • • •

Unique Value Proposition (UVP)

“Unique Value Proposition: A single, clear

compelling message that states why you are

different and worth buying.” – Steve Blank The Four Steps to the Epiphany Be different, but make sure your difference matters Target early adopters Focus on the end in mind Pick your words carefully and own them Answer: 5W+1H

The Lean Startup Business Model

PROBLEM Top 3 problems 1

• •

COST STRUCTURE Fixed costs Variable costs SOLUTION Top 3 features in a minimum viable product 3 KEY METRICS Key activities you measure UNIQUE VALUE PROPOSITION Single clear compelling message that states why you are different and worth buying UNIQUE ADVANTAGE Cant be easily copied or bought 7 CUSTOMER SEGMENTS Target customers CHANELS Path to customers 6 5 2 4 1

• • •

Revenue model Lifetime revenue Margins REVENUE STREAMS 5

Adapted from Osterwalder, http://www.businessmodellgeneration.com