Module Learning Objectives and Summary

Module Overview

Chapter 5 Outline

5.1 Entrepreneurial Opportunity Links to an external site.

5.2 Researching Potential Business Opportunities Links to an external site.

5.3 Competitive Analysis Links to an external site.

Chapter 6 Outline

6.1 Problem Solving to Find Entrepreneurial Solutions Links to an external site.

6.2 Creative Problem-Solving Process Links to an external site.

6.3 Design Thinking Links to an external site.

6.4 Lean Processes Links to an external site.

Learning Objectives - Entrepreneurial Opportunity

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

Define entrepreneurial opportunity
Discuss Joseph Schumpeter’s theories of opportunity
Identify key drivers of opportunity
Describe opportunity screening
Identify common sources of research data
Explain how to research and verify business opportunities
Identify industry and consumer sources of opportunities
Understand the elements of a competitive analysis
Describe tools you can use to refine and focus your planning (three circles, SWOT, PEST)
Recognize social media’s role in saving time and money on research
Understand how a business model helps determine the feasibility of an opportunity

Learning Objectives - Problem Solving to Find Entrepreneurial Solutions

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

Define problem solving in the context of entrepreneurship
Describe and compare the adaptive model and the innovative model of problem solving
Identify the skills entrepreneurs need for effective problem solving
Identify types of problem solvers
Describe the five steps in the creative problem-solving process
Identify and describe common creative problem-solving tools
Explain the design thinking process
Discuss some design thinking tools
Discuss the lean process methodology

Module Summary

5.1 Entrepreneurial Opportunity

Entrepreneurial opportunity exists when consumer demand meets the feasibility of bringing the product or service to market. Joseph Schumpeter, an early scholar of entrepreneurship, identified creative destruction—when innovation is disruptive and creates potential entrepreneurial opportunities. Schumpeter’s focus on economics led him to categorize potential opportunities based on supply, demand, or changes in how technology is used.

Burgeoning entrepreneurs should be engaged with industries of interest to remain informed and aware of opportunities to research. Additionally, they should be attentive to drivers of opportunity, such as emerging funding options, technological advancements, and economic factors.

5.2 Researching Potential Business Opportunities

Researching the viability of your entrepreneurial idea will help you determine whether the venture is currently worth pursuing. Use primary and secondary research to determine whether there is adequate demand, market structure and size, and the needed margins and resources to launch and sustain the enterprise. Entrepreneurs researching options should also be aware of industry and consumer sources of opportunities.

5.3 Competitive Analysis

A competitive analysis helps determine the viability of your idea by considering how feasible it is within a specific competitive landscape. Tools such as a competitive analysis grid, a SWOT analysis, a PEST analysis, and the three circles approach can help you further examine issues and refine your plans.

6.1 Problem Solving to Find Entrepreneurial Solutions

Problem solving involves more than making decisions. Problem solving is a necessary component of entrepreneurial genesis, used to manage your business and helpful in addressing everyday personal situations. Entrepreneurs must know their personal strengths and capitalize on applicable problem-solving methods to create innovative products. Moving a startup ahead of the competition requires the entrepreneur to use all problem-solving sources and skills in the entrepreneur’s tool box. Problem-solving models can be adaptive or innovative, the latter being more common among entrepreneurs. Problem-solving skills include critical thinking, communication, decisiveness, resourcefulness, business and industry awareness, and an ability to analyze data. There are various types of problem solvers, including self-regulating, theorist, and petitioner problem solvers.

6.2 Creative Problem-Solving Process

The creative problem-solving process is a logical process. The steps to the creative problem-solving process are clarify, ideate, develop, implement, and evaluate. Each step is an aid to creating a solution. The steps are repeated cyclically until the entrepreneur develops an innovative solution. When entrepreneurs experience creativity block, tools to alleviate the block are available. These tools include crowdsourcing, brainstorming, and storyboarding. Each of these tools assist the entrepreneur in innovative thinking.

6.3 Design Thinking

Design thinking in business and entrepreneurship was made prevalent by David Kelley, founder of Stanford University’s Design School and cofounder of design company IDEO. Design thinking, which espouses an HCD approach, can be applied beyond product and graphic design to include the design of social policy, business strategy, services, and digital interactions. The five stages as espoused in Stanford’s design thinking model are empathizing, defining, ideating, prototyping, and testing. There are numerous design thinking tools that help develop and carry out these processes from various organizations and companies, ranging from IDEO to Google.

6.4 Lean Processes

Lean process is a systematic process for maximizing continuous improvement through minimizing surplus or unused material in the production of a current process. With origins in manufacturing, the lean process can be applied to internal organizational processes as well as external product development. Lean process uses observation, assessment and evaluation, and whiteboarding techniques to solve problems.