Jon Obermeyer: Lunch Speaker – Stacking the Odds for Success: A Six Stage Process to Articulate and Promote Your Entrepreneurial Idea.
2 kinds of Entrepreneurship
Lifestyle (small, personal) vs High Growth (corporate)
NOTES:
- Identify a VERY Large problem tht needs to be solved
- Not necessarily something nobody is doing… some competition good.. just identify weakness and make it better
- Libraries Ideal for “Ubiquitous Entrepreneurship”
- Growth the idea to be self sustaining beyond your tenure (Exit)
- People Dont like to Adopt New Things
6 Steps
Problem -> Solution -> Product
Team -> Funding -> Exit
1) Problem ..
Spend Lots of Time (most) identifying a PROBLEM
- data + Research
- articulate it succinctly
- cite credible sources
2) Solution
- Benfeits?
- Why is it unique?
- Why worth investigating?
3) Product
- Tech Specs
- Scales and Scope
- Design for Future (years out) … where is the product going
4) Team
- Functional Expertie
- Domain Expertise
- Initiative Person (worker bee)
- Political Person
- Succession .. who will take over
- Then do “Gap Analysis” – who is missing
- Then .. get them on advisory board or as a vendor
5) Funding
- Entrepreneurs Embrace Risk
- Investors Reduce Risk
- Mock up Pro-forma Budget (3-5 years)
- OK to Lose $
6) Exit
- Know logical conclusion (ie. solved problem, failure, can carry on without you)
- Exits can build credibility
See Six Step Template (Business Plan on One Page) – also develop “elevator pitch” version (clear, concise, sharable)
Look into “Venture Philanthropy” – “Entrepreneurial Philanthropy”