INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT BANGALORE

Entrepreneurial Management
PGP Term III 2014-2015
Guidelines for the Project - Business Exploration Report for a New Venture
Instructor: Prof. K. Kumar
Objective

The objective of this project is to get an in depth, first hand understanding and experience of
exploring the starting up of a new venture. This project is intended to provide the experiential
component of learning in the course.

Scope

The scope of the project is to explore the starting up of a new business venture.
Implementation of new business idea generated by the team should be the focus of the exercise

and the team should write the business exploration report based on this exercise.
The assumed purpose of the business exploration report is to invite stakeholders to become a
part of the business venture.

Process and Modalities

The project has to be undertaken as a team, with a maximum of five members in each team. The
details of the team have to be submitted through moodle on or before 31 December 2014.

The first task of the team is to identify a venture idea to be the subject of the project study. A
preliminary one or two page proposal describing the venture idea that is going to be the focus of
the exploration, as well as the process that was gone through in arriving at the venture idea has
to be prepared.

The preliminary proposal along with the details of the team working on the project should be
submitted to the instructor on or before 04 January 2015. This submission will happen through
moodle.

After sending the proposal, each team is expected to meet in person or schedule a call with the
instructor and discuss the proposal and take feedback. This exercise has to be completed on or
before 10 January 2015.

In the following weeks, the teams are expected to work on the business idea and move it along a
path of progress, using the various inputs provided in the course as well as those acquired
through independent study. Equally important, the exercise should also help you to apply the

entrepreneurial thought process and take actions that would help you refine and shape the idea
and improve its viability and buy in from stakeholders.

The teams should attempt, as much as possible, to archive all the actions taken and the learning
gained through those actions about the markets, opportunity, economics, competition etc- that
feed into the shaping of the business idea. While researching already available information is
useful to accelerate learning, the focus of the exercise is learning through action. Though not
required to be submitted with the business exploration report, the information collected from
published sources may be useful for building cases, an option discussed later in this note.

An interim report not exceeding five pages is to be submitted on or before 08 February 2015,
indicating the progress made till that date. This should be in the form of summary of all the
actions taken thus far and the learning gained, along with the work plan leading to the completion
of the project. The instructor would provide a feedback on the interim report through a face to
face meeting (or a conference call) with the team on or before 14 February 2015. The teams
have to take the initiative in scheduling the meeting with the instructor during this period.

The presentation on the project is to be made to the class during 03-09 March 2015. Each group
will be provided 15-20 minutes to make the presentation. Additional sessions will be organized
during those days to accommodate all groups.

The final business exploration report should be submitted on or before the 22 March 2015.
Please submit a soft copy through moodle and a hard copy to my office. Please do not exceed
twenty five pages including exhibits.

The teams are encouraged to meet the instructor (or schedule a call), with prior appointment, any
time during the course of the project for discussions and brainstorming and also to seek help in
reaching out to any potential sources of information.

The best business exploration reports have an opportunity to be converted into teaching cases,
for which the teams need to indicate their consent in the proposal itself.

The proposal, interim report, presentation and the final report will each have some weights
individually in arriving at the final evaluation score for the project. In addition, there will also be a
component of a peer evaluation, the details of which will be provided separately.

Expected Output

While it may not be appropriate to provide a standardized instruction set for writing a business
exploration report for any new idea, the teams should focus on developing the document in such
a way that a) it inspires the team to proceed further towards implementation of the idea through a
venture and b) it captures the interest of a potential stakeholder and encourages her to self-select
herself to be a part of the venture.

The teams should also strive to make the outcome of the business exploration actionable, so that
any one reading the report is able to clearly see the next steps in terms of converting the venture
idea into a real business.