What Is Entrepreneurship?

Entrepreneurship is commonly thought of as the process of starting a business.

While this is true, in part, some nuances should be considered.

Entrepreneurship is defined as “the pursuit of opportunity beyond the resources

currently controlled.” An opportunity is a proposed venture to sell a product or
service for which customers are willing to pay more than the required investments
and operating costs.”

Here are 10 characteristics shared by successful entrepreneurs.

Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs

1. Curiosity

Successful entrepreneurs have a sense of curiosity that allows them to continuously

seek new opportunities. Rather than settling for what they think they know, curious
entrepreneurs ask challenging questions and explore different avenues.

In Entrepreneurship Essentials, entrepreneurship is described as a “process of

discovery.”

2. Structured Experimentation

Along with curiosity comes the need for structured experimentation. With each new
opportunity that arises, an entrepreneur must run tests to determine if it’s worthwhile
to pursue.

3. Adaptability

The nature of business is ever-changing. Entrepreneurs need to evaluate situations

and adapt so their business can keep moving forward when unexpected changes
occur.

4. Decisiveness

To be successful, an entrepreneur has to make difficult decisions and stand by them.

As a leader, they’re responsible for guiding the trajectory of their business, including
every aspect from funding and strategy to resource allocation.

5. Team Building
A great entrepreneur is aware of their strengths and weaknesses. Rather than letting
shortcomings hold them back, they build well-rounded teams that complement their
abilities.

6. Risk Tolerance

Entrepreneurship is often associated with risk. While it’s true that launching a
venture requires an entrepreneur to take risks, they also need to take steps to
minimize it.

7. Comfortable with Failure

In addition to managing risk and making calculated decisions, entrepreneurship

requires a certain level of comfort with failure.

8. Persistence

While many successful entrepreneurs are comfortable with the possibility of failing, it
doesn’t mean they give up easily. Rather, they see failures as opportunities to learn
and grow.

9. Innovation

Innovation is a characteristic some, but not all, entrepreneurs possess. Fortunately,

it’s a type of strategic mindset that can be cultivated. By developing your strategic
thinking skills, you can be well-equipped to spot innovative opportunities and position
your venture for success.

10. Long-Term Focus

Entrepreneurship is a long-term endeavor, and entrepreneurs must focus on the

process from beginning to end to be successful in the long run.

-> CASE STUDY OF TECHNOPRENEUR AND

ENTROPRENEUR
Technopreneurship Trilogy
Examples of Technopreneurs

As defined by the Collins Dictionary, “techpreneurs are entrepreneurs who start and
manage their own technology business.”

The name originated from the year 1990s and a blend of “techno” and “entrepreneur”
who takes the calculated risks in the techy world.

● Elon Musk

The billion Elon Musk has been regarded as a Tech Geeks, who is CEO of SpaceX,
PayPal, and Tesla. Further, Elon Musk is known as a disrupture and he has
discarded the misconception that the only best way to cut the business cost is
outsourcing.

Elon Musk is always rushing the group of technopreneurs who love to take risks.

● Bill Gates and Steve Jobs

Other well-known technopreneurs cover Bill Gates who is the founder and owner of
the award-winning firm of all time, Microsoft. But we never forget the late Steve Jobs.

Of course, the film that has been made about Steve Jobs named “Pirates of Silicon
Valley” that give him a title of technopreneur. That biographical film about that man
showcases the real picture of the tech world that we have today. It involves all the
creative actions involved in the building up of the global corporate empire, Steve
Jobs Apple Computer Corporation.

It is interesting to get such great technopreneurs at the same time. Both of these
companies competed with each other in the past times on various events. The battle
of these computer and software technology is appealing to watch.

UNIT-2
Bootstrapping
To be successful in any business, an entrepreneur needs to use the available resources at
his disposal while limiting the borrowing of funds. Having 100% ownership of the business
and not giving up an equity stake to an investor is on the wish list of every entrepreneur. This
may be accomplished with what is called bootstrapping. Once one becomes a bootstrapper,
no one will ever be on your back all the time, asking what has been done or directing on how
you should run your business.

Bootstrapping comes with a wide range of benefits to entrepreneurs. To begin with, the
business won't be indebted to any investor. Secondly, you won't be under any pressure to
repay any form of business loans to a financial institution. Many people who have fantastic
business ideas have a borrowing mentality such that they believe one needs to have
thousands of dollars as start-up capital which is an absolute misconception.

Bootstrapping means using the little that you have as start-up capital for the business. When
little profits are realized, you need to plough them back into the business. By doing so, the
business would experience growth. The million dollar question with many entrepreneurs is
"how can I learn the art of bootstrapping my business?.Here is a vivid description of 25
business bootstrapping ideas you need to know.

1. Look for a Business That Needs Less Start-Up Capital

2. Businesses That Generate Fast Cash

4. Try Bartering

5. Cut Down Your Expenses

6. Make a Partnership

7. Incorporate Your Business Online

8. Conduct Thorough Market Research

9. Use Your Savings as Your Capital

10. Have a Proper Business Plan

11. Work From Home

12. Don't Rush to Have Office Space

13. Insist on Immediate Payments

14. Avoid Unnecessary Purchases

15. Keep an Eye on Cash Flow

18. Use Family Members

Prototyping;
Prototypes are working models of entrepreneurial ideas for new products. With certain types
of products, prototypes are almost indispensable, and funding and building them the first test
of the enterprise. On the other hand, an entrepreneur armed with a good prototype is able to
show potential investors and licensees how the proposed product will work without having to
rely exclusively on diagrams and his or her powers of description. Just as a picture is worth a
thousand words, a prototype is worth a thousand pictures.

TYPES OF PROTOTYPES
There are basic types or stages of prototype creation, each of which can be used by the
enterprising entrepreneur in securing financing and/or a licensee.

1. Breadboard—This is basically a working model of your idea, intended to serve

the basic function of showing how the product will work—not how it will look.
Aesthetics, in other words, are secondary. The basic idea here is to show
mechanical functionality. The approach is not suitable to a product that is
mechanically straightforward and relies more fundamentally on such aspects
as pizzazz and/or romance.
2. Presentation Prototype—This type of prototype is a representation of the
product as it will be manufactured. Often used for promotional purposes, it
should be able to demonstrate what the product can do, but it is not
necessarily an exact copy of the final product. Presentation prototypes are, of
course, hand-made. In actual practice, small changes may be introduced to fit
the product for rapid and efficient manufacturing. Such prototypes are ideal in
situation where a manufacturer is being sought or the product will be licensed.
3. Pre-Production Prototype—This type of prototype is for all practical purposes
the final version of the product. It should be just like the finished product in
every way, from how it is manufactured to its appearance, packaging, and
instructions. This final-stage prototype is typically expensive to produce—and
far more expensive to make than the actual unit cost once the product is in full
production—but the added cost is often well worth it. It is most valuable
because it enables inventors and producers to go over every aspect of the
product in fine detail, which can head off potential trouble spots prior to
product launch. Such prototypes, of course, also lend themselves for
 photographic reproduction in early promotion—or to show mockups of
campaigns in order additionally to interest future participants in the venture.

THINGS TO CONSIDER IN CREATING A

PROTOTYPE
Prospective entrepreneurs with a new product idea should make sure that they
consider the following when putting together a prototype:

● Adequately research the requirements of the product prototype. Early

planning will save a great deal of time and useless running around.
● Make sure the prototype is well-constructed and that it will stand up to rough
handling if it has to be shipped to others. Be prepared to receive the prototype
back broken or damaged.
● Do not shirk on presentation, even at the prototype stage.
● Recognize that complex product ideas may require outside assistance from
professional prototype makers. Universities, engineering schools, local
inventor organizations, and invention marketing companies are all potential
sources of information on finding a good person to help you make your
prototype. But before hiring a prototype maker, entrepreneurs should make
certain that they can meet your expectations. To help ensure that you are
satisfied, conduct research on the maker's business reputation and make
certain that you adequately communicate your concept.
● Consider making multiple submissions to potential licensees. Some inventors
send prototypes to several manufacturers at the same time. This harks back
to planning, above, in which it is best to anticipate making five instead of one.

Explain the design thinking process

Discuss some design thinking tools
David Kelley, founder of Stanford University’s Design School and cofounder of design
company IDEO, is credited as the originator of design thinking, at least within business and
entrepreneurial contexts. You were briefly introduced to design thinking in Creativity,
Innovation, and Invention, but we will delve into it in more depth here. IDEO grew from a
merger of the creator of Apple’s first mouse and the first laptop computer designer, David
Kelley Design and ID Two, respectively. Almost a decade after the 1982 Apple creations, the
1991-merged company primarily focused on the traditional design of products, ranging from
toothbrushes to chairs. Yet another decade later, the company found itself designing
consumer experiences more so than consumer products. Kelley began using the word
“thinking” to describe the design process involved in creating customer experiences rather
than creating physical products. The term design thinking was born.

The current IDEO CEO Tim Brown defines design thinking as “a human-centered and
collaborative approach to problem-solving, using a designed mindset to solve complex
problems.”21 Design thinking is a method to focus the design and development decisions of a
product on the needs of the customer, typically involving an empathy-driven process to
define complex problems and create solutions that address those problems.

A common core of design thinking is its application beyond the design studio, as the
methods and tools have been articulated for use by those outside of the field, particularly
business managers. Design practice is now being applied beyond product and graphic areas
to the design of digital interactions, services, business strategy, and social policy.

Design Thinking Process

Business schools have typically taught a rational, analytic approach to thinking. It focuses on
well-defined goals and constraints, and thought precedes action in a sequential process of
planning and analysis. The design thinking process approaches problem solving differently.
Thinking and doing are often intertwined in an iterative exploration of the design “space,” and
the process uncovers goals and constraints, rather than identifying them up front.

One design thinking approach that is taught at places like Stanford’s Design School and
organizations like the LUMA Institute (a global company that teaches people how to be
innovative) is human-centered design (HCD). HCD, as the name suggests, focuses on
people during design and development. This speaks to the Tim Brown definition of design
thinking. Inspiration for ideas comes from exploration of actual people, their needs and
problems.

Three spaces—inspiration, ideation, and implementation—compose the design thinking

process (Figure 6.14). The process uses “spaces” and not “phases” because multiple
spaces can happen simultaneously.

Nevertheless, inspiration usually occurs first. This entails identifying a problem or opportunity
that motivates someone to search for solutions. Ideation is the process of generating ideas
and solutions through various techniques such as brainstorming and sketching sessions.
There are hundreds of ideation techniques available. A few examples of ideation exercises
include Top Five, How Might We, Mash-up, and Co-Creation Session. In Top Five, everyone
on the team writes down their top five ideas, shares them, and clusters similar ideas. In How
Might We, the team looks at insight statements and reframes them as “How Might We”
questions by adding that phrase at the beginning. The goal is to find opportunities for design
that also allows for a variety of solutions. Mash-up involves combining existing brands or
concepts to create something new. The team identifies those brands or concepts that
represent a quality they desire in their solution, and they “mash up” those ideas to create a
new idea. A co-creation session incorporates the desired market into the creation process by
recruiting a group of people from the market to work on the design with the team. The goal is
to capture the feedback the group provides by treating them as designers, not as interview
subjects. Implemented solutions evolve from interactions with users and from the ongoing
creation and refinement of possible solutions. Design thinking incorporates
experience-based insights, judgments, and intuition from the end users’ perspectives, while
in a rational analytic approach, the solution process often becomes formalized into a set of
rules.

Nesta is a UK-based innovation foundation that offers many design thinking tools and
resources similar to IDEO. Named for the acronym NESTA, the National Endowment for
Science, Technology and the Arts, the organization was established in 1998 with an
endowment from the UK National Lottery and became an independent charity in 2012.
Nesta’s strategy focuses on health, government innovation, education, arts, and creative
economy and innovation policy. Nesta offers a set of five criteria to ascertain that an
occupation is creative:22

1. Novel process
2. Mechanization resistant
3. Nonrepetitive or nonuniform function
4. Makes a creative contribution to the value chain
5. Involves interpretation not merely a transformation in the service or artifact

As the name implies, design thinking originates from design. As design is one of the
identified creative industries, there’s a clear connection between creative industries and
design thinking. In fact, Nesta offers inspiration and ideation exercises that are freely
available for users wishing to implement design thinking practices.

Human-Centered Design Thinking Spaces

The Stanford Design School uses human-centered design thinking (HCD) as its design
thinking approach. HCD emphasizes the following spaces of the design thinking process:

● Empathizing: As illustrated by the human-centered approach, it is important to have

empathy for the problem you are attempting to solve. Empathy, as the chapter on
Creativity, Innovation, and Invention defined, means observing and immersing
yourself in the surrounding environment to engage with and understand people’s
experiences and motivations.
● Defining: This aspect involves describing the core problem(s) that you and your team
have identified. Asking “how might we?” questions helps narrow the focus, as the
ultimate aim here is to identify a problem statement that illustrates the problem you
want to tackle. “Frame Your Design” is one such challenge in what IDEO calls its
“toolkit” that works well here. Frame Your Design asks you to write down your
problem and then refine it by following specific steps so that you end up with a design
question that serves as a starting point but leaves room for creativity.23
● Ideating: This is where you begin to come up with ideas that address the problem
“space” you have defined. There are hundreds of exercises aimed at the ideation
process, ranging from brainstorming to “Five whys?” in the IDEO toolkit. The “Five
whys” is a questioning method in which the researcher, in looking for information to
solve a problem, asks a respondent a broad question, then asks “why” to get deeper
into the respondent’s thinking. IDEO puts it this way: “You’ll use this method while
you’re conducting an interview and start with really broad questions like “Do you save
much money?” or “How was your harvest this year?” Then, by asking why five times
 you’ll get some essential answers to complicated problems. This can be a great
method to use if you’re trying to get at the human and emotional roots of a
problem.”24
● Prototyping: In this space, the entrepreneur creates and tests inexpensive,
scaled-down versions of a product with features or benefits that serve as solutions for
previously identified problems. This could be tested internally among employees, a
process known as dogfooding, or externally with potential customers. This is an
experimental phase.
● Testing: Designers apply rigorous tests of the complete product using the best
solutions identified in the prototyping space.

What Can You Do?

Every Day a Little Closer

Some examples of everyday items that can be improved through design thinking are sinks
on top of toilet cisterns that save water by refilling the cistern with the water you wash your
hands with, video doorbells, and smart lightbulbs. Try to think of an improvement to one of
your everyday items.

Design Thinking Tools

There are numerous design thinking tools aimed to aid or stimulate your design thinking
activities. They stem from organizations dedicated to design thinking like IDEO and Google
Ventures. While methodologies incorporate processes and techniques, tools are resources
that enable such approaches. These may be activities, or templates that facilitate the
approach.

● Innovation Flowchart: A sample innovation flowchart may map out the details of the
process. The structured overview serves as an organizational tool in the
development process.
● Question Ladder: A tool that helps you ask the “right” questions by refining your
questions (Figure 6.15). Asking the “wrong” questions can yield meaningless or
less-than-adequate results.

Figure 6.15 A question ladder can help refine questions. (attribution: Copyright Rice
University, OpenStax, under CC BY 4.0 license)

● Design Thinking Tool Kit: There are various tool kits for select audiences. For
example, the “design thinking for educators” toolkit has design thinking resources
related to education. A typical tool kit includes a wide assortment of resources with
methods and instructions to help you put design thinking into action.
● IDEO Design Kit: IDEO offers an approximately 200-page free PDF, “The Field Guide
to Human Centered Design,” with activities on mindsets, ideation, inspiration,
implementation and a few case studies: http://www.designkit.org/resources/1.
● Google Ventures Design Sprint: A five-day design-thinking exercise that helps
resolve questions through design, prototyping, and testing:
https://www.gv.com/sprint/.
 ● Design Thinking Mix Tapes: Stanford’s Design School offers three “mixtapes” that
serve as guides through a half day of design thinking work in the areas of
understanding, experimentation, and ideation:
https://dschool.stanford.edu/resources/chart-a-new-course-put-design-thinking-to-wor
k.
● WE THINQ: Software designed to enable collaboration in innovation management:
https://www.ideaconnection.com/software/we-thinq-258.html.

Marketing: Traditional guerilla marketing techniques;

Source:

What is Guerrilla Marketing? –

Strategies & Examples
What Is Guerrilla Marketing?
Guerrilla marketing is a marketing strategy where brands use cost-efficient
unconventional and creative tactics to create a lasting impression on their target
audience.

Introduced in 1984 by Jay Conrad Levinson in his book Guerrilla Marketing, it refers
to using inexpensive unconventional ways to amplify awareness of products and
services offered by a brand. Brands interact with consumers personally or digitally by
bringing in a remarkably untraditional element that creates an impact on them. The
idea is that when traditional marketing strategies do little good, brands can bring in
their ‘guerrillas’.

The name guerrilla marketing draws inspiration from guerrilla warfare which relates
to small tactics used by paramilitary personnel and armed civilians. These tactics
make use of ambush, sabotage, raids, and other elements of surprise. Akin to
guerrilla warfare, guerrilla marketing strategies also use creative ways that have an
essence of a surprise to create an impact on the audiences.
Chaman wali definition

Guerrilla marketing is a marketing tactic in which a company uses surprise

and/or unconventional interactions in order to promote a product or service.
Guerrilla marketing is different than traditional marketing in that it often
relies on personal interaction, has a smaller budget, and focuses on
smaller groups of promoters that are responsible for getting the word out in
a particular location rather than through widespread media campaigns.

Companies using guerrilla marketing rely on its in-your-face promotions to

be spread through viral marketing, or word-of-mouth, thus reaching a
broader audience for free. Connection to the emotions of a consumer is key
to guerrilla marketing. The use of this tactic is not designed for all types of
goods and services, and it is often used for more "edgy" products and to
target younger consumers who are more likely to respond positively.
Guerrilla marketing takes place in public places that offer as big an
audience as possible, such as streets, concerts, public parks, sporting
events, festivals, beaches, and shopping centers. One key element of
guerrilla marketing is choosing the right time and place to conduct a
campaign so as to avoid potential legal issues. Guerrilla marketing can be
indoor, outdoor, an "event ambush," or experiential, meant to get the public
to interact with a brand.

The 8 Best Marketing Tips for your

Guerilla Campaigns

1. Consider your Target Audience

2. Location is Everything for Guerrilla Marketing

3. Find an Original Concept for your Campaign

4. Gather inspiration for your next campaign

5. Stay Relevant with your Content

6. Make your Guerrilla Campaign Interactive

7. Don’t Fall for “Viral”

8. Measure Performance

Guerilla marketing techniques:

There are several kinds of best guerrilla marketing techniques:

Street Marketing

Street marketing is the more recently coined term for the outdoor

guerrilla marketing type. It refers to all marketing actions taking place

outdoors, bringing street elements into play.

Ambient Marketing

This type refers to marketing practices that help promote a product by

interfering with the flow of things.

A common practice is when brands place ads at unconventional
places to increase brand awareness creatively

Ambush Marketing

Event ambush marketing is when marketers take advantage of the

audience of an event and use it to promote their product or service.

Guerrilla Projections

This form of marketing involves mastering the installation of hidden

projectors onto high-rise buildings at high-traffic streets to generate

buzz.

For retail stores, this practice will generate additional foot traffic and

increase brand awareness. For online businesses, guerilla projects can

increase your organic traffic and visibility.

https://www.feedough.com/guerrilla-marketing-strategies-exam
ples/
How to determine your new company’s
financial needs
One of the biggest challenges of starting a new business is making sure you’ll have enough
money to see you through the challenging first months.

Without adequate financial resources, your business will have a hard time finding its footing.
Entrepreneurs also need to be realistic about how long it will take for revenues to catch up to
costs. You may have to endure losses for one or two years—perhaps even longer—and you
will need money to tide you over.

To ensure you have adequate funds, it’s important to estimate your financial needs before
starting a new business. The first step is to figure out your expenses. These can be divided
into one-time start-up costs and recurring expenses.

Add up costs
One-time costs may include such items as legal and professional costs for incorporating or
registering your business; starting inventory; licence and permit fees; office supplies and
equipment; long-term assets, such as machinery, a vehicle or real estate; consulting
services; and website design.

Recurring expenses will include such items as salaries, rent or lease payments, raw
materials, marketing costs, office and plant overhead, financing costs, maintenance and
professional fees.

Once you’ve determined your initial and follow-on expenses, you will need to estimate how
much money you will have at your disposal.

Calculate your financial resources

Estimate how much starting capital you will have and the amount of revenue you’ll be able to
generate each month during the start-up period. To calculate the latter, research your
potential market and industry averages to come up with realistic numbers.

Now, plug your estimated financial resources and your estimated expenses into a set of
financial projections for your business. A quick examination of your projections will show if
you’ll have a financial shortfall.

To meet any gap in funds, here are sources you can tap:
1. Personal investment

Most start-ups require some personal investment by the entrepreneur—either cash or

personal assets used as collateral to secure financing. If you foresee a cash shortfall, you
may need to dig deeper into your personal assets.

2. Friends and family

Many new entrepreneurs rely on capital from family and friends (sometimes known as “love
money”). Family and friends often don’t mind waiting to be repaid until profits start rolling in,
but it can be challenging to mix business with personal relationships.

3. Debt financing

Lenders offer various types of debt financing including term loans and lines of credit. Some
lenders offer loans specifically designed for new business ventures that come with flexible
repayment terms.

4. Outside equity financing

Businesses with high growth potential may be able to secure start-up money from angel
investors, business incubators (also known as accelerators) or venture capital funds. Funds
from these sources are usually given in exchange for an equity position in the company.

5. Grants and subsidies

Some companies may be eligible for government grants and subsidies to help with start-up
costs
What Is Financial Structure?
Financial structure refers to the mix of debt and equity that a company uses to
finance its operations. This composition directly affects the risk and value of the
associated business. The financial managers of the business have the responsibility
of deciding the best mixture of debt and equity for optimizing the financial structure.

In general, the financial structure of a company can also be referred to as the capital
structure. In some cases, evaluating the financial structure may also include the
decision between managing a private or public business and the capital opportunities
that come with each.

Understanding Financial Structure

Companies have several choices when it comes to setting up the business structure
of their business. Companies can be either private or public. In each case, the
framework for managing the capital structure is primarily the same but the financing
options differ greatly.

Overall, the financial structure of a business is centered around debt and equity.

Debt capital is received from credit investors and paid back over time with some form
of interest. Equity capital is raised from shareholders giving them ownership in the
business for their investment and a return on their equity that can come in the form
of market value gains or distributions. Each business has a different mix of debt and
equity depending on its needs, expenses, and investor demand.

Debt versus Equity

In building the financial structure of a company, financial managers can choose
between either debt or equity. Investor demand for both classes of capital can
heavily influence a company’s financial structure. Ultimately, financial management
seeks to finance the company at the lowest rate possible, reducing its capital
obligations and allowing for greater capital investment in the business.

Overall, financial managers consider and evaluate the capital structure by seeking to
optimize the weighted average cost of capital (WACC). WACC is a calculation that
derives the average percentage of payout required by the company to its investors
for all of its capital. A simplified determination of WACC is calculated by using a
weighted average methodology that combines the payout rates of all of the
company’s debt and equity capital.
Metrics for Analyzing Financial Structure
The key metrics for analyzing the financial structure are primarily the same for both
private and public companies. Public companies are required to file public filings with
the Securities and Exchange Commission which provides transparency for investors
in analyzing financial structure. Private companies typically only provide financial
statement reporting to their investors which makes their financial reporting more
difficult to analyze.

Data for calculating capital structure metrics usually come from the balance sheet. A
primary metric used in evaluating financial structure is a debt to total capital. This
provides quick insight on how much of the company’s capital is debt and how much
is equity. Debt may include all of the liabilities on a company’s balance sheet or just
long-term debt. Equity is found in the shareholders’ equity portion of the balance
sheet. Overall, the higher the debt to capital ratio the more a company is relying on
debt.

Debt to equity is also used to identify capital structuring. The more debt a company
has the higher this ratio will be and vice versa.

Key Takeaways

● Financial structure refers to the mix of debt and equity that a company uses to
finance its operations. It can also be known as capital structure.
● Private and public companies use the same framework for developing their
financial structure but there are several differences between the two.
● Financial managers use the weighted average cost of capital as the basis for
managing the mix of debt and equity.
● Debt to capital and debt to equity are two key ratios that are used to gain
insight into a company’s capital structure.