What is Venture?

Venture Ideation and Validation is designed to help students navigate the earliest stages of starting a
new venture beginning with the identification of a problem in the market that is worth solving.

What are the types of Venture?

idea generation, opportunity evaluation, planning, company formation/launch and growth.

What is an Entrepreneur and Entrepreneurship?

An entrepreneur is an individual who identifies a need in the marketplace and works to fulfill it
Entrepreneurship is the process of developing, organizing, and running a new business to generate
profit while taking on financial risk.
Qualities of Entrepreneurship?

1. Communication
Every entrepreneur needs to be an effective communicator. Whether a
person is a solo entrepreneur or runs a Fortune 500 company, they need
to understand how to communicate effectively to all stakeholders and
potential stakeholders that touch the business.

It is imperative for an entrepreneur to be able to communicate with

employees, investors, customers, creditors, peers, and mentors. If an
entrepreneur cannot communicate the value of their company, it’s unlikely
the company will be successful.

They also need to master all forms of communication, including one-on-

one and in-person conversations, group conversations, written
communication, and email or online messages.

2. Sales
The soft skill of sales goes hand-in-hand with the communication
necessary to be successful. As an entrepreneur, this person needs to be
able to sell anything and everything. An entrepreneur needs to sell the
business idea to potential investors, the product or service to customers,
and themselves to employees.

If an entrepreneur is able to communicate effectively, they are better

equipped to sell their ideas and physical products.

In the beginning, it's natural for entrepreneurs to be the first salespeople at

their respective companies. Those sales skills are necessary to
demonstrate value for all stakeholders inside and outside the company.
3. Focus
The path to successful entrepreneurship is riddled with ups and downs.
There are the highs of successes and the despairs of setbacks. A
successful entrepreneur needs to be able to focus so they can stay the
course when the going gets tough.

 
One of the main risks an entrepreneur faces is the risk of emotional
instability

This skill can also be thought of as thinking with the end in mind. No matter
what struggles an entrepreneur goes through, a successful entrepreneur
has the focus necessary to keep an unwavering eye on the end goal and
can push himself to achieve it.

4. Ability to Learn
The ability to learn is one of the most important skills to have in life, let
alone in entrepreneurship. If someone is building a business, however, the
ability to learn is required for success.

The ups and downs an entrepreneur goes through are unavoidable. An

entrepreneur needs a high ability to learn—and a desire to learn. If a
person is able to learn in any situation, even failure, they have the skills
necessary to become a successful entrepreneur. Failure can help expand
one's knowledge and understanding of business.

5. Business Strategy
While a successful entrepreneur has, by definition, built a successful
company, the skill of business strategy is actually the fifth most important
skill that an entrepreneur needs. Often, entrepreneurs achieve success in
their businesses through their own sheer strength of will.

By employing effective communication skills, sales skills, a deep focus,

and a high ability to learn, an entrepreneur can actually learn a business
strategy on the fly. When structuring and growing a business, however, it's
important that the structure and growth strategy is based on sound
business sense and skills. A successful entrepreneur needs to have a
solid strategy to take their business from good to great.

Challenges of Entrepreneur?
1. Selecting a service or product

An entrepreneur may have the skills and passion to start a company, but one
important factor in starting a business is deciding what to sell. To start, they
may identify a demand in their community they could meet. A marketing firm or
freelance researcher may help them conduct market research to discover what
needs there are and which ones they have the resources to address. For
example, an entrepreneur may learn that the people in their community drive
out of town to get massages, so they know there is a local demand for a spa
that they could fill.

Related: 15 Entrepreneur Characteristics To Develop

2. Developing a sales strategy

Though an entrepreneur may recognize an opportunity in a certain community,

they might also research the best way to sell to that community. They may hire
a professional to create a marketing plan or make one themselves. To do this,
they can assess who their target audience is and what strategy might best
reach them. For example, if an entrepreneur opens a business in a rural
community where they know many people listen to the radio, they may develop
a digital ad to broadcast locally.

3. Establishing starting funds

For entrepreneurs who start with lower capital, there are ways to earn funding
to get started. They may begin with a traditional bank loan or a federal small
business loan. If they plan to provide a product or service that they know has
significant demand already, they might start a fundraising campaign. For
entrepreneurs who would rather use a self-fueled growth model, they may start
by targeting a small audience and slowly building to serve larger client bases.

Related: 15 Questions To Ask an Entrepreneur If You Want To Become One

4. Maintaining a budget

Because running a company can be unpredictable, an entrepreneur can stay

prepared by carefully maintaining a budget. They may do this by prioritizing
efficient marketing strategies and allocating the rest according to their unique
needs. Assessing which expenses are necessary may help entrepreneurs adjust
their funds to better prepare for changes. For example, they may observe that
there is a more affordable manufacturer they can use and reallocate those
savings to address higher utility costs.
5. Sustaining revenue

It's important for entrepreneurs to manage their organization's money carefully

to account for any potential delay in invoice payments. Aside from budgeting,
entrepreneurs may charge a down payment to ensure they can afford expenses
until they receive full payment. By sending invoices as early as possible and
requesting payment as soon as they complete projects, entrepreneurs can
secure funding to keep operations running efficiently.

6. Staffing the organization

To make sure that they hire people who care about their organization's mission
and will work hard, entrepreneurs may oversee the hiring process. They may
publish highly detailed listings to attract candidates whose qualifications match
the organization's specific needs. Before interviewing anyone, they can develop
questions to assess if the candidate might be a good fit for their organization
and if the role can help them in their career goals.

Related: 22 Interview Questions for a Small Business Owner

7. Managing employees

As the creators and leaders of an organization, entrepreneurs guide their

employees on how to best carry out the organization's goals. They can achieve
this by developing clear, detailed instructions for each role. When an
entrepreneur effectively communicates the goals of the organization,
employees may better understand what they expect and what they're working
toward. For example, if the founder of a clean water initiative tells employees
the story of why they started the company, they may feel more inspired to work
toward the common goal of providing clean water.

8. Expanding the business

After an entrepreneur establishes their business, they may reach a level of

success where they want to expand. This stage of managing a business entails
many considerations, including figuring out a way to address greater demand,
researching new partners and reassessing their role in the company. An
entrepreneur may revise existing processes to better meet the company's
needs. For example, if a consulting firm uses software built for a smaller client
list, they may upgrade to one that betters suits a wider client base.
9. Managing time

Starting a new business and managing it creates many periodic tasks, so

entrepreneurs may create deadlines to help with prioritizing their obligations.
Because their role can encompass many responsibilities, entrepreneurs have
several approaches they can take to manage time. One strategy they can use is
creating goals for themselves and others in the organization. They may assess
which tasks are absolutely necessary and which they can delegate.

10. Collaborating with partners

For entrepreneurs whose organization is doing well, they may consider

partnering with other professionals or businesses. Though this may help them
allocate leadership responsibilities and increase funding, there are many
considerations. First, entrepreneurs can assess areas of improvement, whether
a partnership might help and also how their skills and personalities might
combine to benefit the organization. It's important to establish the terms of the
partnership with a lawyer to protect all parties' interests.

Types of stratup?
There are 6 main types of startups:

1. Lifestyle startups
2. Small business startups
3. Scalable startups
4. Buyable startups 
5. Large company Startups
6. Social startups

Lifestyle startups are created by lifestyle entrepreneurs. These individuals turn their

lifestyle into a business opportunity. Examples include a musician teaching guitar to
underprivileged youth, or a travel blogger documenting personal trips. This business
model stems from the entrepreneur's passion; it's less focused on profits than other
types. The goal of a lifestyle startup is to spread the founder's passion.
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Small business startups are simple; they feature people who work for themselves
instead of a traditional company that might employ someone in their profession.
Examples include handymen, personal trainers, and boutique owners. These
businesses aren’t meant to make it big or change the world, they are intended to
provide financial compensation to the owner. The business is the owners source of
income.
Scalable startups strike a contrast with small business startups. They are huge
companies who run the market. Examples include Uber, Facebook and Google. It
starts with a unique idea; a scalable concept. The goal is to compete with other
companies in the market. These companies search for high growth and high profit.
They aim to offer new solutions. They require large investments, and capital to get
off the ground. The end goal is often to IPO and sell stock shares in exchange
for equity. Unicorn startups are successful scalable startups.
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Buyable startups are aimed to attract larger companies to purchase them. This type
of business has become more popular in recent years. These companies require
less capital than most and are sold off at peak value. Buyable startups are typically
in the web or app development markets.

Large company startups are large companies that start small and expand by
offering new products and services to consumers. This is building on an existing
company instead of creating a new one. Growing companies often have
both sustaining and disruptive innovation. Apple is the perfect example of this; Apple
started off exclusively selling computers, but now it offers a wide variety of products
and services: iPads, Apple music, Apple TV, iCloud, and Apple Card.
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