3.

THE ENTREPRENEURIAL PROCESS

 Identify the steps in the 9 step process of becoming an entrepreneur;

Stage 1: Startup

In stage 1, startup activities are related to your perceptions about a potential idea, how you
develop your idea, and how you might recognize appropriate opportunities. At this stage, the
crucial activity is defining the opportunity to develop your concept into a realizable business
venture with a strong potential for success. In this stage, you work on developing the idea more
thoroughly to determine whether it fits your current and future circumstances and goals. You will
also work through exercises to distinguish ideas from viable opportunities. Each of these actions
is addressed in greater detail in future chapters. The goal of this section is to introduce concepts
for a greater understanding of these stages. Key actions or exercises in this stage include:

 Idea development
 Opportunity recognition
 Identification of a market opportunity
 Research and due diligence, or conducting the necessary research and investigation to
make informed decisions that minimize risk, such as ensuring you are not duplicating an
idea that already exists

Stage 2: Development

Now that you have confidence in your idea, it is time to develop a structure to determine what
type of venture will work best for the idea. In Stage 2, you might select a business model
(discussed further in Business Model and Plan) and pull together a team to make your dream
venture a reality. The business model identifies how a business will build revenue, deliver value,
and receive compensation for that value. Some examples of business models include monthly
subscriptions, pre-sale orders, kiosk sales, and other choices. Entrepreneurial decisions in the
development stage include many options to consider, including bootstrapping, starting out with
limited funds, receiving venture funding from external sources, licensing to receive royalties on a
per-item basis, purchasing another business, inheriting a business, franchising either through the
purchase of a franchise or building your company with the goal of eventually creating your own
franchise, creating a virtual web-based company, using mobile apps that support your business or
connect with other businesses, founding a social venture to support a cause, consulting, or
freelancing. Choosing among these options or creating your own unique approach to supporting
the success of your business will change your results and success level.

Key activities in this stage include:

 Formulation or refinement of your concept

 Design of business model, plan, goals, launch team, and operational structure
  Creation of prototype product to fit market (sample or model for customer feedback)
 Further research and due diligence, as needed

Stage 3: Resourcing

Using knowledge you gained in the first two stages, in the resource stage, you will evaluate the
necessary resources to support your new venture. Resources include financial support; support
and selection of a manufacturing location or facility (if you are producing a physical product);
personnel talents, knowledge, and skills; possible political and community support; and family
support, because the new venture will require time commitments that will cut into time with your
family. The key activities in this stage include:

 Gathering pertinent resources, such human and financial capital, investors, facilities,
equipment, and transportation
 Establishing connections, networks, and logistics
 Further research and due diligence, as needed

Stage 4: Market Entry

Market entry—the launch of your venture—is often undertaken in a soft launch, or soft open,
within a limited market to minimize exposure to unforeseen challenges. As an entrepreneur, you
are presenting your new venture to a specific market to see how well it is received and supported.
You might make last-minute adjustments at this stage, but the crucial part is to see how the
market reacts to your venture. This is an excellent time to scrutinize all aspects of your business
for solutions to unexpected problems and improvements in efficiencies, and to track customer
reactions to your venture.

One of your most important responsibilities at this point is managing your cash flow, or the
money coming into and going out of a business, as cash is essential for the success of the
venture. In the early stages of the venture, you will need large amounts of cash to fund the
operational activities, because your sales are not yet guaranteed. Production costs, payroll,
supplies, inventory, lease payments, and marketing: All of these expenditures involve cash
outflows from your venture as part of the startup costs. A successful business needs available
cash as well as customers for its products and services, or it will not survive. Key activities at
this stage include:

 Assessing management structure and needs, adjusting as necessary

 Managing cash flow
 Launching the entity
 Monitoring progress
 Further research and due diligence, as needed

Stage 5: Growth
The growth stage includes making decisions that support the future growth of your venture. In
the growth stage, your decisions reflect the scalability of your venture. There is a big difference
between a small-scale venture and a venture that must handle significant levels of sales. At this
point, your organizational structure needs an update. You might need new functional levels, such
as a finance department, or a human resources department, or perhaps an assistant manager.
Other considerations include the size of your facilities. Is the current size, or capacity,
appropriate for the growth of the venture? Other questions relate to the appropriateness of your
suppliers or inventory providers. Are quality and delivery time meeting your needs? Is the
payment system appropriate for your venture? In this stage, you should also monitor the growth
of your venture and make appropriate adjustments. For instance, if your venture is not growing
as expected, then you might go back to your business plan and see what adjustments you can
make. Key actions in this stage include:

 Managing the venture

 Making key adjustments, as needed
 Further research and due diligence, as needed

Stage 6: Maturity

In the maturity stage, your venture has moved into the maintenance phase of the business life
cycle. Entrepreneurs monitor how a venture is growing and developing according to the business
plan, and its projections and expectations. Is your venture growing faster or slower than you
expected? What milestones has it reached? What changes are needed to continue the success of
the venture? How can you address those changes? Are you still able to maintain or meet the
needs of the venture?

Depending on your situation, you still will need to take action to support the venture. Even if the
venture is operating efficiently and in a predictable manner, external changes could compel you
to change your venture, for example, by making improvements to the product or service, finding
new target markets, adopting new technologies, or bundling features or offerings to add value to
the product.

One of the key points to understand at this stage is that ventures can, and often do, fail.
Entrepreneurship is about taking calculated risks to achieve a reward. Sometimes your venture
may not turn out how you planned. Keeping an open mind and learning from experience presents
new opportunities for either changes to the existing venture or even a new venture. Consider
these examples of early entrepreneurial failures by people who later went on to achieve great
success:

 Bill Gates’s early Traf-O-Data company failed because the product did not work
 Walt Disney was told he lacked creativity and was fired from a newspaper job
 Steve Jobs was once fired by his own company, Apple
  Milton Hershey started three candy companies before he founded the successful Hersey
Company
 Local examples: Strive Masiiwa

Key actions of this stage include:

 Strengthening market position

 Awareness and willingness to change
 Reaping return on investment (ROI)

Stage 7: Harvest

At some point, your company may outgrow your dreams, ambitions, or interests. At this stage,
you are harvesting or collecting the most return on your investment while planning how to retire
or make a transition away from this venture. Many entrepreneurs enjoy the excitement of starting
and building a venture but are less interested in the routine aspects of managing a company. In
the field of entrepreneurship, the entrepreneurial team creates a venture with the goal of
harvesting that venture. Harvesting is the stage when all your hard work and ingenuity are
rewarded through a sizable return on the invested money, time, and talents of the startup team,
including any investors. During this stage, the entrepreneurial team looks for the best buyer for
the venture to achieve both a return on investment and a match for the continued success of the
venture. Key actions in this stage include:

 Identifying what the entrepreneurial team, and investors, want out of the venture, their
ROI
 Planning for your future: What’s next on your entrepreneurial journey?

Stage 8: Exit

The exit stage is the point at which your venture either has fulfilled its purpose as a harvested
success that is passed along to the next generation of business owners or has not met your needs
and goals. These two situations give rise to vastly different scenarios. In the harvesting of the
venture, you might receive a sizable cash payment, or a combination of cash payment and a
minority share of stock in the venture’s buyout. In an exit that reflects the closing of the venture,
your option is most likely liquidation of assets, which you would sell to pay off any remaining
creditors and investors. In both harvesting and liquidation, the challenge for you as an
entrepreneur can be to accept the emotional withdrawal from a venture that has consumed your
thoughts, time, and energy. The time has come for you to step out of the picture and allow the
venture to be cared for by a new “parent” or to close the venture completely. Key actions in this
stage include:
  Exit strategy and plan
 Transition to the next generation of owners

Stage 9: Rebirth

For some entrepreneurs, the excitement of creating a new venture supersedes the financial gain
from harvesting a successful venture. The thrill of transforming an idea into a realizable
opportunity and then creating a thriving venture is difficult to find elsewhere. In the rebirth
phase, the entrepreneur decides to seek out another new venture to begin the process all over
again. As an experienced entrepreneur, you can create a new type of venture or develop a new
spin-off of your original venture idea. At this point, you have become a serial entrepreneur, an
entrepreneur who becomes involved in starting multiple entrepreneurial ventures. Key actions in
this stage include:

 Redesigning or creating a new venture

 Bringing in a new entrepreneurial team or the team from the previous venture

 Define entrepreneurial opportunity

Entrepreneurial opportunity is the point at which identifiable consumer demand meets the
feasibility of satisfying the requested product or service.
It begins with developing the right mindset—a mindset where the aspiring entrepreneur sharpens
their senses to consumer needs and wants, and conducts research to determine whether the idea
can become a successful new venture.

 Discuss Joseph Schumpeter’s theories of opportunity

According to Schumpeter, entrepreneurial innovation is the disruptive force that creates and
sustains economic growth, though in the process, it can also destroy established companies,
reshape industries, and disrupt employment. He termed this force creative destruction.
Schumpeter described business processes, including the concept of downsizing, as designed to
increase company efficiency. The dynamics of businesses advances the economy and improves
our lifestyle, but the changes (sometimes through technology) can make other industries or
products obsolete. For instance, Schumpeter provided the example of the railroad changing the
way companies could ship agricultural products quickly across the country by rail and using ice
“cold cars,” while at the same time, destroying the old way of life for many ranchers who
wrangled cattle from one location to their intended commercial destination.

To him, the goal was to progress, and progression starts with finding new ideas. He identified
these methods for finding new business opportunities:
 1. Develop a new market for an existing product.
2. Find a new supply of resources that would enable the entrepreneur to produce the product
for less money.
3. Use existing technology to produce an old product in a new way.
4. Use an existing technology to produce a new product.
5. Finally, use new technology to produce a new product.

 Identify key drivers of opportunity

Drivers of Opportunity

Some recent drivers for change in the entrepreneurial space include new funding options,
technological advancements, globalization, and industry-specific economics.

 Increased access to capital through social media sources like crowdsourcing for a more detailed
discussion of crowdsourcing) is having a significant impact on entrepreneurship in that it enables
underserved people and communities—such as women, veterans, African Americans, and Native
Americans, who otherwise might not be able to start and own a business—to become
entrepreneurs.
 Technological advancements continue to provide new opportunities, ranging from drones to
artificial intelligence, advancements in medical care, and access to learning about new
technology. For example, drone technology is being used to map and photograph real estate,
deliver products to customers, and provide aerial security and many other services. Cell phones
have spawned many new business opportunities for a wide range of cell phone accessories and
related products, ranging from cell phone cases to apps that help make our cell phones faster for
business and personal use.
 Increased globalization drives entrepreneurship by allowing importing and exporting to
flourish. Globalization also helps spread ideas for new products and services to a world market
instead of a local or regional market. Combined with the Internet and computer technology, even
small businesses can compete and sell their products around the globe.
 Economic factors could include a strong economy that fuels other businesses. For example,
growth in the housing market fuels growth for many housing-related products and services,
ranging from interior decorating to landscaping as well as furniture, appliances, and moving
services.

David Pridham, CEO of the patent advisory board and transaction firm Dominion Harbor
Group in Dallas, cites six reasons that current conditions are excellent for startups:

1. Venture capital investment, has surged to the highest level ever, totaling $148 billion in
2018.
2. The concern over patent protection is improving with better trade protection of
intellectual property rights.
3. Artificial intelligence could be a tremendous opportunity based on a McKinsey report
projection, estimating artificial intelligence to become a $13 trillion industry by 2025.
 4. The explosive growth in freelance workers has been a boon to startups and small
businesses.
5. Another hot sector is technology-driven advancements such as self-driving vehicles.
6. Intellectual property now accounts for 38.2 percent of our total Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) in the United States. That totals $6 trillion per year, more than any other nation’s
GDP except for China.

 Describe opportunity screening: Opportunity screening is the process by which

entrepreneurs evaluate innovative product ideas, strategies, and marketing trends. Focusing on the
viability of financial resources, the skills of the entrepreneurial team, and the competition, this
screening helps determine the potential for success in pursuing the idea and can help refine
planning.

For most entrepreneurs, research will also include asking potential customers, specifically your
target customers, questions about products they like and don’t like, how a product or service could
be improved, how the customer buying experience could be improved, and even where customers
might go to purchase products and services instead of your business.

Small business marketers can use several no-cost or low-cost methods, including surveys,
questionnaires, focus groups, and in-depth interviews.

You will likely begin with secondary research—that is, data that are already available through
some published source. There may be articles, research reports, or reliable Internet sources where
you can research information about your industry, products, and customers. If you have the funds,
you can also purchase research reports from firms that specialize in gathering research on certain
topics or products. Secondary research has the advantage of being quickly available. However,
secondary research often is not specific enough to provide all the details you need to know about
your idea.

Primary research is needed when secondary research does not address the questions you want to
explore while investigating your business idea.

Researching and Verifying the Entrepreneurial Opportunity

Whether you start your own business, buy an existing business, or purchase a franchise,
researching the industry, your target market, and examining the economic and funding options
are all part of performing due diligence. Due diligence is the process of taking reasonable steps
to verify that your decisions are based on well-researched and accurate information. It means
thoroughly researching potential pursuits, asking detailed questions, and verifying information.

Different industries have different meanings for due diligence. For example, in the legal industry,
due diligence involves understanding the terms of a transaction and contract. In business finance,
due diligence refers to raising capital or the work involved in merger and acquisition
transactions. In the entrepreneurship field, research is necessary to verify whether the idea is
really an opportunity, considering the entire process of starting the venture and funding the
venture.
One of the more common questions entrepreneurs must ask is whether now is a good time to start
a business. This question of timing is addressed in the investigation to determine whether the
idea is merely interesting or fits the criteria of being an entrepreneurial opportunity.

An idea can move to a recognized opportunity when the following criteria are met:

Significant market demand

Significant market demand means that the idea has value by providing a solution to a problem that the
target market is willing to purchase. This value can result from a new product or service that fills an
unmet need, a lower price, improved benefits, or greater financial or emotional value. This value can also
result from capitalizing on “non-consumption.”

For example, in the 1980s, the Disney Corporation realized that it was losing an opportunity to entice
visitors to come to their theme parks from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. when they were closed. So the company
started having “school nights” when schools and students could use the parks at a discount.

In Zimbabwe schools are now renting out class rooms and halls as church venues during the weekends.

 Significant market structure and size

Significant market structure and size involve growth potential and drivers of demand for the
product or service. Barriers to entry are manageable, meaning that entering the industry or
creating a new industry is not exceptionally difficult. If the industry already exists, there must be
room within the industry for your venture to gain market share by providing a value that creates a
competitive advantage.

 Significant margins and resources to support the venture’s success

Significant margins and resources involve the potential for achieving profit margins at a high-
enough level that the work of starting the venture (including the entrepreneur’s time and energy) is
worth the risks involved. If the operating costs are too high and the profit margin is too low, it is
important to analyze whether the idea is truly feasible. Significant margins also include the capital
requirements—how much money is needed to start the venture—as well as the technical
requirements, the complexity of the distribution system, and similar resources.

After confirming that a business idea is an entrepreneurial opportunity, the entrepreneur should
ask more detailed questions in the next phase of screening the business. Here are some examples:

 Would other people value your product or service?

 Does your product or service solve a significant problem?
 Is the market for the product definable/specific?
 Does the market have unique needs or expectations that align with your entrepreneurial
opportunity?
  Is the timing right to start the venture?
 Are there infrastructure or supporting resources that need to be commercialized or created
prior to your launch of the venture?
 What resources are needed to start the venture?
 What is the competitive advantage your venture offers within the industry and is this
competitive advantage sustainable?
 What is the timeline between starting the venture and the first sale?
 How long before the venture becomes profitable and do you have the resources to support
this timeline?

A good starting point in your opportunity screening research is to begin learning about the
demographics of the market you are targeting (your target market). Demographics are statistical
factors of a population, such as race, age, and gender.

Exercise

T-Shirt Startup

Create your own t-shirt line to target your classmates.

 What would be the theme?

 How much would you charge?
 Where would you sell the shirts?
 What are the expected sales of the business?
 What are the resources needed to get started?

 Industry and consumer sources of opportunities

1. Value
2. Scarcity
3. Expertise
4. Identifying and leveraging uniqueness (and competitive advantage)
5. Import and export (from an area of high concentration to an area of low
concentration)
6. Employees
7. Start-Up Partners (Collaboration (example is professional associations)
8. Previous Employment
9. Friends (friends helped to identify the business opportunity which resulted in the
establishment of my present business enterprise )
 10. Members of Families (a member or members of my family helped me to identify the
business opportunity which resulted in the establishment of my present business
enterprise)
11. Members of Ethnic Networks
12. Chance Factors (The business opportunity resulted in the establishment of my
present business enterprise was identified by chance)
13. Prior Knowledge of Markets (prior knowledge of the market before i started my
business)
14. Prior knowledge of operating in specific markets (prior knowledge of how to serve
the market which my business serves)
15. Prior knowledge of the problems which are likely to be encountered with customers
16. Changes in the environment
17. Technological discovery and advancement
18. Government’s thrust, programs, and policies
19. People’s interests
20. Idea Sites
21. Serendipity
22. Education and expertise
23. SCAMPER

4. ENTREPRENEURSHIP PRACTICE

SETTING UP AN ENTREPRENEURIAL VENTURE

The fact that small businesses are born each day is no guarantee that all will grow and be
successful in business. Some are still born, they never see the light of the day. Others die after a
few months or within the first year of operation. The majority die before their 5th anniversary.

Small business are prone to failure due to a number of reasons some of which are

Stiff competition from already established ventures. Financial problems such as misuse of
finances, lack of adequate finances or inability to secure finances

The ability to capitalise on opportunities and creativity make small busineses outstanding and
thrive in face of setbacks.
THE ENVIRONMENT FOR NEW VENTURES

THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

Businesses do not operate in a vacuum but rather in a dynamic environment. The business
environment is composed of internal and external factors which influence a company’s operating
system. The business environment is composed of three-layered environments;

INTERNAL
EXTERNAL

TASK

 INTERNAL
 TASK/INDUSTRY
 EXTERNAL
Environmental scanning

Refers to the efforts by which owner entrepreneurs examine the internal and external
environments before making a decision. The business environment is composed of the layered
environments which are:

 The internal environment

 The task/industry environment
 The External environment

Internal environment

This describes the internal state of a venture which constitute of the structure, culture and
resources of a venture . the owner entrepreneur has to assess the internal capabilities of the
venture such as the resources: financial, assets, etc. These determine the strengths and
weaknesses of the venture.

Task/ Industry environment

This environment is characterised by certain forces that may have serious negative and positive
effects to the new venture, i.e opportunities and threats

The Five Forces Model by M Porter

Rivalry in industry

An entrepreneur has to determine the level of direct and indirect competition in the industry
before establishing a venture.

Bargaining power of buyers

The customers can have high bargaining power which can then affect the level of
competitiveness of a newly established venture. This has an impact the revenue against the costs
being incurred. Newly established ventures are more likely to be less competitive in their pricing
strategies as compared to already established ventures.
Bargaining power of suppliers

The suppliers can also have high bargaining power which has a direct bearing on the cost of raw
materials/supplies. This can have serious negative implications to a newly established venture
that does not enjoy trade discounts always/ buy in bulk!

Threat of substitute products

These will pose serious competition to the newly established venture. If a new venture is
supplying products that are easy to substitute then there is indirect competition.

Threat of new entrants

Just like the newly established venture, new other ventures will come and increase the rivalry in
the industry.

External environment

Economic factors

Factors such as interest rates, inflation rate, balance of payments, economic growth have serious
implications on newly established ventures. Economic melt down and the general commercial
health of a nation can have adverse effects on the establishment of new ventures.

Legal and political factors

 Policies that are established that can encourage or discourage new venture creation e.g
 Price controls
 Competitive restrictions
 Indigenisation policy
 SMEs policies
 Import and duty policies

Technological factors
The technological advancements have given more opportunities to new ventures, e.g. the growth
of the internet usage has made it easy to conduct Research and Development and even buying
supplies from abroad online.

Socio-cultural factors

Demographic changes such as cultural integration, improvement in income levels, more affluent
demographics have created more opportunities for venture creation.

An effective analysis of the environment will enable the entrepreneur to know:

 When to set up
 Where to set up

When to set up

 When the economic environment is conducive e.g low interest rates, low inflation rates,
structural changes favour new venture start-up
 When one has accumulated adequate personal savings
 When its profitable to start a venture i.e low competition
 When consumer expenditure is high

Where to set up

 In areas of high population growth

 In business centres , where there are more business establishments more customers are
always attracted to such places
 The right market segment is located
Importance of business environment knowledge

Each business firm has to exist, survive and grow in relation to the various forces of the business
environment. Since business firms have no control on these forces, it has to adapt itself
according to these forces. Points that would help us to understand the importance of business
environment are:

1. Enabling the identification of opportunities and getting the first mover advantage:

Business environment provides many opportunities to the firms to improve their performance.
The firms which are able to scan these opportunities at an early stage get maximum benefit and
can leave their competitors behind.

For example, scientific research has come out with an energy efficient light bulb which lasts at
least 20 times more than a normal bulb. General Electric and Phillips had identified this
discovery and are coming up with their new bulbs.

2. Helping in the identification of threats and early warning signals or Radar effect:

Environment understanding helps an enterprise to recognize qualitative information in advance,

which can be used to prepare it for facing likely challenges.

For example, if any new multinational company is entering the Zimbabwean market, the
manager of an Zimbabwean firm dealing with same product as that of the multinational
company, should take it as a warning signal. He should handle this threat proactively & well
ahead of the launch of MNC’s product, take measures like improving the quality of his product,
heavy advertisement etc.

3. Tapping useful resources:

Business requires many resources like raw materials, tools, equipments, finance, labour etc. for
performing business activities. These resources are known as inputs. Business environment
provides all these inputs to the business firms for carrying out their activities and also expects
something in return.
The firms supply their output to the environment, for example goods and services to the
customer, payment to investors on account of money invested by them, payment of wages to the
workers and so on. Thus, we can say that business firms depend fully on the environment, for
supplying inputs and for receiving their outputs.

4. Coping with the rapid changes:

Business environment is very dynamic. One can see changes like new technologies, fragmented
markets, more demanding customers, heavy global competition and so on. Thus, in order to
efficiently cope with these changes, managers must understand the environment and should
adopt appropriate courses of action at the right time. It helps management become more sensitive
to ever changing needs of customers. As a result, they are able to respond to such changes
effectively.

5. Assisting in planning and policy formulation:

Business environment brings both threats and opportunities to a business. Hence, understanding
of environment helps the management in future planning and decision making. For example,
competition increases with the entry of new firms in the market.

The management has to draft new plans and policies to deal with new competitors.
Environmental awareness provides intellectual stimulation to planners in their decision making.
They can make changes in their plans efficiently and effectively.

6. Improvement in performance:

Environmental awareness provides a continuing, broad based education for management.

Objective qualitative information generated by such understanding provides a strong basis for
strategic thinking. The enterprises that monitor their environment closely can adopt suitable
business practices not only to improve their performance but also to become leaders in the
industry.
7. Image building:

Environmental understanding generates a feeling among public that business is sensitive and
responsive to its environment. This helps in building the image or reputation of the firms.

The understanding of its business environment helps an organization to make realistic plans and
ensure their effective implementation. It also helps the business enterprise in identification of
opportunities and threats. Consequently, such an enterprise is likely to succeed in achieving its
goals smoothly & consistently.

8. Successful Conduct of Business

The business executive can successfully conduct the business operation. Since chances for losses
are minimized, the firm can withstand in the long run, widen its financial base and face
competition more effectively. All these finally lead the business venture to a grand success

9. Opening of New Avenues

Environment opens fresh avenues for the expansion of new entrepreneurial operations. When the
business climate is favorable, new ideas, schemes and ventures may be put into action. The firm
can utilize its resources advantageously and derive the maximum benefits.

10. Dynamism in Approach

Business enterprise is essentially a dynamic endeavor. Hence the business executive should be a
dynamic personality. Acquisition of knowledge about the changing environment will keep the
businessmen always alert and dynamic in his approach. His dynamic approach in turn will help
the firm to avoid ecological stresses and to maintain harmony with the environment.

11. Chances for Growth

By identifying itself with the changing situations and environment, the firm can gain the popular
support and win the confidence of the consumers and others. This popular support will produce
many chances for growth and development of the firm.
12. Control over Environment

We all know that environment exercises vital control over the scope and performance of a
business firm. A proper understanding of the nature, character and influence of the environment
over the activities of the firm and its continued efforts to identify with the changing economic
conditions will at one stage enable the business firm to exercise control over the environment
itself. This will result in a smooth and successful running of the venture in the short run as well
as in the long run.

Thus, a clear understanding of the environment shall bring many benefits, while a minimum
disregard of these factors will entail a heavy penalty to the firm.

Barriers to Market Entry

A barrier to market entry is an obstacle (usually high costs) which prevents a product from
gaining traction in a new market. Such obstacles can be natural (i.e., due to the nature of the
product and the characteristics of its target market) or artificial (i.e., imposed by existing
dominant players or governments to prevent newcomers and competition).

Economies of scale

These are declines in the unit costs of a product as the absolute volume per period increases.
These force the entrant to either come in at a large scale (risking strong reaction from
incumbents) or a small scale (forcing a cost disadvantage).

Product differentiation

Incumbents have brand identification and customer loyalties. This forces entrants to spend
heavily to overcome these loyalties. Startups may bring a different product to market, but its
benefits must be clearly communicated to the target customer. Startups must find an
effective positioning, which often requires marketing resources beyond their means.

Capital requirements
These are the financial resources required for infrastructure, machinery, R&D and advertising.
Startups may get around capital requirements by outsourcing parts of the operation to companies
that can leverage existing investments.

Switching costs

These are one-time costs the buyer faces when switching an existing supplier’s product to a new
entrant (for example, employee retraining, new equipment, technical support).

Access to distribution channels

This can be a barrier if logical distribution channels have been locked up by incumbents.

Cost disadvantages independent of scale

Incumbents may have cost advantages that cannot be replicated by a potential entrant. Factors
include the learning or experience curve, proprietary product technology, access to raw
materials, favourable locations and government subsidies.

Government policy

Governments can limit or prevent entry to industries with various controls (for example,
licensing requirements, limits to access to raw materials). Startups in highly regulated industries
will find that incumbents have fine-tuned their business according to regulation

Question: How to Break Barriers to Market Entry?