ENTREPRENEURSHIP

AND NEW VENTURE

CREATION
Recognizing Opportunities and Generating Ideas
What is an Opportunity

ATTRACTIVE TIMELY

Opportunity
(rather than just an
idea)

Anchored in a product,
DURABLE service, or business that
creates or adds value for
its buyer or end user
 Opportunity recognition process
Opportunity Externally stimulated
filtration Op opportunity recognition
re p o r
f in tu
em ni
en ty
t
Decision to Opportunities Opportunity
start recognized chosen Business concept
identified

Commitment to
Meta opportunity

re ppo
physical creation

O
if n rtu
stage

em n
en ity
t

Need Need Business opportunity

recognized Fulfilled recognized

Internally stimulated
opportunity recognition
Window of Opportunity

 Window of Opportunity
 The term “window of opportunity” is a metaphor
describing the time period in which a firm can realistically
enter a new market.
 Once the market for a new product is established, its window of
opportunity opens, and new entrants flow in.
 At some point, the market matures, and the window of opportunity
(for new entrants) closes.
Three Ways to Identify An Opportunity
 First Approach: Observing Trends
Economic Forces
State of the economy
Level of disposable income
Consumer spending patterns
Social Forces
Social and cultural trends Business, Product
or Service New business,
Demographic changes
Opportunity Gap Product and
What people think is “in”
Difference between Services
Technological Advances what’s available and Ideas
New technologies what’s possible
Emerging technologies
New uses of old technologies
Political and
Regulatory Changes
New changes in political arena
New laws and regulations
Trend 2: Social Forces

Examples of Social Forces That Allow For New

Business Opportunities
• Family and work patterns.
• The aging of the population.
• The increasing diversity in the workplace.
• The globalization of industry.
• The increasing focus on health care and fitness.
• The proliferation of computers and the Internet.
• The increase in the number of cell phone users.
• New forms of entertainment.
 First Approach: Observing Trends
Economic Forces
State of the economy
Level of disposable income
Consumer spending patterns
Social Forces
Social and cultural trends Business, Product
or Service New business,
Demographic changes
Opportunity Gap Product and
What people think is “in”
Difference between Services
Technological Advances what’s available and Ideas
New technologies what’s possible
Emerging technologies
New uses of old technologies
Political and
Regulatory Changes
New changes in political arena
New laws and regulations
Three Ways to Identify An Opportunity
Personal Characteristics of the Entrepreneur
Creativity

Five Steps to Generating Creative Ideas

 Full View of the opportunity
recognition process

Environmental Trends
Economic Factors
Social Factors
Technological Advances
Political and Regulatory Changes Business, Product
or Service New business,
Opportunity Gap Product and
Difference between Services
what’s available and Ideas
Personal Characteristics what’s possible
of an Entrepreneur
Prior Experiences
Cognitive Factors
Social Network
Creativity
Techniques For Generating Ideas
Encouraging New Ideas

 Establishing a Focal Point for Ideas

 Some firms meet the challenge of encouraging, collecting,
and evaluating ideas by designating a specific person to
screen and track them—for if its everybody’s job, it may be
no one’s responsibility.
 Another approach is to establish an idea bank (or vault),
which is a physical or digital repository for storing ideas.
 Encouraging Creativity at the Firm Level
 Creativity is the raw material that goes into innovation and
should be encouraged at the organizational and individual
supervisory level.
Protecting Ideas From Being Lost or Stolen

 Step 1
 The idea should be put in a tangible form such as entered
into a physical idea logbook or saved on a computer disk,
and the date the idea was first thought of should be entered.
 Step 2
 The idea should be secured. This may seem like an
obvious step, but is one that is often overlooked.
 Step 3
 Avoid making an inadvertent or voluntary disclosure of an
idea, in a manner that forfeits the right to claim exclusive
rights to it.