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ENT 600 Technology EntrepreneurshipOPPORTUNITY ANALYSIS & BUSINESS BLUEPRINT WORKBOOK Malaysian Entrepreneurship Development Centre (MEDEC) 1 Universiti Teknologi MARA 2 OPPORTUNITY ANALYSIS & BUSINESS BLUEPRINT WORKBOOK © 2007 Ismail Ab.Wahab, Wan Ismail Wan Mamat, Mohd Ali Bahari Abdul Kadir Malaysian Entrepreneurship Development Centre (MEDEC) Universiti Teknologi MARA 3 PART 1 OPPORTUNITY ANALYSIS 4 OPPORTUNITY ANALYSIS The Process Model CONCE PT BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY PROFILE EVALUATION ENVIRO NMENT CONCLUSI ONS MARKET ISSUES • • • • • • ASSESSMENT OF EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT BUSINESS AND PRODUCT CONCEPT FINANCIAL ISSUES • Time to BreakEven • Capital Requirement • EntrepreneurialTe am • Technical Experience • Management experience MANAGEM ENT TEAM COMPETITI VE ADVANTA GE ISSUES • Total Cost (fixed & variable) • Control Over Cost, Prices & Distribution • Proprietary Protection • Contacts & Networks • • • • • Goals and Fit Stress Tolerance Desirability Risk/Reward Tolerance PERSONAL CRITERIA OF ENTREPRE NEUR/TEA M STRATEGI • Timing 5 PREPARATION OF BUSINESS BLUEPRINT GO/NO-GO BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY FAVOURABLE /UNFAVOURABLE Market needs & wants Customers Value Added Market Size Potential Market Capacity Market Share Attainable C DIFFEREN TIA-TION • Technology • Pricing 6 OPPORTUNITY ANALYSIS EXERCISE [Adapted and modified from Timmons and Spinelli (2003)] The new venture creation process requires a thorough evaluation and investigation of an opportunity. The components of this exercise are used to channel your thought and data collection efforts toward creating the foundation for development of the complete business blueprint. Allow for a dynamic processing of each component and thereby the shaping of the opportunity and a plan to execute it. At the end of the exercise, you should have a clearer idea of the relative attractiveness of your opportunity. Every venture is unique. Operations, marketing, cash flow cycle, and so forth vary a good bit from company to company, from industry to industry, from region to region, and from country to country. As a result, you may find that not every issue is pertinent to your venture, and perhaps some questions are irrelevant. Here and there you may need to add to this exercise or further tailor them to your circumstances. This is a map of how to think about the tough, dull, legwork of good due diligence that should be done before launching into a venture. Completing this exercise will help you determine if your opportunity is attractive enough to develop a complete business blueprint. As you work through this exercise, you will find that much of the work of writing a blueprint comes from your answers in this exercise. 7 Industry Name: ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ Team Members: ____________________________________________________________ Program/Group: ____________________________________________________________ Step 1 - Opportunity and Product/Service Concept Briefly describe your business opportunity concept without mentioning the specific product(s) or service(s): In one sentence, describe your product or service concept: Step 2 - Business Opportunity Profile Answer the following questions on business opportunity profile by checking YES or NO for each question: Market Issues YES a. Is your business opportunity able to offer product/service that can satisfy any particular market segments and fulfill the needs and wants of that market segment? NO b. Does your business opportunity have reachable and receptive customers? c. Does your product/service provide high value-added or value-created benefits to customers? d. Does your business opportunity have a high market size potential? 8 e. Is your business opportunity able to meet the demand that other existing suppliers cannot meet? f. Is your business opportunity able to gain at least 20% of market share within three years of operation? 9 Financial Issues YES NO g. Can your business opportunity generate sales that could cover the total costs within two years of operation (break-even)? h. Does your business opportunity require low-tomoderate capital? i. Will you be able to get fund to finance your initial (start-up) capital? Management Team YES NO j. Do you have a strong management and entrepreneurial team? k. Does your management team have sufficient technical knowledge? l. Does your management team have sufficient managerial knowledge? Competitive Advantage Issues YES m. Does your business opportunity have the potential to be the lowest-cost producer with the lowest marketing and distribution costs? n. Does your business opportunity have potential for moderate-to-strong degree of control over process, costs and distribution channels? o. Does your business opportunity have potential to gain the proprietary protection (e.g. patent)? NO p. Are you able to develop high quality and accessible contacts and networks? Personal Criteria of Entrepreneur/Team YES NO q. Is there a good match between the requirements of your business opportunity and what you want out of it? r. Are you able to tolerate stress and work under pressure in ensuring your business survival? s. t. Does your business opportunity fit well with your lifestyle? Are you able to take calculated risk? 10 Strategic Differentiation YES NO u. Does your business opportunity emerge at the right time? v. Does your business opportunity produce a breakthrough, proprietary product? w. Does your business opportunity offer product with a competitive price (at or near the industry leader’s price)? Score (yes answers) : >17 = favourable, 12-17 = moderate, <12 = unfavourable 11 Step 3- Assessment of External Environment Assess the external environment surrounding your business opportunity. A statement of what entry strategy suits the opportunity and why. A statement of evidence and/or reasoning behind your belief that external environment and forces creating your opportunity, described in Step 1 and the Venture Opportunity Profile described in Step 2 fit. 12 Step 4 - Conclusions Do these results look attractive enough to proceed with the development of a new venture in this industry? How can we improve the probability of success of a new venture in this industry? If we were to start a new venture in this industry, what size (scale) and scope (breadth of product offerings) would have the greatest probability of success? What other information do we need in order to make an effective decision to proceed with a new venture in this industry, or to choose another industry for analysis? 13 Checkpoint: Before you proceed, be sure that the opportunity you have outlined is compelling and you can answer the question “Why does the opportunity exist now?” It is just possible you ought to abandon or alter your product or service idea behind your venture at this point. The amount of money and time needed to get the product or service to market and to be open for business may be beyond your limits. 14 VENTURE OPPORTUNITY PROFILE GUIDE [Adapted from Timmons and Spinelli (2003)] Market Issues g. Is your business opportunity able to offer product/service that can satisfy any particular market segments and fulfill the needs and wants of that market segment? h. Does your business opportunity have reachable and receptive customers? i. Does your product/service provide high value-added or valuecreated benefits to customers? Higher potential businesses can identify a market niche for a product or service that meets an important customer need and provides high value-added or value-created benefits to customers. Customers are reachable and receptive to the product or service, with no brand or other loyalties. The potential payback to the user or customer of a given product or service through cost savings or other value-added or valued-created properties is one year or less and is identifiable, repeatable, and verifiable. Further, the life of the product or service exists beyond the time needed to recover the investment, plus a profit. And the company is able to expand beyond a one-product company. Lower potential opportunities are unfocused regarding customer need, and customers are unreachable and/or have brand or other loyalties to others. A payback to the user of more than three years and low value-added or value-created properties also makes an opportunity unattractive. Being unable to expand beyond a one-product company can make for a lower potential opportunity. The failure of one of the first portable computer companies, Osborne Computer, is a prime example of this. j. Does your business opportunity have a high market size potential? An attractive new venture sells to a market that is large and growing (i.e. one where capturing a small market share can represent significant and increasing sales volume). A minimum market size of more than RM100 million in sales is attractive. Such a market size means it is possible to achieve significant sales by capturing roughly 5 percent or less and thus not threatening competitors. For example, to achieve a sales level of RM1 million in a RM100 million market requires only 1 percent of the market. Thus, a recreational equipment manufacturer entered a RM60 million market that was expected to grow at 20 percent per year to over RM100 million by the third year. The founders were able to create a substantial smaller company without obtaining a major market share and possibly incurring the wrath of existing companies. 15 16 k. Is your business opportunity able to meet the demand that other existing suppliers cannot meet? Another signal of the existence of an opportunity in a market is a market at full capacity in a growth situation- in other words, a demand that the existing suppliers cannot meet. Timing is of vital concern in such a situation, which means the entrepreneur should be asking. Can a new entrant fill that demand before the other players can decide to and then actually increase capacity? l. Is your business opportunity able to gain at least 20% of market share within three years of operation? The potential to be a leader in the market and capture at least a 20 percent share can create a very high value for a company that might otherwise be worth not much more than book value. For example, one such firm, with less than RM15 million in sales, became dominant in its small market niche with a 70 percent market share. The company was acquired for RM23 million in cash. A firm that will be able to capture less than 5 percent of a market is unattractive in the eyes of most investors seeking a higher potential company. Financial Issues m. Can your business opportunity generate sales that could cover the total costs within two years of operation (break-even)? Breakeven and positive cash flow for attractive companies are possible within two years. Once the time to breakeven and positive cash flow is greater than three years, the attractiveness of the opportunity diminishes accordingly. n. Does your business opportunity require low-tomoderate capital? o. Will you be able to get fund to finance your initial (start-up) capital? Ventures that can be funded and have capital requirements that are low to moderate are attractive. Realistically, higher potential businesses need significant amounts of cash – several hundred thousand ringgit and up – to get started. Businesses that can be started with little or no capital are rare, but they do exist. Some higher potential ventures, such as those in the service sector or “cash sales” businesses, have lower capital requirements than do high-technology manufacturing firms with large research and development expenditure. If the venture needs too much money or cannot be funded, it is unattractive. 17 Management Team p. Do you have a strong management and entrepreneurial team? Attractive opportunities have existing teams that are strong and contain industry superstars. The team has proven profit and loss experience in the same technology, market, and service area, and members have complementary and compatible skills. An unattractive opportunity does not have such a team in place or has no team. q. Does your management team have sufficient technical knowledge? r. Does your management team have sufficient managerial knowledge? A management track record of significant accomplishment in the industry, with the technology, and in the market area, with a proven profit and lots of achievements where the venture will compete is highly desirable. Competitive Advantages Issues q. Does your business opportunity have the potential to be the lowest-cost producer with the lowest marketing and distribution costs? An attractive opportunity has the potential for being the lowest-cost producer and for having the lowest marketing and distribution costs. For example, Bowmar was unable to remain competitive in the market for electronic calculators after the producers of largescale integrated circuits, such as Hewlett-Packard, entered the business. Being unable to achieve and sustain a position as a low-cost producer shortens the life expectancy of a new venture. r. Does your business opportunity have potential for moderateto-strong degree of control over process, costs and distribution channels? Attractive opportunities have potential for moderate-to-strong degree of control over prices, costs and channels of distribution. Fragmented markets where there is no dominant competitor have this potential. These markets usually have a market leader with a 20 percent market share or less. For example, sole control of the source of supply of a critical component for a product or of channels of distribution can give new venture market dominance even if other areas are weak. Lack of control over such factors as product development and component prices can make an opportunity unattractive. 18 A market where a major competitor has a market share of 40 percent or more usually implies a market where power and influence over suppliers, customers, and pricing create a serious barrier and risk for a new firm. Such a firm will have few degrees of freedom. However, if a dominant competitor is at full capacity, is slow to innovate or to add capacity in a large and growing market, or routinely ignores or abuses the customer, there may be an entry opportunity. However, entrepreneurs usually do not find such sleepy competition in dynamic, emerging industries dense with opportunity. s. Does your business opportunity have potential to gain the proprietary protection (e.g. patent)? t. Are you able to develop high quality and accessible contacts and networks? Having or being able to gain proprietary protection, regulatory advantage, or other legal or contractual advantage, such as exclusive rights to a market or with a distributor, is attractive. Possession of well-developed, high-quality, accessible contacts that are the product of years of building a top-notch reputation and that cannot be acquired quickly is also advantageous. Sometimes this competitive advantage may be so strong as to provide dominance in the marketplace, even though many of the other factors are weak or average. Personal Criteria of Entrepreneur/Team u. Is there a good match between the requirements of your business opportunity and what you want out of it? Is there a good match between the requirements of business and what the founders want out of it? Dorothy Stevenson pinpointed the crux of it with this powerful insight: “Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.” v. Are you able to tolerate stress and work under pressure in ensuring your business survival? Another important dimension of the fit concept is the stressful requirements of a fastgrowth high-stakes venture. Or as President Harry Truman said so well: “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.” w. Does your business opportunity fit well with your lifestyle? A good opportunity is not only attractive but also desirable (i.e., good opportunity fits). An intensely personal criterion would be the desire for a certain lifestyle. This desire may preclude pursuing certain opportunities that may be excellent for someone else. The founder of a major high-technology venture in the Boston area was asked why he located the headquarters of his firms were located on the famous Route 128 outside the city. His reply was that he wanted to live in Boston because he loved the city and wanted to be able to walk to work. He said, “The rest did not matter”. 19 x. Are you able to take calculated risk? Successful entrepreneurs take calculated risks or avoid risks they do not need to take; as a country-western song puts it: “You have to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away, and know when to run.” This is not to suggest that all entrepreneurs are gamblers or have the same risk tolerance; some are quite conservative while others actually seem to get a kick out of the inherent danger and thrill in higher risk and higher stake games. The real issue is fit – recognizing that gamblers and overly risk-averse entrepreneurs are unlikely to sustain any long-term successes. Strategic Differentiation x. Does your business opportunity emerge at the right time? From business to historic military battles to political campaigns, timing is often the one element that can make a significant difference. Time can be an enemy or a friend; being too early or too late can be fatal. The key is to row with the tide, not against it. Strategically, ignoring this principle is perilous. y. Does your business opportunity produce a breakthrough, proprietary product? A breakthrough, proprietary product is no guarantee of success, but it creates a formidable competitive advantage. z. Does your business opportunity offer product with competitive price (at or near the industry leader’s price)? a One common mistake of new companies, with high-value-added products or services in a growing market, is to under-price. A price slightly below to as much as 20 percent below competitors is rationalized as necessary to gain market entry. In a 30 percent gross margin business, a 10 percent price increase results in a 20 percent to 36 percent increase in gross margin and will lower the break-even sales level for a company with RM900,000 in fixed costs to RM2.5 million form RM3 million. At the RM3 million sales level, the company would realize an extra RM180,000 in profits. 20 PART 2 BUSINESS (IDEA) BLUEPRINT 21 BUSINESS IDEA BLUEPRINT FORMAT & CONTENTS COVER TABLE OF CONTENTS THE BODY OF BUSINESS BLUEPRINT 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PRODUCT/SERVICE DESCRIPTION TECHNOLOGY DESCRIPTION MARKET ANALYSIS AND STRATEGIES MANAGEMENT TEAM FINANCIAL ESTIMATES PROJECT MILESTONES CONCLUSIONS 22 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The executive summary is usually short and concise. The summary articulates what the opportunity conditions are and why they exist, who will execute the opportunity and why they are capable of doing so, how the company will gain entry and market penetration; it answers the questions: “for what reason does this venture exist and for whom?” Essentially, the executive summary needs to reflect the criteria presented in the Business Opportunity Analysis Exercises. This is your chance to clearly articulate how your business is durable and timely, and how it will create or add value to the end user. This summary is usually prepared after the other sections of the blueprint are completed. 1.1. Brief description of the business and product concepts 1.2. The target market and projections 1.3. The competitive advantages 1.4. The profitability 1.5. The management team 23 2. PRODUCT OR SERVICE DESCRIPTION 2.1. Describe in some detail the product or service to be produced/sold. 2.2. Discuss the application of the product or service and describe the primary end use as well any significant secondary applications. 2.3. Emphasise any unique features of the product or service and how these will create or add significant value; also, highlight any differences between what is currently on the market and what you will offer that will account for your market penetration. 2.4. Define the present state of development of the product or service and how much time and money will be required to fully develop, test, and introduce the product or service. Provide a summary of the functional specifications and photographs, if available, of the product. 24 2.5. Describe any patents or other proprietary features of the product or service. 2.6. Discuss any opportunities for the expansion of the product line or the development of related product or service. 25 3. TECHNOLOGY DESCRIPTION Areas to be covered are the key components related to the product/service or technology, the intellectual property involved, specialized knowledge, experience and skills involved and regulations that may govern the use of the technology to deliver the product/service. It should also cover research & development (which outlines your plans for the future), and future technology trends that you and the market can foresee. 4. MARKET RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS Information in this section needs to support the assertion that the venture can capture a substantial market in growing industry and stand up to competition. Because of the importance of market analysis and the critical dependence of other parts of the blueprint on this information, you are advised to prepare this section first. 4.1. Customers a. Discuss who the customers for the product or service are or will be. Potential customers need to be classified by relatively homogeneous groups having common, identifiable characteristics (e.g., by major market segment). 26 b. Show who and where the major purchasers for the product or service are in the market segment. Include national regions and foreign countries, as appropriate. c. Indicate whether customers are easily reached and receptive, how customers buy (wholesale, through manufacturers’ representative, etc.). 4.2. Market Size and Trends a. Show for three years the size of the current total market and the share you will have, by market segment, and/or region, and/or country for the product or service you will offer, in units, ringgit, and potential profitability. b. Describe also the potential annual growth for at least three years of total market for your product or service for each major customer group, region or country, as appropriate. 27 c. Discuss the major factors affecting the market growth (e.g. industry trends, socio-economic trends, government policy, and population shifts). 4.3. Competition and Competitive Edges a. Make a realistic assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of competitors. Competitors Strengths Weaknesses b. Compare competing and substitute products or services on the basis of market share, quality, price, performance, delivery, timing, service warranties, and other pertinent features. c. Compare the fundamental value that is added or created by your product or service, in terms of economic benefits to the customer and to your competitors. 28 d. Discuss the current advantages and disadvantages of these products or services and say why they are not meeting customers’ needs. 4.4. Estimated Market Share and Sales a. Based on your assessment of the advantages of your product or service, the market size and trends, customers, competitors and their products, estimate the share of the market and the sales in units and ringgit that you will acquire in each of the next three years. Remember to show assumptions used. Product/service Market Share and Sales Year Market share (%) Total sales in units Total sales in RM 4.5. Marketing Strategy a. Overall marketing strategy. Describe the specific marketing philosophy and strategy of the company, given the value chain and channel of distribution in the target market. Include, for example, a discussion of the types of customer groups that you are targeting for initial intensive selling effort those that you are targeting for later selling efforts. b. Pricing. Discuss the pricing strategy, including the prices to be charged for your product and service, and compare your pricing policy with those of your major competitors. 29 c. Sales tactics. Describe the method (e.g., own sales force, sales representatives, direct mail, or distributors) that will be used to make sales and distribute the product or service. d. Service and warranty policy. If your company will offer product that will require service, warranties, or training, indicate the importance of these to customers’ purchasing decisions and discuss your method of handling service problems; also, highlight the kind and term of any warranties to be offered, whether service will be handled by company service people, agencies, dealers and distributors, or return to the factory. e. Advertising and promotion. Describe the approaches the company will use to bring its product or service to the attention of prospective buyers. 30 f. Distribution. Describe the methods and channels of distribution you will employ. 5. MANAGEMENT TEAM This section includes a description of the function that will need to be filled, a description of the key management personnel and their primary duties, an outline of the organisational structure for the venture, a description of the board of directors, a description of the ownership position of any other investors, and so forth. You need to present indications of commitment, such as the willingness of team members to initially accept modest salaries, and of the existence of the proper balance of technical, managerial, and business skills and experience in doing what is proposed. 5.1. Organisation a. Present the key management roles in the company and the individuals who will fill each position. Key Management Roles Name 31 b. If it is not possible to fill each executive role with a full-time person without adding excessive overhead, indicate how these functions will be performed (e.g., using part-time specialists or consultants to perform some functions), who will perform them, and when they will be replaced by a full-time staff members. 5.2. Key Management Personnel a. For each key person, describe in detail career highlights, particularly relevant know-how, skills, and track record of accomplishments that demonstrate his/her ability to perform the assigned role. Names & Positions Career Highlights 32 b. Describe the exact duties and responsibilities of each of the key members of the management team. Names & Positions Duties & Responsibilities 33 5.3. Management Compensation and Ownership a. State the salary to be paid, the share ownership planned, and the amount of equity investment (if any) of each key member of the management team. Names & Positions Monthly salary Share of ownership Amount of Equity Invested 5.4. Supporting professional advisors and services a. Indicate the supporting services that will be required. a. Indicate the names and affiliations of the legal, accounting, advertising, consulting, and banking advisors selected for your venture and the services each will provide. Name of Professional Advisors Services Provided 34 6. FINANCIAL ESTIMATES: TOTAL START-UP COST One-time start-up costs Business fixtures and equipment Installation of fixtures/equipment Remodeling and decorating Starting inventory cost Office supplies Utility deposits Legal and professional fees Licenses and permits Insurance Advertising for opening RM Total one-time start-up costs (e) Working Capital Required Salaries and wages Rent Utilities Office supplies Insurance Delivery expenses Legal and professional fees Advertising Maintenance Miscellaneous Contingencies (5 – 10%) (Monthly Expenses) RM Total working capital required (f) TOTAL START-UP COSTS (INITIAL INVESTMENT) = e + f 35 7. PROJECT MILESTONES This section includes a month-by-month schedule that shows the deadlines or milestones of activities critical to the venture’s success. Examples of activities that are critical to the success of the venture are: Incorporation of the venture, completion of design and development, completion of prototypes, obtaining of sales representatives, signing of distributors and dealers, ordering of materials in production quantities, starting of production or operations, receipt of first orders, delivery of first sales. Activities Deadlines 8. CONCLUSIONS 9. APPENDICES 36 APPENDIX GROUP PROJECT: PREPARATION OF THE BUSINESS BLUEPRINT Students’ Guide The purpose of this project is to develop a written blueprint of a selected technology venture. This document summarises the business requirements in detail, and serves as the basis for operation, organization, and development activities of the business. In addition, this exercise intends to enhance your understanding of small group dynamics, to practice interpersonal communication skills, and to provide an opportunity to utilise your speaking skills. The Group Each group is to consist of 5-6 members for the purpose of preparing a business idea blueprint of a technology-based venture. Groups cannot be changed or rearranged after they are formed. Each group is required to submit the names of team members and the proposed venture on the third week for the lecturer’s comments and approval before working on the project. The grade for the group work will account for 35% of the course grade (written report 20%, oral presentation 10% and progress report presentations 5%). This will be a group grade, shared by all members of the team. The dynamics of the group interaction are part of this assignment. How you work out problems and issues to fulfill the requirements of the presentation is part of the learning process. The Business Idea Blueprint Your group will be responsible for developing and creating a written report AND a brief presentation of the project. All elements of this assignment will be discussed in class. All members of the group will be expected to participate in all phases of the project. Group projects are due one week before the oral presentation. The written and oral presentation portions of this project will be graded. Your oral presentation should be well organized and professionally presented for about 30 – 45 minutes. While not required, the use of MS-PowerPoint™ is advised to effectively supplement your presentation. The oral presentation must contain the following: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. A succinct introduction to the topics your group will cover; A clear explanation of the various aspects of the business blueprint; An equal distribution among group members; A display of collaboration; A creative style and format (not a series of individual speeches); Provision of opportunities for interaction with the panel; A conclusion that justifies the business venture. 37 Each group will submit one written report – it is to be handed in using double-spaced typing, font-size 11, typestyle Arial (hard and soft copies). Relevant appendices can be included. Please spell-check your work before submission. There will be one grade for the group written report, and one grade for the group’s oral presentation – all group members will share this grade equally. Criteria for Grading Business Idea Blueprint The following are criteria used for grading your project. The allocation of marks is just a guide. You may want to keep these criteria in mind when working on your project. Remember that the learning process is most important in the group interaction that is involved in this group project. Your cooperation, commitment, communication and discipline in this group project will reap you good rewards at the end. Written Report: Criteria Preliminary Materials Cover & title page Cover letter Executive summary Table of contents Marks 10% Main Body The industry and the company Product or service Market analysis & strategies Design & development Manufacturing & operations Management team Financial Project milestone 70% Conclusion & Justifications Documentation & Appended Materials Overall Writing style, grammar and spelling Originality and conciseness Consistency 5% 5% 10% 100% Marks 40% 20% 20% 10% 10% 100% Total Oral Presentation: Criteria Ability to understand and grasp the contents of the blueprint Clarity of presentation Ability to respond to panels’ criticism and comments by giving logical answers Quality and creativity of presentation Group organisation & teamwork Total 38