Entrepreneurship
Start, Survive and Grow
Dr. Travis Perera
Postgraduate Institute of Management
drtravisperera@gmail.com
Who Are Entrepreneurs?
• Entrepreneurs are:
— Persons who start and/or operate a business.
— Individuals
who discover market needs and
launch new firms to meet those needs.
— Risk takers who provide an impetus
for change, innovation, and
progress.
— All active owner-managers
(founders and/or managers
of small businesses).
8 reasons why people start their own
businesses
1. Creating true wealth and
financial freedom
2. Being in control of your own
future
3. Lifestyle choices
4. Desire for independence
5. Feeling like you have a
purpose
6. Change in circumstances
7. Necessity – not enough
income
8. Necessity – no income
What Makes a Successful Entrepreneur?
THE DNA
ENVIRONMENT
Innovative, Action
oriented,
Extremely selfconfident,
Achievement
Oriented, Decisive,
Affiliation
oriented
An innovative
technology, An
attractive market,
Risks- Market,
Technology, Team,
Financial
COMPONENTS
Idea, Startup,
Technology,
Customer,
Financials
Entrepreneurial
Qualities
Quality
Opportunity
SUCCESSFUL
ENTREPRENEUR
Strong Business
Plan
Execution
MANAGEMENT
Business formation.
Product development,
Customer development,
Financial management
5 Signs That You're an Entrepreneur at Heart
1. Entrepreneurs are passionate,
inside and outside of work
2. Entrepreneurs are committed to
building businesses, not just
coming up with great ideas
3. Entrepreneurs know how to focus,
yet are comfortable moving in
multiple directions at once
4. Entrepreneurs are happy
5. Entrepreneurs can be employees
Ref: Inc.com, 2012
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Not starting small
Founders give up
Not continuously learning
Not innovating
Poor team
Startup over-spends
Lack of planning
Identifying Startup Ideas
• Opportunity Recognition
– Identification of potential new products or
services that may lead to promising businesses
• Entrepreneurial Alertness
– Readiness to act on existing, but unnoticed,
business opportunities
• Good Investment Qualities
–
–
–
–
Products that serve clear and important needs
Products that customers know about
Products that customers can afford
A good idea is not the same as a good
opportunity.
Ref: Inc.com, 2012
Start Lean,
Pivot/Persevere
• What do successful
startups have in
common?
—They started out with
one idea, learnt and
changed to another
• Pivot: change
directions but stay
grounded in what
we’ve learned.
Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
• The minimum set of features needed to
learn from early customers and partners
—Avoid building products that nobody will
need
—Maximize the learning for every Rupee
spent
Minimum Viable Product
Product Vision
Unique Value Proposition (UVP)
• “Unique Value Proposition: A single, clear
compelling message that states why you are
different and worth buying.”
•
•
•
•
•
– Steve Blank The Four Steps to the Epiphany
Be different, but make sure your difference matters
Target early adopters
Focus on the end in mind
Pick your words carefully and own them
Answer: 5W+1H
The Lean Startup Business Model
UNIQUE
SOLUTION
CUSTOMER
UNIQUE
VALUE
SEGMENTS
ADVANTAGE
Top 3 features
in a minimum PROPOSITION Cant be easily Target
Single clear
viable
copied or
customers
compelling
product 3
bought
7
message that
KEY METRICS states why
CHANELS
you are
Key activities different and
Path to
you measure worth buying customers
PROBLEM
Top 3
problems
1
COST STRUCTURE
• Fixed costs
• Variable costs
2
6
5
• Revenue model
• Lifetime revenue
• Margins
4
1
REVENUE STREAMS
Adapted from Osterwalder, http://www.businessmodellgeneration.com
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