Aπό την ιδέα στην υλοποίηση
Vasilis Theoharakis, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Marketing &
Entrepreneurship
www.alba.edu.gr
Thomas Edison
“I have not failed. I successfully discovered
1,200 ideas that don’t work.”
• Certainly Edison is known for his successes rather than those
failures, but the point is that he refused to concede defeat
• From his determination to actuate ideas that did work, he rose
above his disappointments
What was Dietrich Mateschitz
thinking in 1984?
Milk from Mt. Olympus?
Ideas!!!
• A good idea is the first step
• The importance of the idea is usually
overemphasized
– at the expense of the need for products and services
that can be sold at enough quantity to real customers
• but the best technology or idea by itself is not
enough
• Having the best idea first is by no means a
guarantee for success
• Do we understand the reason no one has
offered our solution before?
When is an Idea an Opportunity?
• An opportunity is
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attractive
durable (sustainable)
timely
anchored in a product/service which creates or adds value
for its buyer or user
• The “window of opportunity”
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remains open long enough
the management team is able to achieve market entry
competitive advantage
the economics of the venture are rewarding and forgiving
What makes a great opportunity?
• The greater the growth, size, durability, and robustness of
the gross and net margins and free cash flow
• The more imperfect a market
– The greater the rate of change, the discontinuities, and
chaos
– The greater the inconsistencies in existing service and
quality, in lead times and lag times
– The greater the vacuums and gaps in information and
knowledge
Are you thinking too small?
• One of the biggest mistakes of aspiring
entrepreneurs
– simple, more affordable, more manageable
– appear less risky, less demanding
• Chances for survival are lower
– if they survive, they are less financially rewarding
• The Arthur Rock opportunities criterion
– businesses that change the way people live and work
Screening Venture Opportunities
• Four Anchors
– create significant value to the consumer
– solving a significant problem or meeting a need for
which someone is willing to pay a premium
– robust market, margin
• size, growth, high margins, cash flow, low assets,
high returns
– Good fit with the founders
• Good Opportunities create more options
– Avoid being locked into a single course
– Allows for midcourse corrections
Resources: Creative and Parsimonious
• Misconception: all resources must be in place
• Thinking money first is a big mistake
– it follows high potential opportunities conceived
and led by a strong management team
• Venture Capital Backing?
– not only VCs but also Angels
• private investors that are in search of high
potential, higher growth ventures
– Find financial backers that add value
• The notion of bootstrapping
The Entrepreneurial Team
• What do venture capitalists say?
– “I prefer a Grade A entrepreneur with a Grade
B idea over a Grade B entrepreneur with a
Grade A idea”
– “What is in short supply is great teams”
– “If you can find good people they can always
change the product”
How to form teams
• There is no simple answer…
– It depends on what the opportunity requires!
– Team complements and balances the leader
• Questions to ask:
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What is the relevant know how that we need?
What are my/our strengths in that area?
Do I/we have the contacts/network required?
What are the critical success variables of the
business?
“Whole brain” teams
Problem Solver
Mathematical
Technical
Analyzer
Logical
Planner
Controlled
Conservative
Organizational
Administrative
Conceptualizer
Synthesizer
Imaginative
Holistic
Artistic
Talker
Musical
Spiritual
Emotional
Interpersonal
The Timmons Model
Communication
Resources
Opportunity
Business Plan
Ambiguous
Fits and gaps
Creativity
Exogenous
Forces
Leadership
Team
Uncertainty
Capital Market Context
Entrepreneur’s Mental Attitude
•
Do what gives you energy - have FUN!
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View the situation with optimism
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Concentrate on making things work, not on what “cannot be done”
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Take calculated risks
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A team builds a business; an individual earns a living
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Make opportunity and results your obsession - not money
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Make the pie bigger - do not waste time in cutting it in small pieces
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Play for the long haul - rarely possible to get rich quick
Racquet drop
Contact point
Follow through
Business Plan Competitions
European Business Plan Competition of the Year
Participation of top EU Business Schools (INSEAD, LBS, Imperial,
Bocconi etc)
Consistently among the finalists since 1st participation (2001-05)
Only LBS holds the same record
ALBA is the only business school to become a finalist from its
first year of participation
1st Prize winner in the European Business Plan Competition of
the Year 2003 and 2005
2004 competition held at ALBA
VENTURE 2002 Competition (Greece)
winners of 7 awards (2 of the 3 final awards)
1st Prize winner at the “Ιδεοδρόμιο” Business Plan Competition
(Cyprus)
European Business Plan Competition
Industry Wants People with Entrepreneurial Skills
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Entrepreneurship and decision making
Ability to manage complexity and uncertainty
Problem formulation as well as problem solving
Ability to advocate and influence
Ability to function in multidisciplinary teams
Ability to realize products
Who Recruits ALBA Graduates