- Assignment:
Prepare an initial executive summary of your business idea. This will be the first draft of your concept that will change as you work through the course modules and complete your final assignments. For this initial review, you will prepare an executive summary that covers the following topics.
- An overview of your business idea and the market problem it solves (one paragraph).
- Briefly describe how your product or service will solve the problem by providing specifics about the solution.
- How do you distinguish your product or service from others on the market (even substitutes or similar products).
- Provide a summary of your competition, including similar and substitute products.
- Description of your target market supported by data and facts from cited sources.
- A brief overview of how you make money with your product or service by providing information on the revenue model and value chain
- A summary of the founder, or founders, and any members of your management team.
- Key financial data and assumptions backed by data and facts from cited sources
The executive summary must be written in complete sentences and paragraphs, as you would in a business environment. It must be clear and concise and provide data and evidence. If you do not have complete information for a section, please detail what you need to complete that section. For this assignment, you must have a minimum of 5 cited sources that support your business idea, assumptions, or market data. All cited sources must have an in-text citation and a reference list.
Instructions:
- This assignment requires you to do additional research and provide supporting evidence.
- The submission should be thorough and demonstrate your critical thinking skills.
- Any data point or key assumptions must be supported by a citation and reference.
- Spelling, grammar, and writing mechanics are important parts of the assignment. You must express your ideas and thoughts clearly.
- All assignments must be submitted in either MS Word or PDF, as Turnit-In is used for plagiarism checking.
- Format the paper using the APA 7 template Download APA 7 templatefor line spacing and section headings.
- Review the rubric for grading details.
- Assignment:
For this assignment, you will develop a competitive analysis of three likely competitors to your product or service. Select three competitors and research them to create the following elements for a competitive analysis:
- An overview of each competitor’s business, including location, products or services, and distribution strategy
- Briefly describe how their product or service solves a problem by providing specifics about the solution.
- What are the distinguishing elements of their product or service from others on the market (even substitutes or similar products).
- Describe who their target market is.
- What can you learn from their success so far?
The competitive analysis must be written in complete sentences and paragraphs, as you would in a business environment. It must be clear and concise and provide data and evidence. For this assignment, you must have a minimum of 3 cited sources that support your competitive analysis. All cited sources must have an in-text citation and a reference list.
Instructions:
- This assignment requires you to do additional research and provide supporting evidence.
- The submission should be thorough and demonstrate your critical thinking skills.
- Any data point or key assumptions must be supported by a citation and reference.
- Spelling, grammar, and writing mechanics are important parts of the assignment. You must express your ideas and thoughts clearly.
- All assignments must be submitted in either MS Word or PDF, as Turnit-In is used for plagiarism checking.
- Format the paper using the APA 7 template Download APA 7 templatefor line spacing and section headings.
- Review the rubric for grading details.
- DISCUSS: Paths to starting a business
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Entrepreneurs can take many different paths to launch their businesses. Since there are so many different ways to start the journey to being an entrepreneur, the path is specific to the entrepreneur, industry, and market. After reviewing the learning resources posted for this module, prepare an initial post supporting the following prompts:
- What will your path be to starting your entrepreneurial journey?
- Based on the industry your business is in, what are some challenges with starting your business?
- Does your target market have any unique requirements to consider when launching your business? Or are there opportunities to innovate?
Discussion post requirements:
- This assignment requires you to do additional research and provide supporting evidence.
- The initial post should be thorough and demonstrate your critical thinking skills.
- Your initial post should contain at least two cited sources that support your thoughts.
- Review the rubric for grading details.
4. DISCUSS: King’s ability to stay on top
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Read the article “Ten Years of Candy Crush: How King Continues to Dominate Mobile Gaming”Links to an external site. in this module’s learning resources. After reviewing the article and additional research, prepare an initial post supporting the following prompts:
- What do the founders of King understand about mobile gaming?
- After a decade on the market, what do you think keeps Candy Crush at the top of the charts?
- How will the King continue to grow their business over the next decade?
Discussion post requirements:
- This assignment requires you to do additional research and provide supporting evidence.
- The initial post should be thorough and demonstrate your critical thinking skills.
- Your initial post should contain at least two cited sources that support your thoughts.
- Review the rubric for grading details.
WEEK 2
Learning Materials: Market Analysis
READ:
Chapter 4 – Analyzing the Industry and Market
Chapter 5 – Developing and Testing a Business Model
Chapter 6 – Prototyping and Validating a Solution
Chapter 14 – Developing a Startup Marketing Plan
Why Big Deals are Bad for StartupsLinks to an external site.
WATCH:
Lecture 4: Building Product, Talking to Users, and GrowingLinks to an external site.
How to get your first ten customers?Links to an external site.
ASSIGNMENT:
Connecting to Place People and Past How Products Make Us Feel Grounded.pdf
http://startupclass.samaltman.com/courses/lec04/
- Assignment:
The development of the market entry plan and revenue model is the starting point for testing the business model and developing a financial forecast. You will research the overall market and focus on the market segments with the highest opportunity to pursue based on your business idea. Your research should contain information about the overall market, market segments, trends, and competition. Find credible data sources or information useful when developing and assessing the market entry plan.
Then develop a market entry plan that includes which market segments, prioritization of the segments, how you will market towards those segments, and challenges to targeting those segments. In addition, you will determine the likely portion (percentage of the market segment) of each segment that will become your customer.
The third part of the plan is to determine the revenue plan—research the market’s growth, competition, and customer acquisition strategies. Take a critical review of how the competition acquires its customers and look for opportunities to innovate the process. Based on the acquisition strategy, determine how many customers you will acquire per year. Be sure to assess if the numbers are realistic within the market. For the revenue numbers, you will make an initial pricing assumption. However, in the next exercise, pricing will be assessed and updated.
Prepare a market entry plan and revenue model (diagram with a summary description) for your business idea. The market entry plan needs to be in detail and supported by evidence. The plan must be written in complete sentences and paragraphs, as you would in a business environment. It must be clear and concise and provide data and evidence. For this assignment, you must have a minimum of 5 cited sources that support your business idea, assumptions, or market data. All cited sources must have an in-text citation and a reference list.
Instructions:
- This assignment requires you to do additional research and provide supporting evidence.
- The submission should be thorough and demonstrate your critical thinking skills.
- Any data point or key assumptions must be supported by a citation and reference.
- Spelling, grammar, and writing mechanics are important parts of the assignment. You must express your ideas and thoughts clearly.
- All assignments must be submitted in either MS Word or PDF, as Turnit-In is used for plagiarism checking.
- Format the paper using the APA 7 template Download APA 7 templatefor line spacing and section headings.
- Review the rubric for grading details.
- DISCUSS: Assessing Market Entry Plans
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Developing a market entry plan can be tricky as there are many elements to consider, such as target market, consumer behaviors, industry, distribution channels, engagement, location, etc. It is not as easy to assume having social media accounts is sufficient to find customers. It is one small part of an overall market entry plan. After reviewing the learning resources posted for this module, prepare an initial post supporting the following prompts:
- What do you need to consider for your market entry plan related to your business idea?
- Based on the industry your business is in, what are some unique considerations you should consider in developing your market entry plan?
- Does your target market have any unique requirements to consider when developing your market entry plan? Or are there opportunities to innovate?
Discussion post requirements:
- This assignment requires you to do additional research and provide supporting evidence.
- The initial post should be thorough and demonstrate your critical thinking skills.
- Your initial post should contain at least two cited sources that support your thoughts.
- Review the rubric for grading details.
- DISCUSS: Connecting with your customers
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Any effective marketing plan must have a way to connect with customers. Even a cold or impersonal connection can still be effective if that works with your target market. After reviewing the learning resources posted for this module, prepare an initial post supporting the following prompts:
- What are some effective ways of connecting with customers?
- Based on your target market and value proposition, how could you effectively connect with your customers?
- What are some ways that would be ineffective in connecting with your customers?
Discussion post requirements:
- This assignment requires you to do additional research and provide supporting evidence.
- The initial post should be thorough and demonstrate your critical thinking skills.
- Your initial post should contain at least two cited sources that support your thoughts.
- Review the rubric for grading details.
