Entrepreneurship Course: Ten-Weeks Experience Report (Assessment)

Week One: Basic structure of the entrepreneurship course

The first week covered the basic structure of the entrepreneurship course. I learned about the expectations of me as a student and the expectations I could place on the instructors. Three things stood out for me. First, I was very happy that the course has a group project. I have always enjoyed working as part of a group. Therefore, the chance to work with other people was very welcome. Secondly, I realized that the institution takes academic standards very seriously. The fact that a student can only fail in one subject made me realize how hard I will need to work. This was not a problem in any case because I have always believed in hard work.

The third issue that stood out for me was the approach that the course has. The goal of the course is to help me to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. This mindset will remain with me in all the things I will ever handle in my career. I am looking forward to the coming weeks as we delve into the subject matter of the course. I understand that it will take hard work to get through. I am ready for it.

Week Two: Introduction to Entrepreneurship

The highlight of week two for me was one of the definitions of entrepreneurship. The idea that an entrepreneur pursues opportunities without regard to the resources they currently control was quite revealing for me. I think this is the best definition of entrepreneurship that I have ever come across. At the heart of entrepreneurship is a risk. Risk arises from factors beyond the control of the risk-taker. In many cases, these factors include resources, which an entrepreneur needs before launching a product. This makes it a valid assertion that entrepreneurship is the pursuit of opportunities without a sense of limitation caused by a lack of resources.

When starting a business, or any other entrepreneurial undertaking, it is important to know that there will always be some resource gaps. These resource gaps do not mean that an idea is not worth pursuing. Bill Gates did not know how big Microsoft would be when he started developing software in a garage. If he set out to develop Microsoft, as we know it today, he could have given up because he did not have the resources needed to set up such a firm. However, by pursuing the opportunities he had at hand, he ended up with one of the best-known IT firms on earth.

Week 3: Characteristics of Entrepreneurs

In week three, the lesson on entrepreneur types was very interesting. I had come across personality types before. The model I was familiar with was the one that has four basic personality types that are, melancholic, choleric, phlegmatic, and sanguine.

However, based on the Briggs-Meyer model I realized there were other ways of looking at personality traits. The most interesting bit was the section where we looked at the different types of entrepreneurs based on their personality types. I tried to evaluate myself based on self-assessment on this model and I realized that I fit quite well as an Organizer/Administrator. I also realized that I had traits, which would fit within other entrepreneur types. However, I feel strongly that my natural predisposition is in the Organizer/Administrator paradigm. I believe in situational leadership.

In this course, I would call it “situational entrepreneurship”. In the past, I have acted in roles outside my primary disposition simply because there was no one available to fill the roles. Therefore, while I find it fascinating that I can place myself in this model, I am fully aware of the limitations of models. I know that they tend to generalize and to create distinct categories. The categories do not always describe the phenomenon as it occurs in reality. This notwithstanding, models such as the ones considered in week three, are very useful for introspection and discovering personal strengths.

Week Four: Entrepreneurial Teams

The focus of the fourth week was on entrepreneurial teams. I learned several things about what the focus ought to be when developing entrepreneurial teams. However, the part of the lesson that struck me most was in the opening section, which compared what ought to happen when a venture comes to life, and what happens. I realized why many startups never break out. Administration and staffing issues bog down the dream of the entrepreneur, reducing him to a supervisor. I also appreciated that the key difference between a business that takes off towards success and those that do not is the ability to develop systems that work.

The role of an entrepreneur is to ensure that the business can stand on its own devoid of its input except in the area of strategy and expansion. An entrepreneur cannot grow unless he develops a business that can run without him. As I get into entrepreneurial ventures, I will go in with a renewed understanding of the need to develop systems that work. I believe this is the hallmark of great entrepreneurship.

Week Five: Creating and Developing Business Ideas

The lesson in week five was about passion and potential. It sought to make it easy for us to recognize ways of identifying business ideas based on our passion and our potential. In that lesson, the most striking thing I learned was that there is a place I can call my element. This is where my passion meets my potential. It is when I can do something, and I like it. I suspect that some of the great entrepreneurs of our time such as Steve Jobs simply found the thing that they enjoyed doing. In response to a question relating to their business venture, one online entrepreneur said that he did not care about how long he took at work.

He said, his business did not feel like work, but was fun to him. As a person, I feel challenged to identify the things I like to do and that I have the talent for, because of those things present to me the best entrepreneurial opportunities. Whether it is working under someone or setting up my venture, I will perform best using an entrepreneurial mindset that takes into account my passion and my talents.

Week Six: Entrepreneurial Marketing and Opportunity Evaluation

In week six, the lesson was on entrepreneurial marketing and opportunity evaluation. I understand that marketing is a very significant element of entrepreneurship, which requires thought, and decisive action. I also know that marketing normally makes the difference between the success of a good idea or its failure. In this case, success is the obtaining of maximum profit from a venture. In this class, the most significant lessons that I learned were the four elements of opportunities. I learned that an opportunity solves a problem, creates value for a customer, is saleable, and fits well within the business that intends to pursue it.

This is the first time that I came across a criterion for determining whether an entrepreneurial opportunity exists. When I think about it, it explains to me why Facebook acquired Instagram. Facebook saw that Instagram was in the process of developing a unique product that complements Facebook’s services. Facebook had the first three elements of opportunity. However, it did not have a proper fit. It chose to acquire Instagram to have the capacity required to offer similar services without the need to start up a new division.

Week Seven: Marketing

In week seven, I learned about marketing in entrepreneurship. Marketing makes the difference between successful enterprises and unsuccessful ones. I appreciated the need for a well thought out marketing plan from this lecture, backed by the requisite primary research. Primary research makes the difference between wishful projections and a proper marketing plan. Developing a marketing plan was the highlight of the lesson.

I have always taken an interest in digital marketing because of the exciting capabilities that digital mediums give entrepreneurs across the world. It was exciting to see how marketing in general and digital marketing in particular provides a viable marketing option for an entrepreneur. One thing that an entrepreneur has in more supply than anything else is time. This makes digital marketing a very valuable option for start-ups.

Some of the attractive features of digital marketing to entrepreneurs is that it is not expensive, can be targeted, and it is possible to measure the impact of a digital marketing campaign. While it is probably, better to have an integrated marketing campaign, the advantages of a digital marketing effort make it very suitable for entrepreneurs. Digital mediums have made it easier for entrepreneurs to password around regarding new products and services in the market.

Week Eight: Financial Feasibility

Many budding entrepreneurs are not financially apt. They tend to assume that a good idea will turn a profit even if they do not pay too much attention to the financials. In week eight, I appreciated the need to have a clear financial understanding of the two key indicators of business success. I have always downplayed the importance of cash flow management because I believed that making a profit was the most important aspect of the business.

However, after this lesson, I realize that it is easier to go out of business because of cash flow constraints compared to making a loss. The fundamental objective of every entrepreneur is to turn a profit. I believe that this thinking is what led me to assume that it is easy to survive cash flow constraints as compared to making a profit or a loss. When the real estate sector in America caved in, the problem that affected the sector was cash flow management. The banks that went under did not have enough money to service their business needs. Making losses did not lead to their closure. On the other hand, many companies have survived losses simply because they could meet their cash-flow related obligations.

Week Nine: Financing Entrepreneurial Ventures

In the ninth week, the lesson was on financing entrepreneurial ventures. In this class, the most exciting part was the struggle between raising start-up funds and maintaining control of the business. It appears that if it is easy to raise money, then there is some loss of control. There was a very tight balance demonstrated between retaining control and achieving growth targets. It is clear that if an entrepreneur wants to grow his venture, then he needs to find ways of raising the money without giving out equity in the business. It calls for an intimate understanding of the actual needs of the business in terms of growth-oriented capital, versus growth that makes the entrepreneur a minority shareholder in a business he put up.

An entrepreneur desires freedom to act without referring to many people. This makes equity financing a non-desirable option. However, it can be the only way to handle some business situations. Facebook recently went public to raise more capital. Up until then, the founders had managed to retain a significant stake in the company. They took equity financing options meant to reduce their loss of equity in the face of growth.

Week Ten: Course Conclusion

In the final lecture, I learned about the important role entrepreneurship plays in society. Economies grow through this means. All major technological breakthroughs came from innovators who had an entrepreneurial streak. This includes motor vehicles, the steam engine, the personal computer, and recently, the internet. Even if the original idea came from a state-funded process, it took entrepreneurs to bring benefits to the world in a consumable form. This course is a revelation to the multiplicity of issues entrepreneurs face as they pursue their entrepreneurial pursuits. I have learned a lot.