Course Materials - Spring 2008
April 7th, 2008Introduction (April 7, 2008)
Budgeting
Financial Modeling
Marketing Primer (April 14)
Negotiation (April 16)
Sales Primer (April 21)
Trademarks & Copyright (April 30)
Sample Peer Review Form (Word Doc)
Three Examples of Graphics to Explain a Story
Echospace Executive Summary (The graphics were prepared in Office in 2000)
Echospace Financials (Your mileage may vary on this one, but it’s an example)
IMCentric Early Draft Business Plan (2001 Class; This was actually the early business plan)
Sample Business Plan & Sample Spreadsheet
Zen Chai Business Plan (pdf format) (2006 Class - some of the marketing / interview / pricing data has been yanked)
Zen Chai Spreadsheets (xls format) (Among the better of the simplified formats)
Plastic Payments Spreadsheets (xls format) (A simple spreadsheet, but it does provide for a subscription model)
Assignment 2
April 7th, 20083-part Assignment Due Monday, April 21, 2008
Portfolio
If you downloaded the lecture slides, then you saw the following typical delineation for the portfolio. You’re not obligated to religiously follow this method of sectioning your portfolio. It’s a way to think about the items for inclusion. If you don’t section your portfolio in this manner, then you can just include a single mission statement for yourself.
Home or Index - Introduce yourself and welcome viewers by telling them a bit about what they can view in your portfolio.
Academic - Share what you have done and what you plan to do with your course work, highlighting what you learned from your favorite course or project. Add a pitch or mission statement. Highlight involvement in Academic Institutes. Offer samples of your academic work.
Personal - Share what you are involved in outside the classroom, highlighting an interesting experience. You may want to expand on your highlight of an interesting experience and how an out of class experience has helped you with your academic or professional development Add a pitch or mission statement.
Professional - Share some of your professional skills and traits, how you obtained them and how you use them, highlighting one of which you are especially proud. Add a pitch or mission.
Portfolio Homework Questions
1. Make a paper plan with the headings “Academic,” “Personal,” and “Professional.” Next, jot down topics or ideas that come to mind when you see each heading listed on the page. Finally, decide the topics and concepts that are most important to you and expand on those or highlight why they are important.
2. Propose the materials to be used. Do you prefer using a traditional scrapbook? Will you use a photo notebook? Or will you use a three-ring binder and customize your portfolio?
3. Set an appt with the instructor. Alan will bring a schedule of open appt times to class and then later hang it on his office door (UW1-336). Hopefully, you will have already set an appointment the week before this assignment was due. You may choose to meet with Alan with 1 or 2 of your classmates.
Business Ownership
The following reading has been adapted from a section in an old textbook. It highlights the first well-used airline reservation system. It also shows that new business models can emerge from within established companies. This is the definition of “Intrapreneurhip” (new ventures inside established companies) as opposed to “Enterpreneurship” (new startups). It doesn’t explicitly explain every detail for its business model; you might have to read between the lines. It’s well worth it.
1. Contrast the old model (phone calls) and the new business model (represented by Sabre) used by American Airline. You can use a format similar to here.
2. Summarize each model with a catchy 1 or 2-sentence description. For example: “Sabre is the Amazon.com of Airline travel: it brings airline schedules straight to the consumer”. (It’s not accurate, but I am just making an example).
3. In the late 90s, Orbitz and Expedia began casting its shadow. If you were managing Sabre, what would you do to meet this competitive threat?
4. From what functional area (e.g. information technology, marketing, sales, accounting, operations, human relations) did the Sabre project champion hail? You can give a simple one-sentence answer.
Landscaping Business Models
On April 14 and April 16, the owners of two different landscaping businesses visit our class. Be sure to ask enough questions to adequately answer the homework.
1. Define and contrast the models as well as the critical issues (i.e. strengths and weaknesses) of Greenpoint Landscaping vs. InHarmony Landscaping.
2. What were the original motivations for Peter Roberts and Ladd Smith to start their businesses? What motivated each to evolve their business to its present design?
Assignment 1 - 2008
April 1st, 2008Due at Class on Monday, April 8, 2008
Did I tell you that I front load my classes? I want 2/3 of the reading and concepts finished by the halfway point of the course.
Introduction to Writing a Business Plan v1.99 (revised April 7, 2008) - Read p 4 to 5 and then p. 7 to 8. This includes the section on the 5 Sacred elements of a business model and the elevator pitch. Both are essential readings for all business professionals
Portfolio Keeping (Class Text) - Read the 1st 3 Chapters (up to p 23) Don’t need it for this assignment
Optional Readings
Greenpoint Landscaping - Peter Roberts, co-founder of the Student club, is the entrepreneur behind this company.
The Gardening Service for the Upper Crust - The Hazel case from class
Answer the following questions:
Business Ownership
1) Choose a company that is really accessible to you or if you don’t have a readily accessible company, you may use the Hazel case from class. Outline the business model and also create a table that outlines strengths and weaknesses of the model (e.g. scalability, profitability, simplicity, labor intensity, capital requirements, typical crises). You don’t have to interview. It’s to get you going. You may ask in class for what this looks like.
Here are some hints: what type of skills / education is required in the owners and employees? Did the owner have to create an entirely new market? Or did the owner “tweak” an existing niche? Does the business require special work hours?
2) Create two types of elevator pitches for the business. It doesn’t have to be perfect and you may have to assume 1 or 2 things about the business. Be ready to present at class. a) The first pitch is an informational pitch. It’s not your business and you’re wanting to quickly explain it to me; b) The second pitch is “persuasive” or compelling.
The Learning & Best Works Portfolio
An artifact is a concrete item. It can be a project paper, power point presentation, piece of art, or media presentation. In this context, it’s something you created during your time at UWB.
Examples of Educational Portfolios at Kalamazoo College
The examples aren’t as strong as last year’s freshmen portfolios, but there are at least two reasons for this:
a) Much of the Kalamazoo student time is devoted to designing web pages
b) I’m sure that many personal reflections are not being displayed. That’s because some of these can be…very personal.
Answer the following questions
1) Describe an artifact that is associated with your most concentrated or meaningful learning to date. What were the lessons learned? What does this tell you about yourself as a professional or student?
2) Describe an artifact that is associated with your best work to date. “Best” is obviously subjective but you should imagine that you’re trying to impress an audience (e.g. potential employer, peers, professor, significant friend).
Homework Style
Your homework should be typed (printed) and not handwritten. It should be professionally neat. You should strive for a concise style, but not be forced to create a brief document.
You may use bullet points and your instructor loves tables and graphics.
You may list the question and then provide the answer.
Avoid double-spacing, but use single- or 1.5-spacing.
Use 11 or 12 point font.
Syllabus & Class Materials - 2008
April 1st, 2008The Syllabus will get continually updated at the speakers step forward.
Course Syllabus Revised April 26, 2008
Introduction to Writing a Business Plan v1.99 (Also revised on April 7, 2008) - You won’t need to read most of it, but it’s being made available to you.
Lectures
introduction (March 31, 2008)
Portfolios 101 (April 7, 2008)
Business Entities (April 30, 2008)
Loans and Startup Resources (May 5, 2008)
Degrees of Change (May 14, 2008)
Business Ownership Project - 2008
March 20th, 2008Due Monday, June 9 (Finals Week) at my office in room 336 in UW1
You are to describe and contrast two different businesses. You will interview the owners of each company.
Requirements
1. Each must represent a different business model. For example, you may not use two brick-and-mortar retail stores (e.g. Wine Store and Bookstore).
2. You must describe the two models (e.g. Basics of Hazel’s Model) . You might even do a quick comparison of both businesses in a single table. The model must run through the 5 sacred elements. You may wish to also have a table(s) that contain further descriptions of each business.
3. You must have a single sentence or two sentences that describe each business (e.g. “They aim to be the Nordstroms of Casual Cafes - casual atmosphere coupled with very good food and outstanding service”)
4. You should then include a narrative about each business. You should still contrast each business. Typical questions that are asked should include:
a) When did you know that you wanted to start your own business? What was the inspiration for starting this business?
b) Was your initial idea the same as your current business? How did you change directions?
c) How did you obtain your starting capital?
d) What were some especially difficult obstacles? Did you ever have any difficulty with having enough cash?
e) What type of qualifications must an owner have? What type of qualifications are needed in the employees? How easy is it to find the right employees?
f) If the person sold or shut down his/her business, you may ask: when did you realize it was time to get out of the business? What were some lessons learned for closing your business?
5. You should include a cover page and executive summary (no more than 1 paragraph).
The Learning Portfolio - 2008
March 10th, 2008Due Monday, June 9 (Finals Week) at my office
Portfolio Requirements
A learning portfolio is a:
Series of artifacts that demonstrates the progression of knowledge, skills and wisdom.
Structured collection of student work created across time, framed by reflection and enriched through collaboration, … (from Wolf, 2000)
The freshman learning portfolio is your “memory scrapbook”. It tells the story of your first year in school, from high school grad to the end of your freshman year. It is also more than a story. It contains your after thoughts, your meditations or reflections about your learning experience.
This memo details what should be contained in your portfolio for this class.
1. Welcome Page - You may be be sharing your portfolio with someone you trust. Many of you will be allowing your portfolio to be displayed. You’re welcoming the reader as well as making a short statement. You should provide a mission statement.
e.g. “My mission is to become an excellent instructor and advisor such that my students can (and will) surpass me in many different ways”
2. Story - This details your past 12+ months. I won’t tell you how to label your sections, because you should have free rein about how to tell your story. Nevertheless, it should progress like a story rather than every item being an isolated bit. You should consider three areas of your development: academic, personal, and professional. It should contain key artifacts (or xerox copies) and your accompanying reflections. You shouldn’t feel forced to write a reflection for every small artifact. You should, however, detail your most significant reflection. You may wish to group items into themes.
You may review the lecture slides on “Portfolios 101″
3. For the Future - This details your current educational / professional and personal interests. You should write about how you’ll pursue this. You may wish to consult your advisors or instructor(s) for ideas.
You’ll be graded on:
1) Organization and Coherence (Does it tell a clear story?)
2) Reflection (Are there connections between some of the artifacts? Is this a portfolio that is arid - devoid of personal meaning, or is it rich with your articulated thoughts and meditations? Does the portfolio contain at least 1 or 2 themes?
3) Was the mission statement clear and concise? Did the opening provide a “welcome mat” that invites the reader?
4) Did the last section, “For the Future”, include some useful info from written materials or someone helpful (e.g. advisor, friend)?
Hell Night Guidelines
March 7th, 2008These are team guidelines for presenting on Hell Night:
1. No more than 4 people per team are allowed to interact directly with investors. The others can interact with presenting team members (e.g. fetch water, handouts), but cannot talk to investors nor to hand material directly to investors.
2. You can bring in one outside person as a presenter when the outsider is your business co-owner. One of the other co-owners must be on the student team. Lastly, 1-person teams can invoke a special exception: bring a single helper that can also interact with the investors.
3. Presenters are not allowed to stray from the area in front of their booth unless to get water, grab food, or use the restroom.
4. All visitors are eligible to be “investors” and are given an envelope with play money. A few visitors are designated as “super-investors”. Super-investors are given larger envelopes, containing much more play money. The super-investor envelopes are tagged with color dots. On Thursday, there will only be a handful of super-investors, but as a group, the super-investors may carry about as much money as the regular investors combined.
5. When you finish, label an envelope with your team name and stick your earned play money into it. Give the envelope to Miller or Thomson.
6. Your team members should ask for feedback from key members of the crowd.
7. The first place team will be expected to make a presentation. The presentation should not last longer than 12 minutes. On Thursday night, we’ll limit the audience to a handful of questions.
Exam Study Guide
February 27th, 2008The Exam is on Tuesday March 4. You’re allowed THREE FOUR pages, front and back of cheat sheet material.
There are no multiple choice nor T/F questions. At most, there are brief answers. Most questions are concept questions and you will also have to analyze a business case involving a startup. The answers should incorporate material from the book, lectures, adn the handout.
First Lecture and Early Readings
How does Alan and Guy Kawasaki define entrepreneurs?
What’s the difference between real vs. fake?
What does Guy mean by making mantra?
What are the 5 basic elements of a business model?
What should go into a business plan? What underlying style should pervade this document?
Why do Alan, David Miller, and others despise the blind allegiance to business plan software or template? Why does Jenny build each plan from scratch?
How do you validate your initial ideas?
What is an elevator pitch? What is the rationale(s) for creating an elevator pitch?
What did Guy Kawasaki suggest as a way for organizing your presentation?
Ok…there’s more coming. I’ll post more in the coming days. Be sure to take notes during the next guests!.
What does it mean to have wisdom about your customers? What two questions must be answered? (Found in Alan’s book)
Intro to Financials (Readings, Cash Flow Game, Lecture)
What things should be included in a financial section? What questions need to be answered?
What financial metric most concerns the startup? For what reason? Why isn’t it simply just profitability? How does Dave M. characterize this metric in his lecture?
Also according to Dave M., what are some oft-missing expenses? What are some common mistakes in the financials? What are his two metrics? (It really presages his set of magic marketing questions)
In Alan’s more extended finance lecture, what does he mean by his set of “profitable facts”? How does he define cash flow (it’s a similar definition used in the Cash Flow 101 game)
According to Martin Z., what are the goals of a financial model? What is the basic structure of his spreadsheet model?
According to a slide in the “Tips and Sins” lecture, what items comprise a Financial model for this class? Why does Martin advocate setting up the Revenue section before the Cost section?
How do you plan your profit?
What do the instructors mean by “financial drivers”.
Larry Nakata, President, Central Market
What did Larry mean by Gaman? Kaizen? How do the two of these blend together for the company?
What is the rationale behind maintaining a “Director of Learning”?
Although Larry expressed that “profit is the lifeblood”, he didn’t feel it was the “purpose” for a startup. What was Central Market’s mantra?
David M & Jenny on Marketing
Can you say why David is so big on using magazine media kits? Can you precisely describe what information you may get from it? How does it help with customer profiling?
What does David M mean by Guerilla Marketing? What are two types that he advocates? What is his rationale for these?
How does David M derive a marketing budget? Can you guide your way to David’s magic number?
Why does Alan (& David & Jenny) believe it’s sheer stupidity say say “we have no competitors”? For any business, what competitor always exists?
Presentations
For what reasons would David Miller throw a wad of paper at you?
Why does David Miller hate flash presentations? Is it because he’s hopelessly out of date?
What are three quick tips that Alan (in his book) offers for fishbowl presentations? How many groups followed these three tips?
Kyle Flindt & Intellectual Property
Kyle talked about IP as “fence posts”. What did he mean?
Do you hold a copyright to anything? Why or why not? By the way, what’s a copyright? Or is it the opposite of a “copywrong”?
What right does a patent actually confer? Is it the exclusive right to market an invention?
How do you strengthen your claim to a trademark?
Rodger Kohn and Corporate Law
How did Rodger discriminate among different company entities?
Can you describe the entities that are exposed to unlimited liability?
With respect to creating some form of LLC or partnership (and perhaps even a corporation among different shareholders), what provisions does Kyle recommend?
Tenley Peck and Business Etiquette
What do you do if you forget the other person’s name?
If you’re introducing two people, whom do you introduce first? How long do you shake a person’s hand?
Elizabeth Rusnak and Financing your Business
What is a line of credit? What does a bank see as the legitimate purpose for a line of credit?
What is an “Evergreen Loan”?
What differentiates an SBA backed loan vs. a regular non-SBA loan? Can a bank deny an SBA loan due to a lack of sufficient collateral?
What does Elizabeth say about credible business plans for bankers? Should these plans be incredibly long and thorough?
The Book and the Handout
What does Guy (& Alan) mean by “make mantra”?
What simple steps does Alan advocate for initially validating an idea?
What does Alan (& one or two of the Guest speakers) mean by the “long tail”? How does this relate to customer feedback that betray intense love and intense hate?
What does Guy mean by “weaving a MAT”? Why is this weaving so important?
What format does Guy give for a presentation pitch? what is the 10/20/30 rule?
Within what time frame must the entrepreneur “explain himself”? Why is this time frame so limited?
How do Guy and Dave Miller agree on presentation tips? How do they differ?
Why do Alan and Guy advocate making a pitch before the plan?
What does it mean to “keep the business plan clean”?
What does it mean to “bootstrap” a business? Even if you’re going for major cash investments, why is it wise to approach your business from the viewpoint of “bootstrapping”?
What are 3 good things to remember about recruiting startup employees?
What do Guy and Alan think are common lies or myths that are spun by entrepreneurs?
The BioEntrepreneurship Panel (TBA)
What do Rob and Marty mean by “there’s no such thing as bad data”? Can your answer generalize to your startup situation?
Why did both of them stress being realistic about your milestones? How does this related to raising money and maintaining control of the company?
What did Marty say about the value of an elevator speech?
Although Marty acknowledged that Cash is King, what did he say was even more important?
What is the no-asshole rule? Why is this so important for a startup?
Although Marty and Rob work in highly scientific settings, what attributes did they both greatly desire in the employees?
What advice do Marty and Rob have with regard to board selection?
Hell Nights on March 11 & 13 2008
February 20th, 2008Everyone is invited!
It occurs at 5:40 pm on Tuesday March 11 and Thursday March 13 at the North Creek Cafe. If your guest can make only one day, then have them choose Thursday March 13.
Each team is allowed up to 4 people giving pitches. Each team is allowed to take one table. The North Creek Cafe opens at 5:00 pm and you can start your preparations as soon as the doors open.
Light appetizers will be awaiting you and your guests. The final night will have an intense ceremony.
The winning team will be called upon to give an encore presentation to the audience and face their grilling. There will be real investors and university administrators in the audience. There might even be a few reporters and a television news crew.
The winning team will get an award. As for now, a provisional patent or free trademarking is part of 1st place.
Directions from UWB to Sai Mai Bar & Restaurant
Fishbowls
January 27th, 2008First at Bat (How about Feb 5?)
Elixir Winery
Gang Software
Volz Enterprises