Challenges to the Entrepreneurship Elective Course

Angesono Rizal Philippines   |  Black Saturday

I took the chance of grading and correcting the papers of an entrep course this office handled early December to February.  There are  only a few of them and I am sure the school lost on the class because their number did not reach the break even.

The class was a great class they were lively and very dynamic and mostly middle to senior execs in their organization.  May be the rigors of teaching ie the assessment and grading makes the idea of teaching challenging.  If we could only be like Plato or Aristotle or the Chinese master whose only test is life/or a boxing match itself.... And if only students would not be grade conscious.  (It reminds me of a conversation from an MBA student I conversed in the elevator, who said she would enroll in entrep if it were an easy 4...)

 The comments I earlier made on BP early on may not have reached them

Comments on earlier business plans submitted

From Smartblog - Why some BP do not succeed




Some challenges:

1. The case analysis.  Much is to be desired in the ability of the students to think critically.  More cases before this class is needed.  I hope the students welcome the case analysis as a litmus paper to know if they are to be called gurus later on. They must be able to think on their feet, negotiate, object, gather his/her thought, defend the position at the spur of the moment, in a board meeting, in a conference, in a negotiation, in a deal, before a forum

2.  The NU6 NU12 as the case may be.  Very few complete the required number.  Some are unable to submit at all on the deadline. The post of Dr. Edu from Clark can help?

3.  On the business plan:

    1.  Sales estimate.  Only one got a great grade on sales estimate. Perhaps he had access to the methodology on how it is done.

 This must be patterned after micro market estimate.  Choose only data that are relevant to the product/bp. If it is antiseptic, a relevant data would be:   number of hospital infection, MERS, SARS, bird flu.  Many mention a lot of data but irrelevant to the BP.  At strama, the student is required to state relevance of the data mentioned.

2.  The product.  How does the product meet the customer wants and needs.  What are the relevant studies and research testimonies that supports the efficacy of the product.  The product innovation being presented must squarely being addressed on this by the public and current trends.  Thus healthy options has caused a 9 year decline on the sweetened drinks because it is perceived as cause of obesity, carcinogenic, and cause of inflammation that is related to CV diseases. 

What are the product features?

How do they compare to the competitors? What is unique about the product?

Why will they make your product a winner.

3.  Compliance to the regulations and exit strategy. IPO selling the company, giving them to your heirs are exit strategy.  Or giving it up or closing.  The red flags of failure.