This book is structured around the idea that innovation is at the core of successful entrepreneurship, a necessary first step before writing a business plan or developing a financial model. The beginning of the book is devoted to helping students get the innovative concept down pat. Part I guides students through six elements that comprise a clearly focused venture: defining your target industry, defining your target customers, defining the needs and wants of your target customers, defining your solutions for customers, defining the business model and defining the positioning for your solutions and your business model. After walking students through the venture concept process, the book then dives into the mechanics of implementing the venture concept. Part II focuses on: creating realistic financial projections, creating a concise but powerful business plan, organizing your venture team and creating a compelling pitch. The book concludes with several compelling case studies from the real-world, illustrating the application of ideas presented in the text. The book includes a robust set of pedagogical features: Learning Objectives help students navigate chapter material Spotlight on Innovation boxes highlight engaging examples of successful entrepreneurs Exercises allow students the opportunity to apply chapter material Tips give students practical advice for succeeding in today's marketplace Numerous examples, tables, and figures.
Marc H. Meyer is the Robert J. Shillman professor of Entrepreneurship at Northeastern University, as well as a Matthews Distinguished University Professor. Dr. Meyer is the founder of Northeastern University's Entrepreneurship and Innovation Group in the College of Business Administration, where he has helped numerous students and alumni start their own companies. He is also director of High Tech MBA, a program focused on innovation within established corporations. He also helps direct Northeastern's Center of Entrepreneurship Education, an interdisciplinary, experiential "system of entrepreneurship" where undergraduates, graduate students, and alumni learn the principles of entrepreneurial thinking and planning, and then launch new companies. An internationally recognized scholar in the field of research and innovation, Dr. Meyer is the author of The Power of Product Platforms (written with Alvin P. Lehnerd, The Free Press, NY, 1997) and The Fast Path to Corporate Growth: Leveraging Knowledge and Technologies to New Market Applications, for which he received the Maurice Holland Award from the Industrial Research Institute (Oxford University Press, NY, 2007). Dr. Meyer is a graduate of Harvard College and holds his master's and doctoral degrees from MIT. Frederick G. Crane is an executive professor of Entrepreneurship & Innovation at the College of Business at Northeastern University, Editor of the Journal of the Academy of Business Education, and co-founder of Ceilidh Insights LLC, an innovation management training, intellectual property consulting, and consumer insight company. He was formerly a professor of marketing and entrepreneurship at the University of New Hampshire and a chair and full professor at Dalhousie University. He currently teaches courses in entrepreneurship, innovation, and entrepreneurial marketing. His academic research activities have resulted in more than 100 publications, including fifteen books. Additionally, he currently serves on the editorial boards of several academic journals. His current research stream intersects the domains of marketing, entrepreneurship, corporate venturing, and innovation, and he is conducting ongoing research on the psychology of entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial education, entrepreneurial branding, and innovation readiness. Dr. Crane is also an award-winning educator who has received numerous honors for teaching excellence over the past twenty years.
I. DEFINING THE VENTURE 1. Defining Your Industry Focus and the Type of Business You Want to Start 2. Defining the Target Customer: Users and Buyers 3. Defining the Needs of Target Customers: Getting Into Their Hearts and Mind 4. Defining Solutions for Customers: Developing a Product Line and Services Strategy 5. Defining the Business Model for a Venture 6. Positioning and Branding a Venture in the Marketplace 7. A Reality Check on the Venture Concept and the Business Model II. WRITING THE BUSINESS PLAN AND MAKING THE PITCH 8. Financial Sources for Startups and Corporate Ventures 9. Projecting the Financial Performance and Requirements for the Venture 10. Organizing the Venture Team 11. Writing the Business Plan! 12. Making the Pitch Cases
