New Ventures Lab- BA467

1. New Ventures Lab- BA467 Spring Quarter 2009 John Turner

2. New Ventures Lab (BA467) • Instructor- John Turner, PhD • Class Schedule • MW (10-12) , Weatherford EG01 • Contact Info • Office: 316 Bexell • Office Hours: M 9-10 am, Wed 12-1 pm or by appt • Phone: 737-9219 • E-mail: john.turner@bus.oregonstate.edu • Best way to reach me quickly is by email

3. “Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much. Because they live in the grey twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.” Theodore Roosevelt “Just do it” Nike Cofounder, Dan Wieden

4. BA467 Outcome:An “investor ready” plan • Prepare a written formal and complete business plan based on your idea or one provided- due week 10. • Present it to peers, business faculty and/or at local business forum (optional but recommended)

5. What it is… • Hands on, “you drive the bus” • A means to develop a high quality business plan • Lots of advice if you want it… • Based on personal accountability • Graded on ~5 interim presentations and written results (40%) Written final business plan (20%) Business plan presentation (20%) Class participation and peer assessment (20%) • A forum for feedback on interim results and final presentation and plan • Flexible! Various options are available • Working mode agreed to in a contract with instructor.

6. What it’s not… • Another lecture series • Graded according to midterm or final exam • A “wait till the end of the quarter” project • Completed in teams with unequal member contributions

7. Elements your business plan must include: • Feasibility assessment • Executive Summary • Product/Service Definition (*) • Market Analysis and Niche (*) • Management and Organization • Marketing Plan • Financial Plan (*) • Operations Plan (*) • Growth and “End Game” Plan

8. Questions you’ll need to answer today • Do I have a business idea that I want to develop for this course? • If not, are there types of business ideas that would be more interesting to me? • Do I want to work individually or in a team? • What special skills would I bring to a team?

9. Class Schedule and Structure • JT will be available during class times for discussion and feedback. Lectures will generally not be provided unless there are specific areas of interest or need as you develop your plans • You can use class time to work on your business plans. Please bring laptops or other materials needed. • Updates will be provided by each group or individual at five class meetings. Attendance at these classes is expected. Part of your grade (20%) will be based on your participation and feedback to the other groups. • JT can meet with groups at other times during the week if needed. Please e-mail me or let me know during class if you would like to meet.

10. General Guidelines • Use either Timmons or FastTrac text- one copy recommended per group. • Details of project execution, presentations, etc are defined in “statement of work” contract with instructor. You define the deliverables. • Interim presentations/assignments are expected to show progress in your plan over the course of the quarter. These presentations will comprise 40% of your grade, and will occur five times over the quarter • A statement of work must be turned in by each group or individual by the end of class next Monday (4/6).

11. Recommended Textbooks • “Planning and Growing a Business Venture”: Kauffman Foundation – ISBN 1-891616-27-7 • “New Venture Creation: Entrepreneurship for the 21st Century (8th Ed)”- ISBN 978-0-07-338155-8 • Use at least one of these textbooks per group as a resource as you develop your plans. • Both are excellent “how to” books with many worksheets for • Self assessment • Opportunity screening • Financial plan development • Financing options • Operations

12. BA 467 Questionnaire • Information will be used to form groups • Be sure to specify- • If you have an idea you would like to pursue • If you would like to work in a group or solo • Your areas of expertise • Important: Describe previous work completed on any idea you propose

13. If you have an idea of your own • Please prepare a short (5’) presentation on your idea for class Wednesday. • You can work alone or with a group (recommended). Think of special skills or background areas that you lack and would seek from members of your group. • Be open to suggestions for improvement or significant modification. The best plans incorporate input from many individuals, and are revised frequently from input and changing business conditions. Static plans die! • If you are interested in pursuing this idea after class ends, let other members of your group know. • If your group does not agree to work on your idea, you can elect to work alone, or with another group.

14. If you don’t have a specific idea for your business plan • Bring a list of possible ideas for discussion in your group on Wednesday. • Based on your background and interests, I will assign you to a group. You can also state if you would prefer a specific individual in your group (or not). • In class on Wednesday, your group will screen ideas brought by group members. Your group can take additional time to select an idea, but should complete your screening and have settled on an idea by Mon, April 6th at the latest. • At the end of Wednesday, you can petition the instructor to change groups. Maximum group size is three or four.

15. To start…. Wed (4/1) • Listen to potential ideas from class and instructor (5-10’ each) • Discussion of “statement of work” and opportunity recognition (20’) • Meet in your groups • Generate a list of possible topics • Discuss roles, meeting, and communication • Develop “statement of work” • Assign necessary market research • Change groups if needed Mon (4/6) • Complete and submit “statement of work” • Continue market research • Begin product/service definition

16. Interim Results (40% of grade) • Updates will be provided to the class at five times during the quarter on the dates listed below. You can elect different topic areas in your “statement of work” if you prefer, but an update will be required from each group. • Market research (competitors, substitutes, sector growth rate, dynamics, etc)- Mon, April 13 • Product/service definition (exact form, distinguishing factors, compelling proposition)- Mon, April 20 • Operations (manufacturing or service delivery plan, distribution, supply chain, staffing, physical facility, etc) Mon, May 4 • Milestones and resources (significant events in product/service rollout, expansion plans, additional product development, etc) Mon, May 18 • Financial plan (fixed and variable expenses, product/service cost, time to break even, sources of funding) Mon, May 25 • In each case, a written summary should be e-mailed to john.turner@bus.oregonstate.edu by 11:59 pm the following Thursday.

17. Final Plan and Presentation • Final presentations will be given in class, Wed June 3rd • Written business plans are due Sunday, June 7th at 11:59pm. They should be e-mailed to john.turner@bus.oregonstate.edu • For those interested in additional feedback or possible venture funding, JT will arrange a SWOT meeting presentation with John Sechrest of the Corvallis EDP