Basic Entrepreneurship

Self-Discovery

This is the first lesson of the Foundational Course in Entrepreneurship. This lesson
is 5 hours long and is divided into 3 CORE hours and 2 FLEX hours.

It is important for you first to understand yourself. This lesson will help discover your
passion, your entrepreneurial style, and build an entrepreneurial mind-set using
common-sense principles applied to entrepreneurship, called Effectuation.

In this lesson, you will form your practice venture team and assign roles to your team
members.

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

 Identify your “flow” activity

 Identify your means using the effectuation principle, Bird-in-Hand
 Develop an entrepreneurial mindset by understanding the other four
effectuation principles – Affordable Loss, Lemonade, Patchwork Quilt or
Crazy Quilt, and Pilot-in-the-Plane
 Identify your potential entrepreneurial style using the Wadhwani 5M model

Session 1: Finding Your Flow (CORE) - 2 Item[s]

The purpose of this session is to introspect and reflect on your interest and passion,
and help you identify the ONE activity/hobby/interest that you are most passionate
about. To maximize your chances of success and to really enjoy your entrepreneurial
journey, you need to discover this passion, also known as your “flow”.

Do watch the video, Finding Your Flow. Also, use Student Handout: Finding Your
Flow to discover and record your flow activity.

Session 2: Effectuation - I (CORE) - 3 Item[s]

Effectuation is a set of common sense principles that help you face challenges with
common sense and focus on what is doable. In this session, you will learn the five
effectuation principles.

In the activity, Take Stock of Your Means, you will apply the Bird-in-Hand
principle to first take stock of your means or resources. You will also do some
research and come up with any three local entrepreneurs who have used the same
principle to start his/her venture.

Use the relevant handouts under Resources to complete these activities. Also, watch the
videos, What is Effectuation and Five Principles of Effectuation to find answers to your
questions.

Which of the following statements best describe Effectuation?

Select the two correct options.

a) It is a set of common-sense principles that entrepreneurs apply to face challenges.

b) It is a formula that you can apply to your business to bring it success.
c) It discourages entrepreneurs from planning ahead and asks them to only focus on the
present.
d) It focuses on starting with what is doable as against pre-determined goals.

Solution :

Options A and D are correct.

Effectuation is a mindset and a practical approach that entrepreneurs practice. It is not

a ready-made formula that can be applied to start a business. Entrepreneurs determine
the goals according to the resources in their possession. They believe that since you
have almost no control over the future, don’t try to predict it. Instead, you should
focus on what you have for certain, and accordingly plan your way forward.

The two correct statements that best describe Effectuation are:

a) It is a set of common-sense principles that entrepreneurs apply to face challenges.

d) It focuses on starting with what is doable as against pre-determined goals.

Effectuation is a concept often associated with entrepreneurship and innovation. It

emphasizes taking a pragmatic, action-oriented approach to entrepreneurship by
starting with the resources and means that are available (what is doable) rather than
trying to predict and plan for an uncertain future (pre-determined goals). It encourages
entrepreneurs to leverage their existing resources and engage in a process of
experimentation and adaptation as they navigate challenges and opportunities. It is not
a rigid formula for success (option b) and does not discourage all planning but
suggests that planning should be more flexible and adaptive rather than solely
focusing on rigid, long-term plans (option c).
LOpportunity Discovery

This is the second lesson of the Foundational Course in Entrepreneurship. It has

been divided into 4 CORE hours.

In this course, you will start your entrepreneurship journey by identifying a problem -
it may come as a surprise to you - most opportunities come disguised as problems!
You may also start your entrepreneurial journey with that path-breaking idea that you
always had!

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

  Identify a problem worth solving using Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) methodology
 Empathize with the customer to further define the problem using Design
Thinking
 Use Brainstorming to think of solutions for your idea
 Do a quick Back-of-the-Envelope calculation exercise to find out the viability
of your idea

Session 1: Identify a Problem Worth Solving - I(CORE) - 2 Item[s]

Session 3: Design Thinking (CORE) - 7 Item[s]

Did a mobile phone always look and work the way it does today? Did you even think a
Kindle was possible? How then did these come into shape from what? The answer lies in
Design Thinking.

There are a bunch of videos on Design Thinking. Watch all of them!

 Video: Say Hello to Design Thinking

 Video: What is Design Thinking?
 Video: Design Thinking Values
 Video: Design Thinking Process

Now, go back to the problem you identified in the previous session and revisit it using the
Design Thinking lens. Find out what else would the customer want to get done. Use the
handout, Activity Instructions: Applying Design Thinking to complete the activity.
Once you have further refined your problem using the Design Thinking lens, you need to take
up Milestone1 Task1: Run Problem Interviews to validate that the problem you identified
to address through your venture is indeed worth solving. To do so, you will go out, meet
people, and interview them to find out whether what you identified as a problem is indeed a
critical pain point in their lives to which they are desperately seeking a solution!

Solution :

Option B is correct.

Design is not about how a thing looks or feels like. It is how a thing works. It is also
about fulfilling the specific needs of people or changing the way existing alternatives
work.
Session 4: Look for Solutions (CORE) - 3 Item[s]

Now that you have identified a problem worth solving, you will use Brainstorming to
look for solutions. Use the handout, Activity Instructions: Let’s Brainstorm to take
up the activity. Watch the video, Let’s Brainstorm to learn how to use this technique.

Once you have brainstormed a few solutions and zeroed in upon the one you feel will
best address the problem that you have identified as worth solving, you need to
quickly get together as a team and try to find out whether your venture seems
financially viable or not and whether it has the potential to earn you money.
Remember, a business is where you bring in more money than you spend.

To check the financial viability of your venture, take up Milestone 1 Task 2: Back-
of-the-Envelope Calculation exercise. Use the template provided to complete this
task. Ask your facilitator if you have any doubts.

Now that you have identified a problem worth solving and shortlisted a solution to
address that problem, and have also checked the initial viability of your venture, you
will have to be ready with your first Milestone presentation, Milestone 1: Present
Your Problem Worth Solving. Download the template from LearnWise and start
filling it up.

Lesson 3 Customer and the solution

This is the third lesson of the Foundational Course in Entrepreneurship.It is 7
hours long, and is divided into 6 CORE hours and 1 FLEX hour.
In this lesson, you will discover your customer by understanding Market Types,
identifying your Customer Segments, Niche, and Early Adopters, listing down
customers' Jobs, Pains, and Gains, and creating Customer Personas. You will then
further customize your proposed solution to add value to your customer segment.
Remember that your Value Proposition Canvas will ultimately help you craft your
Unique Value Proposition and give you the key differentiator with which to attract
your customer.

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

 Differentiate between a customer and a consumer

 Learn about the different market types and their specific requirements
 Identify your customer segments and niche, and understand their jobs, pains,
and gains
 Identify the early adopters and understand the importance of this customer
segment
 Bring your customer to life by creating customer personas
 Craft your solutions using the left section of the Value Proposition Canvas by
defining the gain creators and pain relievers
 Apply Outcome Driven Innovation to identify what else your product can do to
get a “wow” from the customer

Session 1: Customers and Markets (CORE) - 4 Item[s]

You have identified a problem worth-solving! For whom are you solving this
problem? Is it the CUSTOMER or the CONSUMER? Watch the Video: Customer
vs. Consumer, and then go through the activity, Customer vs. Consumer to
understand the difference between the two.

In this session, you will explore the four different market types as explained by Steve
Blank in the video, There are 4 types of Startups. Watch the video and use Student
Handout: Market Types for a class discussion on the same.
Session 2: Identify Your Customer Segment and Niche (CORE) - 6 Item[s]

You will identify 2-3 customer segments and your niche through these two activities:

 Identify Your Customer Segment

 Find Your Niche

Watch the videos, Segmentation and Targeting and Niche Marketing, and refer to
Additional Reading: Segmentation and Targeting.
Session 3: Identify Jobs, Pains, and Gains, and Early Adopters (CORE) - I - 5 Item[s]

Let’s now look at a very valuable tool that will help you understand your
customer really well – the Value Proposition Canvas. Note that the left side
focuses on the product/solution and the right side focuses on the customer,
his/her gains, pains, and jobs.
Solution :

Option A is correct.

The Value Proposition Canvas is divided into two halves – Customer segment on the
right and Value proposition on the left.

You should start with the Customer Segment side on the right. This helps identify the
problems with the jobs to be done, gains, and pains from the Customer’s point of
view. After this, move to the Value Proposition side of the canvas on the left, and list
down products and services based on the customer’s requirement.

Solution :

Option A is correct.

One Value Proposition Canvas should cater to 1 Customer segment. If you have
2 or more customer segments, you should create one Value Proposition Canvas
for each Customer segment. This is because each Customer segment might want
to get different jobs done from your product/service and might have different
pains and gains.
Solution :

Options A and B are correct.

Pains are things that annoy a customer before, during, or after trying to get a job done.
They may also be things that prevent a customer from getting a job done. In this case,
needing to visit multiple stores to check a certain medicine’s availability or to carry all
medicines back home, are all pains. So, the online store which offers home delivery
removes these pains for the customers.

Solution :

Option B is correct.
For a product to be successful, it should offer the customer what they really need. It
should also address all customer pain points, both moderate as well as severe. Being
the first in the market does not assure success.

Session 4: Identify Jobs, Pains, and Gains, and Early Adopters

(CORE) - II - 2 Item[s]
Now that you have identified the jobs that your customer wants get done and have
identified their pains and gains, it is time to identify those who need your
product/service the most the early adopters. These early adopters will serve as the
litmus test for your product or service.

In this activity, you will identify your early adopters and learn how they can help you
market your product/service. Go through Student Handout: Early Adopters to
understand better how to identify them, and then use Activity Instructions: Identify
Your Early Adopters to take up the activity.

Once you have identified your early adopters and have a fairly clear idea about your
customer, try bringing your customer to life by creating personas. Personas are
nothing but fictional characters that represent different mindsets, motivations, and
behavior patterns of your customer segments.

Use Activity Instructions: Create Personas and read through Student Handout:
Personas to create your own customer persona.

Session 5: Craft Your Value Proposition - I (CORE) - 4 Item[s]

Now you need to focus on the left section of your canvas. By capturing your Products
and Services, Pain Relievers, and Gain Creators, you are crafting your solution and
your value proposition.

1.Video: Value Proposition and Assessing Fit

2.Video: Value Proposition and Assessing Fit - Example

Solution :

Options A and C are correct.

Customer Jobs and Pains are part of the Customer Segment of the VPC, along with
Gains.

The Value Proposition segment comprises the left side of the VPC and includes
Products and Services, Gain Creators, and Pain Relievers
What are gain creators?

Create outcomes and benefits that the customer expects, desires or is surprised by

What does FIT mean?

When customer is excited about the value proposition because it addresses the
important jobs, pain and gains offer customers

Your value proposition is said to achieve a “fit” when:

Select the correct option.

Options:

Solution :

Option C is correct.

A “fit” is achieved the Value Proposition addresses the important jobs, pains, and
gains. The right side of the canvas, i.e. the Customer segment side must align perfectly
with the left side of the canvas, i.e. the Value Proposition.

Lesson 4 Business Model

This is the fourth lesson of the Foundational Course in Entrepreneurship. It is 4 hours

long.

You identified a PROBLEM worth solving in Lesson 2, and in Lesson 3, you

identified your CUSTOMER SEGMENTS and SOLUTION.

In this lesson, you will create your business model using the Lean Canvas. You will
also present your business model to your facilitator and your peers. This will be the
second milestone of your practice venture journey.

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

  Explain what is a business model and why it is important
 List the nine blocks of the Lean Canvas
 Explain the Lean Approach and how it helps in the venture creation process
 Create your own business model using the Lean Canvas template in 20 minutes and
identify the Riskiest Assumption/s in your business model

Session 1: Basics of Business Model and Lean Approach (CORE) - 4

Item[s]

This session introduces you to two new concepts: Business Model and the Lean
Approach. Watch the videos to learn more.

To understand how an enterprise applies and benefits from the Lean Approach, watch
the video, The Tesla Case Study.

Next, you will complete an activity on identifying the problem, solution, and customer
segments of existing companies. Download Activity Instructions: Identify the
Problem, Solution, and Customer Segments of Existing Companies.

Video: Introduction to Business Models. This video is attributed to Strategyzer.

Copyright 2018 — Strategyzer AG, Löwenstrasse 2 CH, 8001 Zürich, Switzerland

Why is the Lean Approach better than the Waterfall approach for building products
and services?

Select the two correct options.

Solution :

Options A and B are correct.

Lean approach works better for entrepreneurs as it is the only approach that lets you
build a little of your product and then test it in the market before building too much
and waiting too long to receive customer feedback.
A business plan is a static plan showing your business milestones, while a business
model is a dynamic one where all components can keep changing.

Solution :

Solution: True.

In today’s world, with lots of uncertainty around, we need dynamic business models,
not static business plans. Therefore, Ash Maurya recommends a “no business plan
approach” i.e. an approach where an entrepreneur does not spend time working on a
perfect plan that one plans to execute in the future.

Session 2: Sketch the Lean Canvas - I (CORE) - 6 Item[s]

In this session, you will create your business model using the Lean Canvas template.
Take a print of the template and follow the instructions in the video, Capture Your
Business Model in 20 Minutes - Lean Canvas. Use colored post-its and pens.

You can also refer to a few example Business Models before you start.

While creating your business model, you should start with which two blocks of the
Lean Canvas? Select the correct option.

Solution :

Option C is correct.

While creating your business model, you should start with the Problem and Customer
blocks of the Lean Canvas. This is because these two blocks drive the rest of the
canvas.

Session 4: Risks and Assumptions (CORE)

When filling up your Lean Canvas, did you realize that all that you were writing in the
Lean Canvas blocks are just your guesses or assumptions?
Hidden inside your assumptions are your business risks. For example, your Customer
Segment block may cite, Elderly folks living in Metros. However, unless you test your
idea or product with them and succeed, it is an assumption and a risk.

However, is everything on a Lean Canvas to be tested?

In this session, you will complete an activity, Identify Your Riskiest Assumptions.
Watch the video, Risks and Assumptions by Ash Maurya. Also, read the document,
Additional Reading: Tips to Prioritize Your Risks and Assumptions.

Now that you have filled up the Problem and Customer Segment blocks of your Lean
Canvas, you need to find out how customers are solving the problem at present. Are
they using products offered by a competitor? If so, what are the benefits of that
product? This is Competition Analysis.

Once you complete Milestone 2 Task: Competition Analysis, you may need to
revisit the Unique Value Proposition block on your Lean Canvas.

You will also need to be ready with your second Milestone presentation, Milestone 2:
Present Your Business Model. Download the template from LearnWise and start
filling it up.

This content is attributed to Ash Maurya and his book, Running Lean, Second Edition
(OReilly). Copyright 2012 Ash Maurya, 978-1-449-30517-8.
Session 5: Blue Ocean Strategy
This is the 5th lesson in Foundational Course in Entrepreneurship V1. It is 7 hours
long and has 7 CORE hours.

“Life's too short to build something nobody wants.” – Ash Maurya, Running Lean.

In the previous lesson, you created your business model using the Lean Canvas,
identified the riskiest assumptions of your business model, and conducted a
competition analysis. Based on your findings, you will now refine your unique value
proposition using the Blue Ocean Strategy.

You will also validate your riskiest assumptions by building and testing a solution
demo and conducting solution interviews.

Next, you will build a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and validate it through MVP
interviews. The results of your MVP interviews will help make your solution product-
market fit.

You will present your MVP to the class. You will also launch your MVP in or around
your college campus. It is time to start making money from your practice venture!
This will be the third milestone of your practice venture journey.

Finally, you will present your MVP to the class.

In this lesson, you will validate the riskiest assumptions of your business model by:

 Building your solution demo

 Validating your solution demo or planning to pivot through solution
interviews
 Building your MVP
 Validating your MVP or planning to pivot through MVP interviews

As per the Blue Ocean Strategy, what should an entrepreneur focus on?

Select the two correct options.

A) Acquiring new customers

D) Looking for new market space

Solution :
Options A and D are correct.

According to the Blue Ocean Strategy, the best way to grow is to look for new market
space that is not crowded, rather than trying to get a bigger share of the existing
market space. As existing markets get crowded, products become similar to one
another resulting in extreme competition and lesser profits. So, as an entrepreneur,
you should always look for a new market segment with new customers, where your
last worry can be fierce competition!

In the red ocean we have

 Limited Growth
 Limited Profit
 Competition
 Rivalry

Blue Ocean provide abundant opportunities of growth and profits because their

You have developed a gadget which can sense potholes on the road when fixed to a
vehicle, and give you a warning in advance. There is no similar product in the market.
Will it be correct to assume that you have no competition?

Select the correct option.

Solution :

Option B is correct.

If there is no similar product in the market, it is the the substitute products which
become the competition.

E.g. If there’s no restaurant serving vegan food in your area, your competition could
be the shops selling vegan ingredients and those homes which cook vegan fare at
home.
Such extravaganza on a regular basis. You now decide to tone down your
restaurant to a casual eatery, which focusses mainly on the food. Which step of
the Four Actions Framework are you applying here?

Select the correct option.

Reduce

Option A is the correct answer.

By toning down your restaurant from a fine-dining to a casual eatery, you are reducing
the extravaganza that came in the form of silver cutlery and laced napkins.

Session 3: Build Your Solution Demo and Conduct Solution Interviews - I (CORE) -
3 Item[s]

Imagine expending much time and effort in building a full-blown solution that your
customers do not want. To avoid such a situation, you need to build a solution mockup
or a demo and test run it with customers. Watch video: Build a Solution Demo.
Complete activity, Build Solution Demo (Mock-ups) - I.

To gain substantial learning from your product demo, conduct customer interviews.
Read the instructions, tips, and complete Milestone 3 Task 1, Build Your Solution
Demo and Conduct Solution Interviews.
This content is attributed to Ash Maurya and his book, Running Lean, Second Edition
(O'Reilly). Copyright 2012 Ash Maurya, 978-1-449-30517-8.

Build a Solution Demo

What is a Solution Demo?

b) It is the smallest possible solution that can stand in for the actual solution for
testing.

Solution :

Option B is correct.

The Solution Demo is the core component of your offering that can stand in for the
actual solution for testing. The idea is to test run your demo offering with your
customers before investing in building a full-fledged product or service that nobody
wants. This is a Lean Startup technique which helps you validate your solution.

Tips Of a demo:

 Give the customer a real sense of the solution and not a wireframe of sketches.
 Don’t build an unnecessarily flashy demo, you need to be simple as possible.
 Use your own resources, don’t hire so that you can quickly so that you can later
on develop the final version ready for testing. Creating a complicated mock-up
which requires hiring resources can actually increase the turnaround time.
 Build as many mockups as you need, that solves more than one problem.
 Use Actual names and real data not dummy data.

You are creating an app-based solution for an online library of text books and
related study materials. At the minimum, what should you have as your solution
demo?

Select the correct option.

c) A working version of your app showing the basic features such as the Home page,
login button, catalogue button, etc.

Solution :
Option C is correct.

Here are a few tips you need to remember before building a solution demo:

Don’t make a mockup or demo so simple that it’s only an image.

Don’t build an unnecessarily flashy demo; you demo easy to replicate in reality

Keep it simple so that you can build it quickly using your own resources as far as
possible

Build as many mockups as you need; if your solution solves more than one problem,
build a separate mockup to demonstrate each requirement. [RK1]

Session 6: Building an MVP (CORE) - 3 Item[s]

After your product achieves a problem-solution fit, you are now ready to build your
minimum viable product (MVP). But what is an MVP and how is it different from a
solution demo? Watch videos: MVP-How to Build a Startup, Difference between
Solution Demo and MVP.

Next, you need to actually go ahead and build your MVP and conduct MVP
interviews. Showcase your MVP to your customers and use the script provided in
Milestone 3 Task 2: Build MVP and Conduct MVP Interviews to record customer
feedback.

The video, MVP-How to Build a Startup is part of an online course, How to Build a
Startup. © 2011-2018 Udacity, Inc.

Lesson 6:Money

Session 2: Revenues and Pricing (CORE) - 4 Item[s]

n this session, you will learn about the various types of revenue that can be generated
from a business and how you can identify these revenue streams. You will also revisit
the price that you had set for your product/service after conducting your customer
interviews and re-estimate the price based on your understanding and findings since
then.

Watch the videos, Revenue Streams and Pricing and use the handouts, Activity
Instructions: Identify Your Secondary Revenue Streams and Activity
Instructions: Estimate Your Revenue and Price, to complete the activities.

Fixing the right price is the key to your successes, if the price is too high it may scare
way your customers, it the price is too low you may not be able recover your cost.

Why is it important for an entrepreneur to set up the right pricing?

Select the correct option.

Options:

Solution :

Option C is the correct answer.

Deciding the price at which you will offer your product can be very tricky and very
important. Fixing the right price for a product or service is the key to making a profit.
Price it too high, and your customers may not buy. Price it too low, and you may not
be able to cover your costs. The right price point should fetch you both – customers as
well as profits.

Profit= Revenue –(Fixed and variable) Cost

You must set up your market segment and know their at which price they are willing
to buy the product. The price for product and service must below the point of the
highest price the customer is willing to pay.
There are three types of prizing

Maximizing

A process by which a company determine the price and product output level that
generates the most profit

Market penetration

Involves pricing the product at a LOW PRICE to win dominant market share, in order
to again adobtion of the product.

Market skimming

A profit maximization strategy used by high tech and low availability goods, you first
start with the high price and slowly reduce the price to capture more customer base at
low price, an example is apple and other tech companies that sell their latest product
realize at high price, the oldest version are sold at low price.

The __________________________ strategy works by pricing your product low

to maximize broad adoption of the product.

Select the correct option.

Solution :

The correct answer is Option B.

Market Penetration involves pricing the product at a low price to win dominant
market share. The strategy is to price your product low so that you get a great
customer response and build a great market segment. Here, the entrepreneur looks at
the volume resulting in overall revenue as opposed to per-unit profit.

Remember to always consider marketing survey by meeting the real customers to

determine their wiliness to pay. This will help you to set the right price as perceived
for the value of the product.

As an entrepreneur, you should follow which pricing strategy?

Select the correct option.

Solution :

Option B is the correct answer.

It is always easier to price a product higher to start with, and lower the price later
through discounts and offers if you discover your price is too high. Doing it the
other way can be risky. However, be careful that you do not quote an unreasonable
price - customers are typically wary of artificial pricing, which is when you set a price
which does not accurately represent the product.

As a startup entrepreneur, what should you remember while building revenue

streams for your business?

Select the two correct options.

It is a good practice to build as many revenue streams as possible

You should try to build dependable revenue streams where you can tap into the
same customer for repeat revenue.

Options A and C are correct.

Any added source of revenue which brings money to your business is a revenue
stream. It is important to clearly define your revenue streams and list their sources,
their pricing, and lifecycle. With these details, you should evaluate whether the
revenue stream is profitable or not before adding it to your business.

Session 4: Bootstrapping and Initial Financing (CORE) - 4 Item[s]

You have identified your costs and revenue and done a business profitability check.
Now is the time to think how you will go about meeting your initial costs. Do you
have all the money that is required to get you started and till when? From where will
you get your funds? Remember the Bird-in-Hand principle of effectuation?

Keeping that in mind, this session will help you understand how to source your initial
finances through bootstrapping and how and where you should use your funds during
your early days. Watch the video, Bootstrapping; Sources and Uses of Funds, to
understand what bootstrapping is all about. You will also take up two activities,
Identify Sources and Uses of Funds and Case Studies on Bootstrap Finance using
the relevant handouts available under Resources.

What is bootstrapping?

Starting a business using your own resources without using external capital

Bootstrapping is starting a business using your own resources without using external
capital. Bootstrapping directly ties back to the “Bird-in-Hand” Effectuation principle
that you learned earlier.

Bootstrap financing is probably one of the best and most inexpensive routes an
entrepreneur can explore when raising capital.

Question

Bootstrapping is based on which of the following Effectuation principles?

Bird-in-Hand principle

Patchwork Quilt principle

Options A and D are correct.

While the Bird-in-Hand principle asks you to start with what you have, the Patchwork
Quilt Principle urges entrepreneurs to explore their contacts and leverage their
network.
In Bootstrapping, you are doing both of these – you are taking stock of your resources.
Additionally, you are approaching all people in your network to loan you some money
for your idea.

Key Strategies to use funds

 Convert fixed cost to variable costs.

 Lease furniture and equipment.
 Buy used equipment.
 Rent vehicles for delivery.
 Use your negotiation skills.
 Don’t outsource services that can be done by yourself.
 Hire part timers.
 Cut personal expenses
 Watch your money like an oak

Lesson 7: Team (FLEX)

This is the 7th lesson of the Foundational Course in Entrepreneurship. It is 7 hours

long, and is divided into 2 CORE hours, 4 FLEX hours, and 1 ASSIGNMENT hour.

Wow! Not only do you have your product/service offering in place now, but you also
have an inkling of the funds that you will require to set your venture in motion and
from where to source those funds. But who will take care of all these aspects? Can
you do it alone? Obviously not! You need people, you need a team, and you need to
manage that team. This lesson is all about that.

Note: You may or may not have a situation in your venture where you need to hire
people. So, some aspects of this lesson may not be directly relevant to you now. But
you will need to take care of this if and as your venture grows, and you have a hiring
requirement.

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

 Understand Shared Leadership and its importance in an entrepreneurial venture

 Adopt and practice the Shared Leadership approach
 Understand the importance of building a team
 Identify the best practices involved in hiring a team
 Recognize the importance of a co-founder in an entrepreneurial venture
 Identify the roles for which you need to hire
  Create Job Description templates for the roles that you have identified for
hiring

Session 1: Shared Leadership (FLEX) - 4 Item[s]

Well, since you are going to start your own ventures, you need to gear up to have your
own team. But before that, you need to learn how to manage a team. In this session,
you will learn about the three most popular leadership styles – Autocratic, Shared, and
Laissez-Faire.

You will do a small role-play to understand how each type of leader behaves and what
the team experiences under such a leader. Your facilitator will play the videos,
Adopting Shared Leadership – Activity Instructions, and Shared Leadership and
Team Building to guide you through the role paly.

Watch the video, Adopting Shared Leadership – Debrief to understand which style
of leadership will work best for you at this point in your entrepreneurial journey and
why. Use the handout, Activity Instructions: Adopting Shared Leadership to
complete the activity.

Autocratic Leadership:

Description: In an autocratic leadership style, the leader holds significant control and
decision-making authority. Decisions are made without much input from subordinates,
and the leader tends to dictate tasks and expectations.

Characteristics: Clear hierarchy, quick decision-making, limited employee input, strict

guidelines.

Team members can lose sense of ownership and belonging, negative emotions and
dissatisfaction among team members, this there can lead to failure of achieving goals.

Shared/ Democratic leadership

Leaders provide freedom to all team members to contribute while leading the team,
this allows things to happen with collective decision making and there is a sense of
ownership among the team. Team members are always happy and there is trust within
them.

Shared Leadership involves giving opportunity for two or more people leading the
team.

Leadership is assigned based on skills and experience of each person. The main aspect
of the shared leadership is to take the entire team towards a common goal

The drivering principle of this leadership are;

 Ownership
 Co-creation
 Trust
 Alignment to the bigger picture.

In order to get someone on board, you can get someone who shares your vision and
responsibility in a start-up

Warning

 Identify co-founder only if you need one that your venture does indeed require
on at that time. Don’t just appoint one just for the sake of it.
 Don’t be in a hurry to find co-founder
 Go slow until you find the right match for co-founder

Question

In an entrepreneurial set-up, why is it important to hire a co-founder?

c) To have a partner to exchange ideas, discuss strategy, and share workload

Option C is correct.

It is important to hire a co-founder as he/she is someone with whom you can share
your vision and responsibilities. Companies like Google, Apple, and Twitter go on to
prove that finding the right co-founder can help build a lasting company. However,
you should look for a co-founder if and only if you are sure that your venture does
indeed require one.

Question

How are lead roles assigned under Shared Leadership?

The founder and co-founder assign lead roles based on the experience and expertise
of each person in the team.

Shared Leadership involves two or more people sharing the responsibilities of leading
the team. In Shared Leadership, lead roles are assigned based on the experience and
expertise of each person. Shared Leadership takes the entire team towards a
common goal. And the driving principles of Shared Leadership are ownership, co-
creation, trust, and alignment to the big picture.

Transformational Leadership:

Description: Transformational leaders inspire and motivate their team members to

achieve their full potential and exceed their own expectations. They often focus on
fostering a positive and collaborative work environment.

Characteristics: Charismatic leadership, vision-setting, encouragement of innovation,

emphasis on personal development.

Laissez-Faire Leadership:

Description: Laissez-faire leaders adopt a hands-off approach, providing minimal

guidance to their team members. They allow individuals or teams to make their own
decisions and take responsibility for their work.

Characteristics: A lot of freedom is given to team member, High autonomy for team
members, minimal direct supervision, emphasis on individual responsibility, can lead
to both high and low productivity depending on the team.

It's important to note that these leadership styles are not mutually exclusive, and
effective leaders may use a combination of these styles depending on the situation and
the individuals involved. Different contexts may require different approaches to
leadership.

This type of leadership can lead to chaos since there is no defined structure of how
things should be done.

Also no one can be held accountable for the wrong results.

Question

Which of the following leadership styles leads to dissatisfaction and lack of

ownership in the team?

Autocratic Leadership style

An autocratic leader thinks of himself as the Lord and Master and directs the team to
do things his or her way. It is either “my way or the highway” for this
leader. Dissatisfaction and lack of ownership among team members can eventually
result in failure.

Question

A leader practicing the Shared Leadership style would

A leader who practices the Shared Leadership style works with the team. The leader
provides freedom to all team members to contribute while leading the team. This
allows things to happen with consensus and there is a sense of ownership amongst the
team. Such leadership is the ideal style of leadership for the success of an
entrepreneurial venture.

Coming Up with a Team

Since you cannot do everything on your own, it’s important to come up with teams.
Teams helps to further the business even without you, otherwise without teams all that
you are doing is creating a job for yourself.

True success of an entreprenure comes from founding teams, Never-Say-Die

ATTITUDE and relentless execution.

Common rules you can find in every organization

Head/Leader; This person is the visionary of the business who sets long term
strategies and direction

Technology Officer

This person is in charge of all technology decisions such as digital platforms,

ecommerce and model apps.

Financial Officer;

Takes care of all financial aspects as accounting, budgeting and cash management.

Sales and Marketing;

Takes care all activities of sales marketing e.g. customer acquisition, relationship
building, meeting sales targets, brand awareness, market research, content creation
and promotional campaigns.

Its important to hire appreciate individuals for these positions depending on the nature
of the start-up and the resources you have. Select individuals that complement your
strength and fill gaps of you weaknesses.

Session 2: Hiring & Fitment, Team Role and Responsibilities (FLEX) - 2 Item[s]

You have been hearing about a team and how to manage a team. But where is the
team? How many people do you need in your team? For what roles do you need them?
On what terms should you hire them – full-term or contractual or freelancers? Who is
a co-founder and why do you need one? You will learn all of these in this session.

Watch the video, Identifying Co-founders and Hiring a Team, to know all about the
right strategy. Use the hand out, Activity Instructions: Identify Job Roles for
Hiring to lay down your own hiring strategy.

Hiring.

You can not cop-up with wrong hiring mistake at start-up, you need to put in
place/together hiring strategy. If you have decided to hire one or more co-founders,
here are a few things you need to do;

1. You must have clear reasons on to why you need co-founders, this could be
sharing cost or to bring in skills that complement your strength.
2. You need to create co-founder profile
3. Think of where and how to find people who fit these profiles
 4. Complete all formalities of paperwork before bringing them on board.

How to manage co-founders.

 Be clear about company’s vision.

 Have trust and confidence in each other.
 Understand each other’s thought process.
 Motivate each other to succeed.
 Divide roles, responsibilities and share-holding.
 Decide who will lead the organization.

To make sure that you and your co-founder share a healthy and positive relationship,
which of the following principles should you follow?

Select the two correct options.

a) Share the company’s vision with your co-founder

c. Divide roles, responsibilities, and shareholding

Options A and C are correct.

To ensure that you build a healthy and positive relationship with your co-founder, you
should share your company’s vision with your co-founder. You should also be
transparent and divide roles, responsibilities, and shareholding. You should trust your
co-founder.

Hiring Strategy for teams

When to hire

Don’t Hire, delay hiring as long as you can because hiring is a cost and responsibility
to the company which could put a strain to your company limited resources. Therefor
only hire when the founding team are not able or unequipped to cope with the
workload

How to hire.

This could be in terms of interns, freelancers, contractual employees or full time

employees.

It is always important to have limited number of fulltime employees in start-ups.

Who to hire.

You need to consider deciding on typical skill set that you would like to hire.

Technical skills, eg programmers and networkers.

Management, Do you need people with managerial skill to handle administration,

sales, marketing, finance and human resource

Skilled and semi-skilled;

Do you need people such as drivers, welders and power technicians?

Unskilled staff.

For example delivery boys, office cleaner. Select those who have moral values, ethics
and trust, those who can accomplish their assigned task. They must be passionate
about learning and doing.

Where? (Places to look these individuals)

Come up with jobs description that you will post in college notice board, job sites and
social media.

Question.

As an entrepreneur, what is the first hiring principle that you should always remember
and follow?

Option D is correct.

The best hiring strategy is don’t hire. Delay hiring for as long as you can, because:
• Hiring a team is a cost to the company and a responsibility….

• And, it could put a strain on the limited resources of your company.

Therefore, if you plan to hire, do so only if the founding team is unable to cope with
the workload or does not have the skills to take up the workload.

Lesson 8: Marketing and sales

This is the 8th lesson of the Foundational Course in Entrepreneurship. It is 6 hours

long and is divided into 4 CORE hours and 2 FLEX hours.

In this lesson, you will be able to execute key marketing and sales-related tasks in the
context of your venture, such as creating a Positioning Statement, Branding Strategy,
Company Profile, Sales Plan, and Sales Pitch. You will also learn to select the right
Channels to promote your product/service and make a sale.

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

 Differentiate between brand, product, and branding.

 Create your brand strategy and write your positioning statement.
 Identify the channels best suited to address the objectives of communication
and delivery for your product/service to your customers.
 Create your company profile.
 Make a sales plan based on the customer acquisition funnel.
 Identify the key metric to track progress in sales.
 Make a sale.
 Prepare an outstanding sales pitch with the help of your positioning
statement.

Session 1: Positioning and Branding (CORE) - 3 Item[s]

Did you know that a PRODUCT is what you sell, a BRAND is the perceived image of
that product, and BRANDING is your strategy to build that image? In fact, your brand
flows from the positioning statement that you make.

In this session, you will first do an in-class activity with the help of Student
Handout: Create Your Positioning Statement to position your product/service well
in front of your customer.

Next, you will learn what branding is all about by watching the Video: What Is
Branding? You will then create the brand strategy for your venture with the help
of Student Handout: Create Your Brand Strategy.
A brand represents what the customers thinks and feels about the product.

A brand evokes emotions in the customer’s mind because they get attached to the
product over a period of time.

This emotion is built as a result of the customer’s interaction with the brand and the
reputation the brand builds for itself. It takes time and effort to build a brand.

Question

Which of the following statements are true about branding?

Select the two correct options.

A brand is the image of the product in the customer’s mind.

Good branding can be the differentiator between a product that sells and one that does
not.

Options A and D are correct.

A brand is how the customer identifies your product. A brand is not just a word, name
or a logo. A brand evokes an emotion in the customer’s mind because they get
attached to the brand, over a period of time. This emotion gets built up as a result of
the customer’s interaction with the brand and the reputation the brand builds for itself.

Tips of creating a brand.

1. The brand should consistent with what the product is actually is. If you say
your product is offered at the lowest price in the market, then it should be at
the lowest price.
2. Use every opportunity to reinforce your brand to the customers. Even if it as
simple as writing your logo on your own car.
3. Don’t try to please everybody, concentrate only on your target customer
(segment). E.g. if you are selling a luxury car you cannot associate with
local farmer’s market.
4. When you form partnership, always associate with strong brands.
5. Be consistent in all your communication, for example; your website,
brochures, company profile, letter head, social media platforms must
maintain the same colours, statements and all information regarding you
company and products and services.
Question

Which among the following tips should be your first priority while creating your
brand?

Select the correct option.

Option C is correct.

It is very important that your branding is always what your product does or says. For
example, if you are a pizza maker who promises fresh pizzas, you have to make sure
that all your pizza bases are freshly made from dough. Similarly, if you claim that
your product is offered at the lowest price in the market, then it should be at the
lowest price.

Session 2: Channels - I(CORE) - 2 Item[s]

This session focuses on how to select the right channels to communicate and deliver
your product to the customer.

In this session, you will watch the video, Introduction to Channels to understand
what are channels, their types, and how they help you in your entrepreneurial journey.
You will also learn how to select the right channels for your venture using
the Student Handout, Selecting Your Channels.

However, going through the list of channels and then selecting the right one for your
venture is quite an exhaustive task. Therefore, you will carry on with this activity in
the next session from where you leave off here.
What communication channels can be used for

 Letting customers know that we exist.

 Giving customers detailed information about our products and services.
 Engaging with the customer.
 Getting feedback from the customer
 Or even building a community of users.

Question

Channels serve two important objectives for a venture.

Select the two correct options.

 Letting the customers know about its presence

 Delivering the products or services to the customers

Options A and D are correct.

We can use channels for the purpose of communicating with our customers and also
for delivering the products and services to our customers.

Communicating with customers can imply anything from letting our customer know
that we exist to giving detailed Information of our product features. Communication
channels can also be used for engaging with the customer, getting feedback, or even
building a community of users.

Delivery can mean either initiating a trial, making a sale, or enabling the return of a
purchased good which the customer doesn’t want any more.

Channels

Can either mean initiating a trial or making a sale or enabling a return?

Tips of getting started with channels.

1. Leverage on free and low cost channels as you can. E.g. Facebook page has got
no direct cost but newspaper cost money.
2. Channels right for early days many not be relevant for the later days. E.g.
Channels you use for early adopters may not work when you need large scale
delivery.
 3. Do not try to be everywhere, prioritize only on a few channels
4. Remember to be consistent with your messaging across channels.

Question

Which of the following is a best practice for a new entrepreneur while using
channels?

Select the correct option.

Leverage free and low-cost channels

Option C is correct.

As a new entrepreneur, you are likely to have limited money and resources. Therefore,
you should keep your costs as low as possible. One way to do that is to leverage free
and low-cost channels.

NOTE: Focus on yours goals and channels for early adopters as the simplest way to
reach your customers.

Keep in mind that the channel is key for two purposes,

1. Communicating with your customers

2. Delivering the product.

Session 3: Channels

In this session, you will pick up from where you left in the previous session. So go
back and pull out the incomplete Student Handout: Selecting Your Channels and
complete it in this session.

Session 4: Sales Planning - I (CORE) - 6 Item[s]

This session and the next is all about planning for a sale and having a solid SALES
PLAN before you hit the ground.
Before making the plan, you must first understand why customers ‘would buy’ or
‘would not buy’ your product/service. To do so, watch these videos: Why Customers
Won’t Buy – Introduction, Why Customers Won’t Buy – Psychological Biases,
Why Customers Won’t Buy – Switching Costs, and go through Additional
Reading: Why Customers Buy?

You will then make your own SALES PLAN using a funnel approach. But who will
you make this plan for? Obviously, your customers! It is evident that your Sales Plan
must include the steps to approach and acquire your customers. Watch the video on
Customer Acquisition to understand this concept better.

You will also indicate your Key Metrics to enable progress tracking in sales.
Additionally, you will make your Sales Pitch with the help of your Positioning
Statement that you crafted during an earlier session. So, keep that handy. Go through
the Student Handout: Make Your Sales Plan and Sales Pitch to do this activity.

Sounds a lot? Don’t worry! You don’t need to complete all this at one go – you can
use the next session also to get all this done.