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CSUF Business Plan Competition2013
Professor Tom Miller
February 6, 2013
RAFFLE
• Everybody sign in with Adrienne • Get a raffle ticket • Don’t lose your raffle ticket • Stay to the end
IDEA VS OPPORTUNITY
• An idea is simply a thought, impression or notion; everybody has great ideas• An opportunity is a favorable set of
circumstances that creates a need for a new product, service or business• Entrepreneurs recognize an opportunity or
gap and create a business to fill it• Entrepreneurs go make it happen
WHERE DO BUSINESS IDEAS COME FROM?
• Solving problems• Observing trends• Economic• Social• Technological• Political and regulatory
• Gaps in the marketplace• By accident
EXERCISE: PEANUT BUTTER AND CHOCOLATE
• Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups combines 2 different things to create a great tasting product.
• Let’s create our own idea with 2 different things. • Divide up into teams. • Make a list of 3 products/services that you like • Trade two of your ideas to another team• Chose one pair of ideas and spokesperson • Pitch to the group
WHAT TYPE OF BUSINESS IS BEST FOR YOU?
• Where do you want to work? • City, suburb, or rural?
• When do you want to work? • 9 to 5? At night? All the time?
• How do you want to dress?• Business suit or blue jeans
• What activities do you enjoy? • Sitting at the computer or traveling
LIFESTYLE VS SCALABLE BUSINESSES
Lifestyle Business
• Delivers income to the owner
• Leverages the skills of the owner
• Often has limited growth potential (not very scalable)
• May involve family/friends • May be a long term hold
Scalable Business
• Goal is grow the business and create equity
• Decisions are made to support that objective
• Often requires investor capital
• Team building is critical • An exit is planned
EXERCISE: THE PERFECT WORK LIFE
If you could do anything you want….– What would you do?– Would you work by yourself or with a team?– Describe your perfect work day…..
MOTIVATION AND OPPORTUNITY
• Successful Entrepreneurs typically love their work • Long work days and weekends come
with a new venture• Find ways to make the idea fun • Thus, if the opportunity doesn’t sound
like fun, then it may not be worth doing
HOT TIP #1
• Don’t keep your business idea a secret• Improve your ideas by talking to as many
people as possible• Ask for criticism and for ways to improve
your concept • Don’t love your idea too much…you may
need to change it or you may even have to let it go
REFINE YOUR IDEA
• Refine your idea until it becomes an opportunity
• Research what others have done – Successes and failures
• Take small steps to verify your concept’s viability
• Share your idea with others
KNOW YOUR INDUSTRY
• Competitors: • Who are your key competitors?• What do they do right? • What do they do wrong? • Are they growing and making money?
• If no true competitors exist*, what are the substitutes?
• What are the unique characteristics of the industry?
• How fast is the industry growing? • *competition can be a good thing
BUSINESS MODEL
• How will you provide value to your customer?• How will you make money?
GO TO MARKET QUESTIONS• Why does your customer want this
offering?• How does your customer want to
buy your product or service? – On Amazon with PayPal or with cash in the alley?
• When do they want to buy?– At night? During the day? Weekends? 24/7?
• Where to they want to buy?– At the mall? On the web?
IN-DEPTH RESEARCH
• The best business concepts address a pressing need or pain that the customer is facing.
• The greater the customer’s frustration with existing solutions (i.e., their “pain”), the more likely they will be willing to try out a new solution.
• As such, it is crucial to talk with prospective customers and understand their needs when assessing the viability of a business concept.
• Even though you are not required to perform in-depth research with prospective customers you can use this information to refine your business concepts.
IN-DEPTH RESEARCH (PART 2)
• Prepare a list of questions about the need for the product / service
• Interview 10-20 individuals. (strangers are preferred over friends.)
• Allocate 30-60 minutes for each interview.• Face-to-face interviews are preferred over telephone
interviews.• Adjust and refine the interview guide as needed. • In the interviews, focus on listening and remain neutral • To get the interviewee to say more ask “what do you mean
________?”
ASSEMBLING THE TEAM
• Diversity matters • What are your skills? Weaknesses?• Teammates v outsourcing • Friends and Family? • Advisors?
Note: It takes time to develop the right team
EXERCISE: SHARE YOUR IDEAS
• Break into groups of three • Share your idea/s with others• Listen to their ideas• Name three things that you like
about each idea• Share with the whole group
THE CSUF BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION
• The purpose of the CSUF Business Plan Competition is:• to encourage teams/individuals to develop a viable business
concept• to evaluate its appropriateness and potential success in the
market• No prior business plan writing experience is required. • We welcome business concepts from all CSUF students. • The Entrepreneurship Center mentors are available to
help you every step of the way.
SCHEDULE1/15/14 First Boot Camp (with Opportunity Prizes) | 1:00 - 3:00pm in
SGMH 1307
1/15/14 Early Bird Competition Applications (info provided at First Boot Camp)
1/24/14 Campus-wide Competition Application Process Begins
2/05/14 Second Boot Camp (with Opportunity Prizes) 10:00am-12:00pm in SGMH 3230
2/14/14 Third Boot Camp (with Opportunity Prizes) 1:00pm-3:00pm in SGMH 1308
2/21/14 Competition Signup Closes
3/07/14 Written Business Concepts Deadline by 11:59pm PST*Revisions will be accepted up to SemiFinals
3/14/14 Semifinalists are announced
3/17 - 3/27/14 Optional Mentoring Available (please contact [email protected] for more information)
3/28/14 Business Plan Competition SemiFinals | Time TBD in SGMH 2405
4/11/14 Business Plan Competition Finals | 1:00pm - 4:00pm in TSU Pavilion A
SIGNING UP
• Go to TITANium• Go to communities• Search for “Business Plan Competition”• Click on “Competition Rules”• Follow directions and if you want to enter then you have to
“enroll” and then “agree” with the rules• After you are done you should see something similar to “Your
selection: I agree to the contest rules and regulations” somewhere on the page
• Must be completed by February 21, 2013 at 11:59pm• If you run into any problems please contact us at
How to Enter
To enter, you will need to answer our CSUF Business Plan Competition Questions. They address the following:• Defines the Business Opportunity• Defines the Industry and Competition• Describes why the business is viable• Identifies critical issues that need to be
resolved
THINGS TO ADDRESS IN THE BUSINESS CONCEPT
• How long have the founders known one another and how did you meet? (Team)• What is your company going to make or
serve? • Why did you pick this idea to work on? • Do you have any work experience or
expertise in this area? (Team)
THINGS TO ADDRESS IN THE BUSINESS CONCEPT (PART 2)
• Who is the target customer? (Market)• How do you know people will need what
you’re making? (Market Research)• What’s new or different about what you’re
making? (Competitive Advantage) • What are the substitutes for your product?
(Industry Analysis)
THINGS TO ADDRESS IN THE BUSINESS CONCEPT (PART 3)
• How will you get customers? (Marketing)• Are you launched? If so, how many
customers do you have?• Do you have revenue? If so, how much?• If you have already started working on your
business, how long have you been working?• If you are launched, what is your monthly
growth rate?
THINGS TO ADDRESS IN THE BUSINESS CONCEPT (PART 4)
• Who are your competitors? (Industry analysis)• What are your different revenue
streams? (Business model) • Do you have a prototype yet?• What about Intellectual Property?
(IP)
THE SEMI-FINALS PRESENTATION
• Set up will be up to 3 minutes. • The semi-finals presentation will be up to 7
minutes in length with only you or your team present (and the panel). • PowerPoint or Prezi is acceptable and
product demos are acceptable.• The judges will ask clarification questions
for up to 5 minutes.
THE FINALS PRESENTATION
• Set up can be up to 3 minutes. • The finals presentation will be up to 15 minutes in length. • PowerPoint or Prezi is acceptable.• Product demos are acceptable.• After you present, the judges will ask clarification
questions for up to 10 minutes. *• The event is open to the public audience. We expect
over 100 people in the audience. *The judges will have read your business concept ahead of the presentation.
WHO ARE THE JUDGES FOR THE FINALS?
• Judges will be drawn from the Orange County entrepreneurial community.
• They will include: • Entrepreneurs• Investors• Bankers • CSUF alumni
WHAT WILL THE JUDGES BE LOOKING FOR?
• Is there a customer that needs or wants your product or service?
• What evidence have you gathered to validate your business concept’s viability?
• Can the team assembled execute on the opportunity?
• Innovative ideas may be favored.
WHAT WILL THE JUDGES BE LOOKING FOR? (PART 2)
• The judges will respond to enthusiasm and authenticity. • The judges are successful business people and
they will like business concepts that make money. • The judges tend to be realists, so make sure
your business concept is doable. • Scalable ideas may be preferred by
the judges.
PRIZES
Over $50,000* in Prizes
Details are forthcoming
*More on the way
QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS???
