TASK 1

Reflective blog / Learning journal – section
Generate 100 ideas for a business
Record your 100 ideas and initial thoughts about the process
Evaluating your 100 ideas; Consider the relevance of Kanter critical reflection to your process.
Develope one business idea
-Draft your Business Model Canvas (BMC) hypotheses for a business Idea; Consider the relevance of Sarasvathy critical reflection to your process
Test your hypothesis / pivot ; Consider if the prototype has helped you to change your idea
Evidence of ‘talking-to-people’ and incremental reflection on what this input has meant in terms of testing your hypotheses.
Walk in the customers shoes
Observe customers
Talk to people
Run a survey
Design a ‘near-real’ experiment
– Talk to 10 customer; Record details of your customer interactions; consider the ‘Think / Act / Do cycle’
Design for viability
– Develop an operational plan; Talk to 10 customers; Record details of your customer interactions; are your hypotheses changing? How does this relate to Sarasvathy?
Design for viability
– Develop a team plan and job descriptions; Talk to 5 suppliers; Record details of your customer interactions; what academic theory is most relevant to you at this stage?
– Develop a cash-flow statement from start-up to breakeven / viability; Reflect on the iterative process of development
Design for growth
-Work through the RBV framework; Consider if you are now an effectuator or causator
Thinking about the future
– competitive strategy; Explore the process of planning versus experimentation
Design for growth
– Work through alternative future scenarios (5 year worst-case and best case); Consider the resource implications of success / failure
Work on your BMC for viability and BMC for growth; Record your process and analyse accordingly
Continue to test your hypotheses / refine; Record your process and analyse accordingly

Marking criteria. (2000 words or more)
Critical use of appropriate entrepreneurial theory (40%)
-You need to use your reflective evidence from within each of the identified sections (identified below) to critique identified theory from within the field of entrepreneurship. Harvard referencing must be used

Journal and reflection on ideation (15%)
-This period maps the creative time where you develop the initial idea. Evidence should be given of the evaluation of the 100 business ideas

Journal and reflection on business design for viability (15%)
-This period maps the initial design phase where you developed the business model and functional areas through an iterative process of design, customer interaction and experimentation

Journal and reflection on business design for growth (15%)
-This period maps the final design phase where you developed the business model and functional areas through a process of forecasting and strategic planning

Consideration for development / action plan (15%)
– Following your weekly reflection and critical review you should present an action plan based on your analysis of how you will do things differently in future for each phase e.g. ideation, business design for viability, business design for growth.

TASK 2

Develop a business plan
Business plan section
The business model / plan should not exceed 2000 words, excluding appendices.
Marking criteria

Success / Business model (10%)
– Overview of your business model; This could include a vision, and should articulate your story of business.

Viability summary (5%)
-The plan explains how the business model will reach viability, being the point at which the business reaches breakeven and is economically sustainable.

Components of Business Model Canvas (10%)
-The plan uses the components of the BMC to describe the business model required to reach this level of viability.

Hypotheses (15%)
-The hypothetical linkages between the components of your business model are identified with an explanation of how robust / believable they are e.g. number of customers / suppliers / consulted; observations made; surveys completed.

Growth summary (5%)
-The plan communicates how the business will grow from initial viability to a more ambitious implementation over an extended timeframe (for example 5 or 10 years).

Components of Business Model Canvas (10%)
-The plan uses the components of the BMC that need to change in order for the business model to grow over the identified extended timeframe.

Hypotheses (15%)
-The hypothetical linkages between the components of your business model are identified with an explanation of how robust / believable they are i.e supported through scenario planning, sensitivity analysis, Cost, data-forecasts (Budget, break even analysis)

Evidence base (20%)
-The business model has been developed with evidence of: robust primary research, customer interaction and consultation with experts; diligent use of relevant analytical tools such as scenario planning, etc. Evidence of these must be provided within the appendix

Communication of plan (10%)
-The plan is clearly and consistently communicated, with appropriate grammar and relevant referencing where necessary. Visual techniques are used as appropriate to simplify and reinforce delivery.