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Entrepreneurship. Edition No. 6

  • Book

  • 496 Pages
  • March 2025
  • John Wiley and Sons Ltd
  • ID: 6025086

Guides aspiring entrepreneurs through the process of starting a new venture in today’s economy

Entrepreneurship is an essential resource for both undergraduate and MBA courses on new venture creation. With a focused “hands-on” learning approach, this leading textbook integrates contemporary cases, practical examples, and foundational theory in a single volume. Student-friendly chapters explain each step of the entrepreneurial process, including idea generation, prototyping, opportunity evaluation, business model development, team building, marketing, financial forecasting, legal and tax considerations, and much more.

Now in its sixth edition, Entrepreneurship is thoroughly updated to reflect today’s business environment. Entirely new material on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital marketing is accompanied by new examples and case studies of entrepreneurs facing issues in the real world. Throughout this edition, the authors provide timely insights on engaging with new ventures as investors, bankers, accountants, lawyers, vendors, customers, and employees.

Delving into the real-world trials and tribulations of entrepreneurs in the US and around the world, Entrepreneurship, Sixth Edition, remains the go-to textbook for upper-level undergraduate business, management, and entrepreneurship majors, MBA students, early-career business professionals, and general readers wanting to understand what it takes to create a new venture in the modern business landscape.

New to this Edition:

  • Expanded reflecting current approaches and recent developments in the sphere of entrepreneurship
  • New chapter on digital marketing, including real-world strategies and challenges
  • New coverage of the role and impact of AI in starting a new venture, especially around prototyping
  • Updated discussion of the entrepreneurial competitiveness of various nations
  • Revised material on prototyping new ideas and business models
  • New end-of-chapter cases, examples, and references

Wiley Advantage:

  • Helps students develop an inclusive perspective on how businesses are born, grow, and succeed or fail
  • Covers all stages of the entrepreneurial process from pre-startup through harvest, including financing, business planning, and creating realistic financial forecasts
  • Presents an up-to-date and well-balanced exposition of all concepts and cases
  • Contains actual cases of entrepreneurs facing the issues discussed in each chapter
  • Provides an “Opportunity Journal” for students to reflect on the lessons and consider how to apply them to their future careers
  • Includes sample syllabi, chapter outlines, case lecture notes, an image bank, discussion questions, a test bank, classroom activities, and other teaching resources

Table of Contents

Preface xvii

1 An Opportunity to Lift All: The Power of Entrepreneurship 1

Global Roots and an American Proliferation 3

An Evolution of Entrepreneurship and Small Business in the United States 5

An Entrepreneurial Evolution Becomes a Revolution 6

Three Revolutions Converge 10

Entrepreneurship Revolution Strikes Gold 11

Causes of the Entrepreneurial Revolution 12

Changes in the Entrepreneurial Framework Conditions 14

Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 17

Principal Findings from GEM 18

Activity 19

Gender 21

Age Distribution of Early-Stage Entrepreneurial Activity 21

Growth Expectations and Job Creation 22

Environmental and Social Entrepreneurship 24

Entrepreneurship and Today’s American Dream 25

Conclusion 26

Your Opportunity Journal 27

Web Exercise 27

Notes 27

Case: Zoey Koko: Choosing an Alternative 30

2 The Entrepreneurial Process 39

Critical Factors for Starting a New Enterprise 40

Evaluating Opportunities for New Businesses 45

Determining Resource Needs and Acquiring Resources 50

Profit Potential 54

Ingredients for a Successful New Business 55

Conclusion 57

Your Opportunity Journal 57

Web Exercise 57

Notes 57

Case: Vedavoo 60

3 Opportunity Recognition, Shaping, and Reshaping 69

From Glimmer to Action: How Do I Come Up with a Good Idea? 70

Is Your Idea an Opportunity? 76

The Opportunity Checklist 91

“I Don’t Have an Opportunity” 91

Conclusion 93

Your Opportunity Journal 93

Web Exercise 93

Notes 93

Case: ISlide, Inc. 95

4 Prototyping Your Ideas 102

What Is Prototyping? 103

Types of Prototyping 106

Using AI to Accelerate Entrepreneurial Prototyping 111

How Is AI Useful for Entrepreneurs? 111

Using AI to Help Identify Unmet Needs 112

Using AI for Idea Generation 114

AI for Rapid Prototyping 114

Risks of Using AI 116

Conclusion 117

Your Opportunity Journal 117

Web Exercise 117

Notes 117

Case: Design a Better Cable Trainer 118

5 The Importance of Business Models 126

Introduction 126

The Core (Steps 1, 2, and 3) 129

The Market (Steps 4, 5, 6, and 7) 131

Customer Segments (Step 4) 132

Marketing Channels (Step 5) 132

Distribution Channels (Step 6) 133

Revenue Streams (Step 7) 134

Product and Operations (Steps 8, 9, 10, and 11) 135

Resources (Step 8) 135

Partners (Step 9) 135

Key Metrics (Step 10) 136

Cost Drivers (Step 11) 136

The External Environment and Financial Strategy (Steps 12, 13, and 14) 138

Competitive Environment (Step 12) 138

Industry Attractiveness (Step 13) 138

Financial Strategy (Step 14) 138

Conclusion 139

Your Opportunity Journal 139

Web Exercise 139

Notes 139

Case: Zumba Fitness 140

6 Entrepreneurial Marketing 147

Why Marketing Is Critical for Entrepreneurs 148

Entrepreneurs Face Unique Marketing Challenges 148

Acquiring Market Information 149

Marketing Strategy for Entrepreneurs 151

Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning 151

The Marketing Mix 152

Value Proposition: Articulating the Entrepreneurial Strategy 164

Social Media 167

Guerrilla Marketing 168

Marketing Skills for Managing Growth 169

Understanding and Listening to the Customer 169

Building the Brand 170

Conclusion 171

Your Opportunity Journal 171

Web Exercise 171

Appendix: Customer Interview 171

General Outline: It Needs To Be Tailored To Meet Your Research Needs 172

Notes 172

Case: Raised Right 174

7 Digital Marketing for Entrepreneurs 183

Introduction 183

Poem Model 184

Generating Awareness and Leads Using Paid Media 185

Metrics of Digital Advertising 185

Paid Search Marketing 186

Programmatic Advertising 188

Native Advertising 188

Sponsorships and Affiliate Marketing 189

Connecting With Your Customers in Owned Media 189

Owned Media: Websites and Landing Pages 189

Internal Web pages versus direct landing pages 190

Webpage Goals 192

Conversion Centered Design Goals 193

Making Your Website More Findable: Search Engine Optimization (seo) 193

On-Site: Keywords 193

Other Aspects of On-site SEO 194

Off Site SEO: Backlinks 194

Off Site SEO: Creating Useful Content 194

Owned Media: Social Media 195

Content Strategy for Organic Posts 196

Types of Organic Social Posts 197

Owned Media: Email 198

Owned Media: Other Content 199

Earned Media 199

Sentiment and Marketing Research 199

Influencers, Public Relations and Publicity 200

Leveraging User generated Content (UGC) 200

The Buyer’s Journey - Planning and Assessing Your Digital Marketing Content 201

Conclusion 204

Your Opportunity Journal 204

Exercises 204

Notes 205

Case: PetPax Co. 206

8 Building the Founding Team 213

Power of the Team 214

Where Do You Fit? 216

How to Build a Powerful Team 219

Bootstrapping: Building the Team Based on Stage-of-Venture Life 221

Compensation 223

Equity 223

Salary 227

Other Compensation Considerations 228

External Team Members 228

Outside Investors 229

Lawyers 229

Accountants 230

Board of Advisors 230

Board of Directors 231

Keeping the Team Together 232

Burnout 233

Family Pressure 233

Interpersonal Conflicts 234

Conclusion 234

Your Opportunity Journal 234

Web Exercise 235

Notes 235

Case: Bin, Inc. 236

9 The Business Planning Process 245

The Planning Process 247

The Story Model 248

The Business Plan 249

The Cover 249

Executive Summary 249

Table of Contents 250

Industry, Customer, and Competitor Analysis 250

Company and Product Description 254

Marketing Plan 255

Development Plan 260

Team 261

Critical Risks 263

Offering 265

Financial Plan 265

Appendices 265

Types of Plans 265

Style Pointers for the Written Plan and Oral Presentation 266

Conclusion 267

Your Opportunity Journal 268

Web Exercise 268

Notes 268

Case: ONSUNDAYS: Business Brief 269

10 Building Your Pro Forma 282

Financial Statements 283

Common Mistakes 283

Financial Statement Overview 284

Building Your Pro Forma Financial Statements 285

Build-Up Method 286

Revenue Projections 287

Cost of Goods Sold 288

Operating Expenses 289

Preliminary Income Statement 290

Comparable Method 291

Building Integrated Financial Statements 293

Income Statement 295

Balance Sheet 297

Cash-Flow Statement 298

Putting It All Together 299

Conclusion 299

Your Opportunity Journal 300

Web Exercise 300

Notes 300

Case: ONSUNDAYS: Understanding Your Market and Building Realistic Proformas 301

11 Raising Money for Starting and Growing a Business 314

Bootstrapping New Ventures 315

Informal Investors 316

Business Angels 317

Searching for Business Angels 318

Types of Business Angels 318

Putting Together a Round of Angel Investment 319

Amount of Capital Needed to Start a Business 321

Financial Returns on Informal Investment 321

Crowdfunding 322

Venture Capital 323

Classic Venture Capital 323

Mechanism of Venture Capital Investing 324

Financial Returns on Venture Capital 325

Dealing with Venture Capitalists 326

Negotiating the Deal 328

Valuation 328

Scorecard Valuation 329

Earnings Capitalization Valuation 330

Present Value of Future Cash Flows 330

Market-Comparable Valuation (Multiple of Earnings) 330

Asset-Based Valuation 331

Example of Market-Comparable Valuation 331

Asset-Based Valuation Example 333

Harvesting Investments 334

Initial Public Offering 335

Pros and Cons of an IPO 335

The Process of Going Public 337

BFAI Goes Public 338

Selling the Company 338

Why Be Acquired? 339

Conclusion 340

Your Opportunity Journal 340

Web Exercise 340

Notes 341

Case: Auction Mobility 343

12 Debt and Other Forms of Financing 349

Getting Access to Funds - Start with Internal Sources 350

Start with Credit Cards and Home Equity Lines 351

Cash Conversion Cycle 352

Working Capital: Getting Cash from Receivables and Inventories 352

Using Accounts Receivable as Working Capital 353

The Sales Pattern 354

Cash versus Credit Sales 354

Credit Policies 354

Setting Credit Terms 355

Collection Policies 356

Setting Credit Limits for Individual Accounts 357

Inventory 358

Sources of Short-Term Cash: More Payables, Less Receivables 359

Cash from Short-Term Bank Loans 359

Cash from Trade Credit 359

Cash Obtained by Negotiating with Suppliers 360

Cash Available Because of Seasonal Business Credit Terms 360

Advantages of Trade Credit 361

Cash Obtained by Tightening Up Accounts Receivable Collections 361

Obtaining Bank Loans Through Accounts Receivable Financing 362

Pledging 362

Pledging with Notification 362

Factoring 362

Recourse 362

Obtaining Loans against Inventory 363

Obtaining “Financing” from Customer Prepayments 363

Choosing the Right Mix of Short-Term Financing 363

Traditional Bank Lending: Short-Term Bank Loans 364

Maturity of Loans 365

Interest Rates 365

Collateral 366

Applying for a Bank Loan 366

Restrictive Covenants 367

General Provisions 367

Routine Provisions 368

Specific Provisions 368

Equipment Financing 369

Obtaining Early Financing from External Sources 369

SBA-Guaranteed Loans 369

Applying for an SBA Loan 370

Conclusion 371

Your Opportunity Journal 371

Web Exercise 372

Notes 372

Case: FEED Resource Recovery 373

13 Legal and Tax Issues, Including Intellectual Property 384

Why, When, and How to Choose an Attorney 385

Leaving Your Present Position 385

Corporate Opportunity 385

Recruitment of Fellow Employees 386

Noncompetition 386

Intellectual Property 387

The Basics: What Is Protectable and How Should It Be Protected? 388

Patents 388

Trade Secrets 393

Trademarks 395

Copyright 397

International Protection for Intellectual Property 399

Choice of Legal Form 400

Control 401

Personal Liability 402

Taxation 402

Initial Investment of the Founders 404

Choosing a Name 405

Negotiating Employment Terms 405

Disposition of Equity Interests 405

Legal and Tax Issues in Hiring Employees 408

Employees as Agents of the Company 408

Employment Discrimination 409

Employment Agreements 409

Raising Money 409

Conclusion 410

Your Opportunity Journal 411

Web Exercise 411

Notes 411

Case: Wefunder: Leading the Growth of a New Industry 412

Appendix A: A Sample Wefunder Offerings 418

14 Entrepreneurial Growth 420

Making the Transition from Start-up to Growth 421

Looking Forward: The Choice to Grow, or Not, or Sell 421

A Model of Driving Forces of Growth 423

The Growth Process 424

Execution 425

Instituting Controls 426

Tracking Performance 427

Managing the Cash Cycle 429

Leveraging the Value Chain 431

Maintaining the Entrepreneurial Organization 432

Opportunity Domain 432

Organizational Resources and Capabilities 435

Obtaining Financial Resources for the Growing Company 435

Intangible Resources and Capabilities 436

Leadership 438

Starting the Delegation Process 438

First-Level Management 440

From Delegation to Decentralization 440

Professional Management and Boards 440

Coordinating the Driving Forces 441

Leading People; Developing Entrepreneurs 441

Conclusion 442

Your Opportunity Journal 443

Web Exercise 443

Notes 443

Case: Connecting Students with Therapists Immediately 445

Appendix: Competitors 451

Glossary G- 1

Index I- 1

Authors

Andrew Zacharakis Babson College. Andrew C. Corbett Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. William D. Bygrave Babson College; INSEAD (the European Institute for Business Administration).