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Purpose of this assessment
This unit provides students with an understanding of the definition and scope of entrepreneurship and an understanding of the enablers and barriers to business start-up.
Students will learn about the influence of national culture and economy on entrepreneurship and will explore the personal characteristics of entrepreneurs and the impact of personal situational factors, including education and background. Students will also learn about the role and importance of small firms to the economy, and about social enterprise and the social economy. Students will also be expected to understand the balance of risk and reward in starting a new venture and they will investigate and reflect on their own entrepreneurial and enterprising characteristics. The purpose of this assessment is to test the knowledge, understanding and creative analysis of the students on the topic of entrepreneurship.
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Scenario
CNBC
3rd January 2018
Billionaire Richard Branson: This simple trick is the best way to come up with an idea for a successful business
If you want to become your own boss in 2018, coming up with a business idea is the first step. If that feels daunting, billionaire serial entrepreneur Richard Branson has advice: Start by asking yourself what you could do to make your own life better or easier.
"Entrepreneurship in its truest form is about identifying a gap in the market and creating a product of use to fill that hole and make people`s lives better," writes Branson in a blog post on Tuesday.
"Often the best way to find this gap is to look around you — are there services that could be improved or a product that could make something easier?" says Branson, who is currently worth more than $5 billion, according to Forbes.
There is never a “one-size-fits-all answer to business and being flexible and adaptable is a key skill needed for success”.
Based on the words of Sir Richard Branson, as a mentor in your small business committee, you are required to compile a report to boost and build entrepreneurship amongst young adults. You are to “mind the gap” and shift the attention to entrepreneur education by exploring the range of business ventures available and examining the different environments that foster and hinder entrepreneurship.
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Task 3
Case Study
Steph Croft-Simon, founder of Nom Foods, launched Nom Popcorn in 2015, which, she says, was the first organic popcorn brand in the UK. “I knew there was a market for popcorn that was simple, free from artificial flavours, and that wasn’t covered with refined sugar,” she says. However, it wasn’t easy. “It was difficult to track down an innovative manufacturer who could deal with the specific requirements of sourcing organic, ethical ingredients, and making sure that the production facility was gluten and dairy-free.”
After seeking advice and carrying out several trial runs, she launched with salted, salted maple and cinnamon maple flavours, each containing about 100 calories a bag. Now her popcorn is available from stockists such as Ocado, Whole Foods and Abel & Cole.
With big brands such as Metcalfe’s Food Company’s Skinny Popcorn and Tyrrell’sPoshcorn swooping in, the market for the snack has become crowded. But smaller players believe this brings added advantages. “Big brands have lots of money to spend on marketing their ranges, which is also great for us as they’re doing great work making popcorn a favourite go-to snack,” says Croft-Simon.
Sales of potato crisps have taken a hit,but have not yet been crushed by the rise of the kernel. “While popcorn has enjoyed phenomenal growth over the past five years, its market penetration is still a long way behind that of crisps,” says Anita Winther, Mintel food and drink analyst, who adds that popcorn is eaten by 34% of adults, compared to 81% for potato crisps. “It’s unlikely that popcorn will rival the popularity of crisps, which can be considered a British institution with a broad following across the generations.”
The popularity of popcorn here – the UK consumes twice as much popcorn as any other nation in Europe – has much to do with its versatility, in Croft-Simon’s view: “It can be eaten at all times of the day – we make popcorn granola for breakfast.” Brands are now expanding their ranges – Propercorn launched a range targeted at children last year. “While we’ve watched healthy snacking boom among adults, there remains a real need for healthier on-the-go alternatives for kids,” says Propercorn co-founder Cassandra Stavrou.
Winther believes popcorn and its innovative flavours are here to stay. “Young people eat savoury snacks the most and popcorn has made it on to their repertoire,” she says. “It is likely to remain there as they grow older.”
Based on the case study answer the following questions:
- Determine and analyse the characteristic traits and skills of a successful entrepreneur that differentiates them from other business managers. Illustrate your answer with examples from the case study.
- Assess and analyse how aspects of the entrepreneurial personality reflect entrepreneurial motivation and mindset?
- Explore and examine different arguments relating to entrepreneurial characteristics, such as are entrepreneurs born or made? Can anyone learn to be an entrepreneur?
- Examine, using relevant examples from the case study, how background and experience can hinder or foster entrepreneurship.
- Analyse the link between entrepreneurial characteristics and the influence of personal background and experience to specific successful entrepreneurs. Critically evaluate how the background and experience influences entrepreneurs, both positively and negatively. Illustrate your answer by comparing and contrasting examples that you have researched independently from the case study.
This provides evidence for LO3 and LO4
Word count: minimum 2000 words
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