1. Drawing on the concept of causation and effectuation, conduct a feasibility study of your New Venture Concept, and explore the relationship between innovation and entrepreneurship (Approximately 500 words).

TASK DESCRIPTION –

TASK

You are an inventor who has come up with a new idea for a product or service. You are keen to take this idea forward into a startup business. For this product or service, write a business plan to set up the business in the future. The product or service must be innovative (a new product or an improvement to an existing product) and you are expected to develop this idea into a viable technology-based business model.  It is important that you demonstrate that you understand the market in which you are operating.

The structure of the business plan will be as follows:

1. Drawing on the concept of causation and effectuation, conduct a feasibility study of your New Venture Concept, and explore the relationship between innovation and entrepreneurship (Approximately 500 words). (LO1 & LO2)

2. Conduct a competitive and STP analysis to evaluate the opportunity gap in the market and discuss why you are confident that this new business is feasible (Approximately 500 words). (LO3 & LO4)

3. Drawing on relevant frameworks and concepts, discuss your proposed business model and explain how the new venture will work. (Approximately 500 words) (LO5)

4. What kind of business and marketing strategies should entrepreneurs follow to find success? In particular, evaluate the different strategies that are used by entrepreneurial organisations at the start up phase, and during periods of growth, consolidation and underperformance. (Approximately 500 words) (LO5)

5. What are the quantitative and qualitative planning tools that entrepreneurs could use to assess and mitigate their risks? What are the common mistakes that first time entrepreneurs make? (Approximately 600 words) (LO6)

Please be aware that all the word counts mentioned for the individual sections of your plan are provided as guidelines, which could vary depending on the individual plan.

LENGTH REQUIRED

3,000 words (+/- 10%)

FORMATTING AND LAYOUT

Please note the following when completing your written assignment:

1. Writing: Written in English in an appropriate business/academic style
2. Focus: Focus only on the tasks set in the assignment.
3. Document format: Report
4. Ensure a clear title, course, and name or ID number is on a cover sheet and a reference using Harvard referencing throughout is also provided.
5. Research: Research should use reliable and relevant sources of information e.g. academic books and journals that have been peer reviewed. The research should be extensive.

The use of a range of information sources is expected – academic books, peer reviewed journal articles, professional articles, press releases and newspaper articles, reliable statistics, company annual reports and other company information. All referencing should be in Harvard style.

Task	Learning outcomes
Coming up with a business idea and market entry strategies	LO1: Understand and evaluate the concept of entrepreneurship, inter-relationship between entrepreneurship and innovation in business management, and the nature of the macro-environmental context for entrepreneurial activity
Explain the rationale for launching the business	LO2: Critically understand the nature of innovation and appreciate its role in entrepreneurial activity
Review the industry and market with a clear demonstration of an understanding of the variables at work here including a macro/micro analysis of the market place. An STP analysis (Segmentation, targeting and positioning) , providing market statistics (size and growth) to support your selection of the target segment/s.  Who will buy this product and why? Vision and mission of business.	LO3: Assess and critically comment upon the factors that influence entrepreneurial activity in a range of different contexts; analyse on how entrepreneurial capacity can be developed, and evaluate the role that the development of a robust creative approach to learning capability has in the successful identification and implementation of entrepreneurial strategies
Provide a competitor analysis and highlight your competitive advantage	LO4: Analyse the responses of entrepreneurial organisations as opposed to more predictable strategic approaches;
Marketing strategy and market growth strategy	LO5: Evaluate different strategies that are used by entrepreneurial organisations at start up, and during periods of growth, consolidation and underperformance;
Financial plan, risk and mitigation strategies	LO6: Critically evaluate and reflect discursively upon the thinking and analytical techniques that can be used to identify opportunities, and recognise the alternative commercial approaches to exploiting an opportunity;