Student Resources
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Chapter Resources
Tip: Click on each link to expand and view the content. Click again to collapse.
Chapter 1: Defining Your Industry Focus and the Type of Business You Want to Start
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Video Links
- What it takes to be an Entrepreneur
Founder Impact puts together a compilation of quotes and thoughts on what it takes to be an entrepreneur
- Career Advice
Donald Trump’s advice on how to succeed in your career especially on choosing an industry you like, not what is expected
- Analyzing Industries
How to analyze an industry using Michael Porter’s 5 forces
- Porter's 5 Forces
Porter’s 5 forces are broken down in a fun and entertaining story of someone trying to enter the rubber ducky market
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Web Resources
- North American Industry Classification System
The North American Industry Classification System provides common industry definitions for the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and groups the economic activities of specific companies into specific industries and industry subsectors.
- Yahoo Finance
Yahoo!Finance provides financial data for publicly traded companies.
- Earth Portal
A website for environment innovation, hot topics and online publications of the National Council for Science and the Environment.
- PC Money Tree
Tabulates recent quarter venture capital investments by technology industry.
Chapter 2: Defining the Target Customer
Chapter 3: Defining the Needs of Target Customers
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Web Resources
- Qualtrics & Survey Monkey
These two websites are both excellent tools for conducting surveys to get to know what your target customers are really thinking.
- University Spinouts
An overview of best practices as well as issues with University spin-outs.
- Salesforce.com
Low cost leader of customer relationship management solutions
Chapter 4: Defining Solutions for Customers
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Web Resources
- Pure Pest Management
Pure Pest Management has a great example of a service portfolio and has defined a niche in premium, green, pest management.
- Korkers
An excellent example of modularity. This company creates a solid platform to use across many products
- Dell & Lenovo
Examples of “Good, Better, Best” Product Strategies
Chapter 5: Defining the Business Model for a Venture
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Web Resources
- MIT Business Model Study
A study of 1000 businesses and their business models in an effort to determine if some business models perform better than others
- My M&Ms
A chocolate gifting innovation. Mars has shifted their old business model of commodity candy to personalizing and gifting chocolates
- Ember - an example of recurring revenue
An energy monitoring chip product which leverages connected services to ensure recurring revenue
- Business Model Alchemist
A blog dedicated to business models, business model innovation, and all the things that go along with your business model
- Edmunds
An excellent example of an e-channel
Chapter 6: Positioning and Branding a Venture in the Marketplace
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Web Resources
- Akrivis
Akrivis, a venture discussed in the chapter, functionally positions themselves as ultrasensitive detection
- SFDC , ZOHO CRM, PipeDrive
These three CRM (Customer Relationship Management) Software position themselves as “cloud” companies
- Njabini Apparel
An example of social & emotional positioning
- MYSQL White Paper
Compares companies in terms of e-commerce read/write transactions per second for 1,000 simultaneous users; and Web searches for pricing
Chapter 7: A Reality Check on the Venture Concept and the Business Model
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Web Resources
- Lifeline
Information on Lifeline’s Startup history
- www.adt.com
See benchmark pricing for installations and ongoing monitoring
- Qualtrics & Survey Monkey
These two websites are both excellent tools for conducting surveys.
- United States Census
The United States Census website. This website contains information on population, income, and many other useful facts
Chapter 8: Financial Sources for Startups and Corporate Ventures
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Web Resources
- Accion USA
A microfinance organization that offers small business loans up to $50,000 and credit and business advice to small business owners who cannot access traditional credit
- East Coast Angels
A highly regarded collection of angel investors working out of New Hampshire and Northern Massachusetts that has placed more than $20 million into a number of startups
- The Funded
This website carries the opinions of entrepreneurs who have worked with VC firms across the country
- Dow Jones Private Markets or www.bizcomps.com
Paid data source with all types of granular detail about private company transactions
- Angel List
Angel List is a place where startups can find investors as well as talent to join their team
Chapter 9: Projecting the Financial Performance and Requirements for the Venture
Chapter 10: Organizing the Venture Team
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Web Resources
- Customer Advisory Board
Information to share best practices among Customer Advisory Board (CAB) practitioners, match companies embarking on Customer Advisory Council's with Customer Advisory experts, and promote Customer Advisory Boards as a proven method for increasing sales and customer loyalty in organizations worldwide
- www.iFreelance.com & www.coroflot.com
These are websites for industrial designers who can help improve the look and feel of a new product, packaging, or systems.
- www.cofounderslab.com
CoFoundersLab is a website to find co-founders or other talent to join your startup team
- www.guru.com
Guru.com is a website for finding and hiring freelancers and managing projects online
Chapter 11: Writing the Business Plan
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Web Resources
- USPTO
United States Patent and Trademark Office. Official website for information on patents, trademarks, IP law and process
- Google Patents
This is a place where you can simply search over 7 million US Patents
- Some Thoughts on Business Plans
A Harvard Business Review Case with a framework for assessing new business opportunities and their business plans
Chapter 12: Making the Pitch
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Video Links
- Insights on Seeking Venture Capital
Guy Kawasaki gives tips on seeking Venture Capital
- Tech Stars Demo Day - Libboo
This is a pitch from TechStars Boston Demo day featuring Libboo. This is an example of a great and engaging pitch
- PsychoSoft Pitch
This is another example of a pitch from TechStars Boston for Psykosoft- this is an example of how to make a pitch that fits your personality
- Make a Great Pitch
Guy Kawasaki talks about how entrepreneurs are always pitching, whether it is for talent, funding or customers. He also talks about his 10, 20, 30 rule
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Web Resources
- Guy Kawasaki Blog
Guy Kawasaki’s blog. Guy is a noted observer of technology and a successful investor
- NVCA
A website of boutique VC firms that specialize in consumer or industrial products
- The Funded
This website carries the opinions of entrepreneurs who have worked with VC firms across the country
- How to Pitch VCs
TechCrunch advice on how to pitch to VCs
- VC Term Sheet Lingo
This blog explains many of the terms you will need to be familiar with if your pitch goes well!
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