Crucial Questions (CQs)

They have been called the six most powerful questions in the world.
They are core to journalism, to market research, to building personal wisdom, to ???

• Who?
• What?
• Where?
• When?
• Why?
• How?

Ask them at your own peril!

Mentor Guidelines

Here are some "rules of the road" for venture team mentors that we used at the University of Arizona, not only as mentors but as teachers as well with students learning the principles of innovation and entrepreneurship ...

1. Appropriately implements a teacher-designed lesson plan
2.  Communicates specific standards and high expectations for learning
3.  Links learning with students’ prior knowledge, experiences, and backgrounds
4.  Models the skills, concepts, attributes, or thinking processes to be learned
5.  Demonstrates effective written and oral communication
6.  Uses appropriate language to communicate with learners clearly and accurately
7.  Uses strategies that are appropriate to students’ development or functional level
8.  Incorporates strategies which address the diverse needs of learners
9.  Encourages critical thinking
10.  Connects lesson content to real life situations when appropriate
11.  Uses technology and a variety of instructional resources appropriately to promote student learning
12.  Uses a variety of effective teaching strategies to engage students actively in learning
13.  Maximizes the amount of class time students are engaged in learning
14.  Provides opportunity for students to use and practice what is learned
15.  Adjusts instruction based on student feedback
16.  Promotes student self-assessment
17.  Uses a variety of appropriate formal and informal assessments aligned with instruction
18.  Maintains records of student work and performance and uses them to guide instructional decisions
19.  Offers students appropriate feedback on progress towards learning expectations
20.  Maintains privacy of student records and performance
21.  Works with students to enhance learning at home and at school
22.  Collaborates with other professionals, faculty, and staff to improve the overall learning environment for students
23.  Accesses community resources and services to foster student learning
24.  Demonstrates productive leadership or team membership skills that facilitate the development of mutually beneficial goals
25.  Demonstrates knowledge of disabilities and their educational implications
26.  Demonstrates knowledge of state and federal laws and regulations
27.  Demonstrates knowledge of a variety of assistive devices that support student learning
28.  Applies specialized diagnostic and assessment procedures to assist in determining special education eligibility for all areas of suspected disability
29.  Assists in the design and implementation of individual educational programs through diagnostic teaching, instructional adaptations, and individual behavior management techniques
30.  Utilizes para-educators and para-therapists effectively through training and supervision
31.  Addresses physical, mental, social, cultural, or community differences among learners
32.  Addresses prior knowledge of individual and group performance
33.  Reflects long-term curriculum goals
34.  Includes appropriate use of a variety of methods, materials, and resources
35.  Includes learning experiences that are developmentally or functionally appropriate for learners
36.  Includes learning experiences that address a variety of cognitive levels
37.  Includes learning experiences that are appropriate for curriculum goals
38.  Includes learning experiences that are based upon principles of effective instruction
39.  Includes learning experiences that accurately represent content
40.  Incorporates appropriate assessment of student progress
41.  Establishes and maintains standards of mutual respect
42.  Displays effective classroom management
43.  Encourages the student to demonstrate self-discipline and responsibility to self and others
44.  Respects the individual differences among learners
45.  Facilitates people working productively and cooperatively with each other
46.  Provides a motivating learning environment
47.  Promotes appropriate classroom participation
48.  Listens thoughtfully and responsively
49.  Organizes materials, equipment, and other resources appropriately
50.  Applies own best judgment at all times

Conjoint Analysis

Conjoint analysis is a statistical technique used in market research to determine how people value different features that make up an individual Product or Service. The objective of conjoint analysis is to determine what combination of a limited number of attributes is most influential on respondent choice or decision making. A controlled set of potential products or services is shown to respondents and by analyzing how they make preferences between these products, the implicit valuation of the individual elements making up the product or service can be determined. These implicit valuations (utilities or part-worths) can be used to create market models that estimate market share, revenue and even profitability of new designs.

Advantages

• Estimates psychological tradeoffs that consumers make when evaluating several attributes together
• Measures preferences at the individual level
• Uncovers real or hidden drivers which may not be apparent to the respondent themselves
• Realistic choice or shopping task
• Able to use physical objects
• If appropriately designed, the ability to model interactions between attributes can be used to develop needs based segmentation

Disadvantages

• Designing conjoint studies can be complex
• With too many options, respondents resort to simplification strategies
• Difficult to use for product positioning research because there is no procedure for converting perceptions about actual features to perceptions about a reduced set of underlying features
• Respondents are unable to articulate attitudes toward new categories
• Poorly designed studies may over-value emotional/preference variables and undervalue concrete variables
• Does not take into account the number items per purchase so it can give a poor reading of market share

[Thank you, Wikipedia]

Business Plan Guidelines

Here's an outline for a venture plan. It does a good job of identifying the key information that the venture team needs address.

A typical first-round investor-grade business plan is usually about 20 - 25 pages, plus separate appendices.

There are many possible outlines for a business plan ... remember, a key purpose of a business plan is to mitigate risk ... we are selling our venture concept here and need to show the reader that we know our stuff!

A. Cover Page ... Company name, company location, contact information, legal statements (proprietary information, copyright, etc.) ...

B. Executive Summary ... independent one page document ... the exact same executive summary that you used to entice the prospective investor or corporate executive to want to read this plan

C. Table of Contents ... one page.

D. Opportunity ... tell a story here!  Engage the reader!  Two to four pages. 

1. Problem / Opportunity: The problem your venture will solve, the significance of the problem, the opportunity this offers your venture, quality of the opportunity, growth potential ...
2. Product and/or Service Solution Description: Essential product/service idea, category of product/service, proprietary protection, entry strategies ...
3. Customers and Target Markets: Target market characteristics, size, why this market is the best for your venture, market validation research ...
   

E. Environment and Competition ... three to five pages.

1. Environment and Context: Industry overview, research results and analysis, major competitors, benchmark ventures, timeliness, regulations ...
2. Innovation: what your venture does that is new and better
3. Competitive Advantages: Market focus, value proposition, core competencies, barriers to entry, competitive validation, how your venture will position itself to meet the competition, ...
   

F. Goals and Strategies ... critical and key information as appropriate to your venture ... three to five pages.

1. Goals, vision, mission.
2. Value Proposition.
   
3. Business Model: How your venture will earn a profit, expected margins, sources of recurring revenue ...
4. Organization: Management team, relevant domain knowledge of the team, commitment, advisers, directors, management to be added, culture, talent ...
5. Product Development Strategies
   
6. Marketing and Sales Strategies: Pricing strategies, distribution model, partnering, promotional strategies ...
7. Technology Strategies: Technology, product development ...
8. Operational Strategies: Production methodologies, manpower requirements, equipment requirements, material management, flow diagram of key processes ...
9. Intellectual Property and Legal Issues Strategies: Patents, trademarks, trade names, copyrights, trade secrets, operating and other agreements, legal structure ...
   
10. Development Plan: Current company status, number of employees, development stage, early revenue, number of customers, relevant historical information, long-term venture goals, growth strategies, timeline ...
11. Risks and Contingencies: Downside risks and contingency plans, upside risks and expansion plans ...
    

G. Financial Projections ... Key assumptions, historical financial statements (if available), pro forma statements ... four or five pages.

H. Funding Proposal ... independent one or two page document.

1. Resource Requirements: Short summary of financial projections; total investment funding and resources being sought, use of funds in 4 or 5 general categories, any unusual use of funds, return on investment to investors and entrepreneurs, harvest strategy ...
2. Call to Action: What do you want the reader to do ... join your team, invest, meet with you to learn more ... ?
   

I. Summary ... A brief summary (sales pitch) of the opportunity, environment and competition, goals and strategies, financial projections ... The final who, what, where, when, why, and how ... one page.

J. List of Available Appendices ... Variety of support information ... resumes, product data sheet, marketing brochure, research data, etc.

How to Talk to the Media

Getting your venture name in a news story in your local newspaper or other media can create valuable free publicity, but getting the media’s attention is only half the battle. What really matters is how well you handle the interview. Some guidelines for your next media blitz ...

• Be ready. Never send out press releases without being prepared to speak about the topic you’re pitching.
• Prepare. Ask the reporter what the article is about, so you’ll know how best to contribute. If you own a craft brewery, is the article a profile of your brewery? Have some good stories about your startup and growth to share. Is it an overview of the craft brewing trend? Be ready to discuss where you think the industry is going.
• Stay on track. If a reporter asks you about industry trends, don’t tell her how your grandfather’s recipe for chocolate stout inspired you to start the business, and how your grandfather was a Russian immigrant who kept pot-bellied pigs in his backyard, and ...
• Promote your “talking points.” Reporters expect interviewees to promote themselves a bit. If you are asked about trends in the craft beer industry, you could reply, “IPAs have become mainstream; now sour beers are growing in popularity. That’s one reason we’re introducing our new line of sours, which is already seeing growth of 20 percent.”
• Provide hard data. Be ready to share any data you can to back up what you say. The craft beer entrepreneur could also have shared industry data about the growth of sour beers overall.
• Be helpful. Be on time for the interview and let the reporter know you’re available for any follow-up questions. Journalists prefer working with nice people.

[Thank you, Rieva Lesonsky]

Cool Internet/App Tools!

• 5Ktips.com
• Blogger.com ...
• Evernote.com ...
• Google Docs ...
• Google Keep ...
• StartBox.io
• SquidNotes.com  ...
• Thesaurus.com ...
• Time.is ...
• Wikipedia.com ...

Elements of a Mission Statement

A mission statement is a description of how the team will achieve the vision for the venture. A mission statement should include a summary of ...
... Core values
... Target customers
... Stakeholders
... Products
... Competitive advantage
... Values provided to customer
... Markets served
... Industry

Mission statement seed: "We will earn a profit solving customer problems better than the competition."

Killing Creativity

Creativity is such a fragile creature, easily wounded, often destroyed. A few of the weapons, simple phrases or actions, that can be used to kill creativity include the following ...

• We don't take any risks around here ...
• We don't have time ...
• It would take too long ...
• We don't have resources ...
• Well, maybe tomorrow ...
• It's not my job ...
• It's not your job ...
• That's a dumb question ...
• The rules are ...
• You're going to fail ...
• It would cost too much ...
• It's impossible ...
• Why don't you write a report ...
• It's not your job ...
• That's been done before ...
• That's not how we do things around here ...
• Their ideas don't count ...
• Well, maybe next week ...
• That's a stupid idea ...
• Yes, but ...
• Well, maybe next year ...
• If it ain't broke, don't fix i t...
• It's good enough already ...
• We don't have money ...
• It's never been done before ...
• We tried that and it didn't work ...
• I don't like it ...
• Our customers wouldn't like it ...
• That's not really creative ...
• That's crazy ...
• (Yawn)

5K

Elements of Successful Innovations

1. Relative advantage ... the perceived superiority of an innovation over the current product or solution it would replace. This advantage can take the form of economic benefits to the adopter or better performance.
2. Compatibility ... the perceived fit of an innovation with a potential adopter’s exiting value, know-how, experiences, and practices.
3. Complexity ... the extent to which an innovation is perceived to be difficult to understand or use The higher the degree of perceived complexity, the slower the rate of adoption.
4. Trialability ... the extent to which a potential adopter can experience or experiment with the innovation before adopting it The greater the trialability, the higher the rate of adoption
5. Observability ... the extent to which the adoption and benefits of an innovation are visible to others within the population adopters. The greater the visibility, the higher the rate of adoption by those who follow.
6. Functional performance ... an evaluation of the performance of the basic function
7. Acquisition cost ... initial total cost
8. Ease of use ... use factors
9. Operating cost ... cost per unit of service provided
10. Reliability ... service needs and useful lifetime
11. Serviceability ... time and cost to restore a failed device to service
12. Compatibility ... fit with other devices within the system

5k

Phases of Innovation

1. Preparation ... focus on the problem or opportunity, and who it affects
2. Exploration ... identify current solutions, alternatives, and substitutes
3. Stimulation ... use creativity techniques to trigger new ideas, concepts, and solutions
4. Incubation ... give the new ideas some time and thought
5. Illumination ... identify new ideas, concepts, and solutions
6. Selection ... establish and use clear criteria for selecting the "best" concept
7. Planning ... decide how to implement the concept
8. Implementation ... put the plan and concept to work
9. Evaluation ... determine if the new concept is working
10. Iteration ... apply incremental improvement to the concept, or start over

5K

Right and Left Brain

You got two brains, use them ... but not both at the same time!


LEFT BRAIN characteristics ...

• ANALYTICAL
• Logical
• Sequential
• Rational
• Objective
• Looks at parts
• Conventional
• FOLLOWS THE RULES ...

RIGHT BRAIN characteristics ...

• CREATIVE
• Intuitive
• Holistic
• Synthesizing
• Subjective
• Looks at wholes
• Transformational
• BREAKS THE RULES ...

[Thank you, Roger Sperry]

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Elements of a Marketing and Sales Plan

1. Market research and analysis ... customers, problem, solutions, competition, risk and reward, resources, feasibility ...
2. Opportunity
3. Mission
4. Business model
5. Marketing objectives
6. Sales goals
7. Competitive advantage strategies
8. Positioning strategies
9. Target market and customer segments
10. Product and service offerings
11. Value proposition
12. Pricing strategies
13. Sales strategies and tactics
14. Distribution strategies
15. Promotional strategies
16. Customer relationship management

5K

What We Need to Know About Our Competition

1. Who are our primary competitors?
2. On what basis do we compete?
3. What are our competitive positions?
4. What are our respective market shares?
5. What are their strengths?
6. What are their weaknesses?
7. What are their primary opportunities?
8. How are they a threat to our venture?
9. How do you compare to our competitors?
10. Who are our future competitors?
11. What strategic opportunities exist in the market?
12. Can we collaborate rather than compete?
13. What are the barriers to future competition?
14. Who are the most likely future competitors?

Elevator Pitch Tips

1. Figure out what is unique about what you do: The whole idea behind a great elevator pitch is to intrigue someone. It's an ice-breaker and a marketing pitch — all rolled into one. Your elevator pitch must have a hook. "I own a flower shop downtown" doesn't hold a candle to "I'm a specialty florist who deals in rare, South American tropical flowers that bloom in the winter."
2. Make it exciting: A superior elevator pitch increases your heart rate. It speaks to who you really are and what excites you about your business. It has integrity. What is it about your business that really motivates you? Incorporate that.
3. Keep it simple: A good elevator pitch doesn't try and be all things to all people. Rather, it conveys a clear idea in a short amount of time. It might be a few sentences, but no more than a paragraph or so. Keep it under 30 seconds.
4. Write it down: Use the guidelines above and take a stab at it. Write down your pitch, say it out loud, re-write it, and then re-write it again. Remember what I always tell my daughters: "Writing is re-writing!"
5. Practice, and then practice some more: The first few times you try out your elevator pitch may be a bit uncomfortable, but it gets easier. After a while, it will become second nature to you, and when it does, you will be glad you practiced.

[Thank you, Steve Strauss]

Name Calling!

Picking a name for a new venture, product. or service is not easy. It may well be one of the hardest things we'll ever do in our venture.

Picking the wrong name could prove disastrous; the right name (brand) could add many sales dollars.

The following checklist should help. However, it is unlikely that any name will meet all these criteria, and there have been many successful names that met but a few.

Good luck!

1. Can we get the .com URL for the name we want? 
2. Is the name distinctive?
3. Is the name instantly recognized?
4. Is the name easy to remember?
5. Is the name pleasant to see?
6. Is the name pleasant to say?
7. Is the name easy to spell?
8. Is the name itself confusing?
9. Is the name easily confused with other names?
10. Is there a connection between the name and the product, service, or business venture it represents?
11. Does the name suggest what the business venture, product, or service does? If not, the tagline that accompanies the name may have to carry more communications weight.
12. Is the name descriptive of the benefits offered by the product, service, or business venture?
13. Does the name convey the proper image?
14. Does the name fit customers expectations?
15. Does the name reinforce customer expectations?
16. Are there any negative connotations with the name
17. Is the name limiting?
18. Does the name coordinate with other names used in the organization?
19. Does the name work in all target markets?
20. Can the name be legally protected? Check with USPTO.gov and your state corporation commission to see if the name you want is already taken. If it is, start over!
21. Can the name be used in other countries?

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