Instructors Manual for Entrepreneurship: The Practice and Mindset 1st Edition.
Answers to Questions in the Text Chapter 1: Entrepreneurship: A Global Social Movement ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN ACTION Niari Kevarian, CEO & Partner, Zooz Greek Iced Teas 1. In what ways do you see Niari Kevarian as being totally dedicated to the success of ZOOS? What does dedication mean for the entrepreneur? Sample Answer: Niari Kevarian has demonstrated total dedication to the success of her business by seeking out a business partner (Tsipouras) who has a wide range of complementary knowledge and skills and by investing large amounts of time and effort in researching her target market and otherwise building her business. Entrepreneurial dedication is a combination of learning what you need to know to be successful and then committing to actually doing the hard work required to apply that knowledge. 2. To what extent do you agree that entrepreneurship is “a marathon, not a sprint?” Provide some examples to support your position. Sample Answer: One of the biggest mistakes a new entrepreneur can make is to assume that the success of one’s business is assured in a short period of time as long as one “puts in the hours.” No matter how smart you are or how well you do your homework, and regardless how many hours you may initially invest in a new venture, if you are going to build a successful business model that lasts, a certain measure of time and patience will also be required. It is possible to be a very hard worker and still fail as an entrepreneur. You may even be very smart and research-oriented, yet still fail as an entrepreneur. Similarly, patience alone does not ensure success. To succeed as an entrepreneur, you must strike the right balance of intelligence, work, and patience. In a marathon, it does not really matter how fast your first mile split time is. What matters is what your average mile split time is—and whether or not you cross the finish line. The same is true in the marathons of entrepreneurship. 3. How does an entrepreneur have control over his or her own future? How is being an entrepreneur different from working in a “regular” career when it comes to control and decision-making? Sample Answer: An entrepreneur has a great deal of control over one’s future if one is successful in an entrepreneurial venture. However, one should always remember that a significant investment of research, hard work, and patience is usually required to achieve that success; such substantial commitments should not be taken lightly. Becoming an entrepreneur does empower an individual with a lot more decision-making power and autonomy over what
one does and when one does it. Conversely, in a traditional job one’s decision-making power and autonomy are more limited as one must largely comply with one’s supervisor’s bidding.
MINDSHIFT Tell Me Your Story 1. In what ways did your chosen entrepreneur confirm your beliefs and expectations? Sample Answer: Unique to each individual student’s interview experience. 2. In what ways did the story overturn them? Sample Answer: Unique to each individual student’s interview experience. 3. What did you learn that was most unexpected? Sample Answer: Unique to each individual student’s interview experience.
RESEARCH AT WORK The Diana Project 1. What do you see as the value of studying women’s involvement in entrepreneurship?
Sample Answer: This answer is open-ended allowing subjective analysis by each student. However, a point from the article worth reiterating here is that, “teams involving women entrepreneurs tended to perform as well or better than male-only companies.” 2. How would you reevaluate and update the venture capital model as suggested at the end of this feature? What changes should be made? Sample Answer: This is also an open-ended question aimed at affording students with an opportunity to individually analyze the issue. A point that should be made salient, however, is that an increased focus on and prioritization of promoting women entrepreneurs and executives is what led to their receiving more attention and securing greater amounts of venture capital as a gender. Continuing to focus on and prioritize the same is therefore likely to lead to decreasing historical disparity even more. 3. If you were designing a study of some other underrepresented group in entrepreneurship, how would you go about it? What would you need to know to formulate your research questions? Sample Answer: Like the two preceding questions, this one is likewise open-ended and invites subjective responses that will vary from student to student. In formulating one’s questions, an