1st Edition

The Guide to Entrepreneurship How to Create Wealth for Your Company and Stakeholders

By Michael Szycher Copyright 2015
    427 Pages 198 B/W Illustrations
    by Productivity Press

    427 Pages
    by Productivity Press

    Whether you work for an established company and want to trailblaze new products (intrapreneurship), or want to establish your own new venture (entrepreneurship), The Guide to Entrepreneurship: How to Create Wealth for Your Company and Stakeholders supplies invaluable guidance along with concrete action plans. In contrast to academic publications that merely emphasize accounting methods, this guide to intrapreneurship and entrepreneurship focuses squarely on the entrepreneur.

    Demystifying the process of starting a company from scratch, the book provides aspiring entrepreneurs with detailed guidance that is written in plain English. It explores what constitutes entrepreneurial timber and the leadership skills required to raise all the needed capital. If you are thinking of starting your own company or have already decided to take the plunge, this book will help you determine:

    • If you have what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur
    • The value of your idea before funding
    • If you and your team possess the skills required to gain a market advantage
    • How to raise capital effectively

    Explaining the critical importance of intellectual property to investors, the book covers the fundamentals of business valuations. It also explains how to write winning business proposals. While each chapter is designed to stand on its own, the book chapters are arranged in a manner that makes it easy for experienced entrepreneurs to jump from chapter to chapter as they please.

    Identifying the unique set of characteristics that are shared by successful entrepreneurs, this guide will be especially helpful to anyone looking to start new ventures that require a high degree of scientific knowledge.

    Entrepreneurial Timber
    Introduction
    Entrepreneurial Anatomy
    The Entrepreneurial World
    Entrepreneurial FAQ
    Success Characteristics
    Failure Characteristics
    Risk Is a Four-Letter Word
    Challenges of Entrepreneurship
    The Ten Commandments of Entrepreneurship
    References

    Intrapreneurship: Corporate Entrepreneurship
    Introduction
    Definitions
         Kelly Johnson’s 14 Rules of Skunk Works
    Theory of Intrapreneurship
         The 3M Illustration
    Characteristics of Intrapreneurs
    External and Internal Business Environment
    Culture Regarding Innovation
    Corporate Support for Internal Business Creation
    Critical Issues in Intrapreneurship
    The Spin Zone
         The Spin-Out
         The Spin-Off Reorganization
         The Equity Carve-Out
    Intrapreneurship in Academia
    The Ten Commandments of Intrapreneurship
    References

    Women and Entrepreneurship
    Introduction
    Global Impact of Women Entrepreneurs
    Personal Challenges Faced by Female Entrepreneurs
    Women and Success
         Defining Success
         Twenty-Five Leading Female CEOs
    Hurdles to Overcome
    Role of Angel Groups
         Angel Capital Market and Female Entrepreneurs
    The Green Alliance. A Female-Owned Business
         Profile of Sarah Brown, Owner, Director
         The Green Alliance Business Model
         Business Conceptualization
         Green Alliance Mission
         The "Green" Business Enterprise
    An Interview with Sarah Brown
         The Importance of Emotional Support
         Don’t Undersell Yourself
         Overcoming Perceptions, Gaining Respect, and Finding Success
         Putting It in Perspective
    References

    The Entrepreneurial Environment
    Introduction
    Leadership Qualities
         Leaders vs. Managers
         The Centrality of Leadership in a Start-Up
         Leadership Is Situational
    Establishing Your Founder Team
         Elements of Skilled Teams
         Establishing Your Board of Directors
         Selecting Your Board of Advisors
    Authority, Power, and Influence
    The Founder and Organizational Politics
         Power, Politics and Influence
         Organizational Persona
    The Dominant Coalition
         Dominant Coalition as Change Agent
              Theory of Change
              Force Field Analysis
    Leaders Need Followers
         Current Views of Followership
         The Followership Universe
    Time Management
         The Urgent-Important Matrix
    Conflict Management
    Entrepreneurial Rewards
    Entrepreneurial Types
    The Ten Commandments of Leadership
    References

    New Venture Creation
    Introduction
    Corporate Life Cycle
    Global Fortune 500 Annual Turnover
    Corporate Life Cycles
         Greiner’s Model of Organizational Growth
         Churchill and Lewis Growth Model
         New Product Life Cycles
    A Small Company Is Not a Little Big Company
         Cash Is King
    Your Innovative Organization
         Types of Innovation
    Creating Your Own Innovation Culture
    Strategic Planning for Start-Ups
    Your Value Chain Analysis
    Your Value Proposition
    SWOT Analysis
    The Early Adopters
    Bridging the Valley of Death
    References

    Financing Your Dream
    Naming Your Baby
         Bad Company Names
         Bad Product Names
    Incorporating Your New Venture
         Characteristics of Corporations
    Selecting the Optimal Legal Structure
    Legal Powers of Corporate Executives
    Creating Value for Your Stakeholders
    Employee Benefits
    The 3 Fs, Angels, and VCs
         Friends and Family
         Angel Investors
         Venture Capital
    Principles of Raising Capital
    Persuasive Business Presentations
         Rookie Mistakes
    Your Elevator Pitch
              Must Haves
              Brief Descriptions
              Last Three Bits of Advice
    Estimating Start-Up Costs
    Valuing You and Your Team
    Valuing Your New Venture. (Calculating Pre-Revenue Valuation)
              Basic Calculations
              Valuation Examples
    References

    Organizational Structure
    Introduction
    The Founding Team
    Hiring Your Executive Team
         Teamwork Not Titles
         Team Discipline
         Focus on Outcomes, Not Activities
    Too Many Chiefs, and Not Enough Productive Indians
    Accountants and Lawyers
         Accountants
         Lawyers
    Managing Managers
         How Is Managing Managers Different From Managing Projects?
         A Roadmap for Managing Managers Effectively
    Selling Your Vision to Your Team
    Fail as Fast as You Can
    Overcoming Organizational Inertia and Defenses
         Organizational Inertia
         Organizational Defenses
    An Old Aphorism
    References

    Power Negotiations
    Business Negotiations 101
         Negotiation Wheel
         Negotiation Strategies
         Distributive Negotiation
         Integrative Negotiation
    The Entrepreneur as Chief Negotiator
         Start-Up Negotiator Fears
         The Neophobia Syndrome
         If You Expect More, You Get More
    Knowing Your Negotiation "Counterpart"
    Your First Negotiation
         Aligning Interests
    Planning Your Negotiation Success
    The Negotiation Agenda
         Preparing the First Draft of Any Document
         Measuring Success
         Negotiation Strategies
         Negotiation Styles
         Negotiation Tactics
    Laws of Power Negotiation
         The Chicken or Egg Cycle
         The Negotiating Table
         How Is Your Meeting Progressing?
         Power Negotiator’s TIR
    Managing Negotiation Conflict
    Secrets of Power Presentations
    Secrets of Closing the Deal
    The Ten Amendments of Negotiations
    References

    Marketing and Sales
    Introduction
    Selling Your Innovation
         Needs, Wants, and Demands
    Analyzing Your Market
         The Promise of Unmet Needs/Wants
         Costs and Functions of Marketing
    Pioneering Start-Ups
         Crossing the "Chasm"
         Your Pioneer Strategy
    Setting the Right Price
         Establishing Your Pricing Tactics
         Tensions between Marketing and Sales
    The Complex Sale
    Market Segmentation
    Positioning: Your Place in the Sun
         Famous Positioning Statements
         Template for a Positioning Statement
    Sales and Sales Promotions
         Your Sales Force
         Sales Force Compensation
         Sales Force Time Management
    References

    Intellectual Property
    Introduction
    Patentable Inventions
         Who Benefits From Intellectual Property Rights?
    Understanding Patents
         Contents of a Patent
         Claims: The Heart of a Patent
         Claims Categories
         Real Estate Analogy
    Provisional Patents
         Time Limits
         Advantages and Disadvantages
         Patents Can Have Siblings/Children
         International Patent Organizations
    Basis for Venture Investment
    The America Invents Act
         First to File
         No Grace Period
    The Special Case Involving Biotechnology Patents
         Genetic Engineering Patents
         Microbiological Sciences Patents
         Plant and Animal Sciences Patents
         Pharmaceutical and Chemical Sciences Patents
         Medical Sciences Patents
         Microorganisms and Sufficiency of Description
    Practical Advice to Entrepreneurs/Inventors
         Who Is the "Inventor" in Your Company?
         Conception
         Should You Out-License Your Patent?
    Fundraising Importance of Patents
    Trade Secrets in the Start-Up Environment
    References

    Meet the JOBS Act
    Introduction
    The JOBS Act at a Glance
         Title III of the US JOBS Act
         Equal Access and Disclosure
    Crowdfunding
    Issuer Requirements
    Intermediary Requirements
    Funding Portals
         Restrictions on Funding Portals
    Mini-IPOs
    Emerging Growth Company IPOs
         Relief for EGCs
         Confidential Filing Process
         Relaxed Restrictions on Investor Communications
    References

    Strategic Management
    Introduction
    Strategic Corporate Planning
    Core Values and Core Purpose
    Mission, Vision
    Competitive Intelligence
    Marketing Intelligence
         The Pizza Analogy
    Strategic Marketing Goals by MI
    References

    Valuation Techniques
    Introduction
    Value vs. Price
    Pre-Seed Financing
    What Is Your Company Worth at Start-Up (Seed Round)?
         Initial Valuation at Seed Round
         Valuation at Series "A" Round
    Valuation Approaches—Companies with Revenues
         Income Approach
         Discounted Future Returns Method
         Capitalized Returns Method
              Assumptions
    Market Approach
    Asset-Based or Cost Approach
    Venture Capital Valuation
         Staged Capital Infusions
         Venture Capital Metrics
         The Investment "Hurdle Rate"
         Top Ten Lies VCs Tell
    Vulture Capitalist
    Last Words of Advice
         How to Maximize Your Company’s Value
    References

    Writing a Winning Business Plan
    Introduction
    Need for a Winning Business Plan
    The Essential Components
         Common Parts of a Good Business Plan
    Risk Is a Four-Letter Word
    Management Team That Can Execute
         Competent Team
    How Innovative Is Your Invention?
    Ignore Naysayers (and Prove Them Wrong)
    Milestones Make Your Plan Real and Believable
    The Value of Your Plan Will Be Measured by Its Implementation Potential
    Example of a Winning Business Plan
    References

    Harvesting
    Introduction
    Start at the End
         Who Needs an Exit?
    Capitalization Principles
         How to Capitalize Your Start-Up
    Going Public
         Advantages
         Disadvantages
         The Going Public Process
         The Registration Process
    Strategic Alliances
    The "Big Question"
         Drivers of M&A Activities
         Advantages of Strategic Alliances
         Pitfalls of Strategic Alliances
         Best Practices
    Mergers and Acquisitions
         Mergers
         Acquisitions
         The Challenge of M&A
         The Enduring Questions
    The Day That Little David Acquired Giant Goliath—A Case Study
         The Acquisition
         Open Heart Procedures
         CardioTech as the White Knight
         Risk Factors SWOT Analysis of the Gish Acquisition
              Strengths
              Weaknesses
              Opportunities
              Threats
              The Stock-for-Stock Transaction
         An Accretive Acquisition
    Sample Prospectus
    References
    Index

    Biography

    Ph.D Szycher