New Business Venture - Essay Example

?Q Assessing the social trends is one of the important strategic processes which entrepreneurs have to perform in order to ensure that the businessactually captures the very essence of the society in which it is going to conduct its business. What is also significant to note that the assessment of the social trends also allow the businesses to become more informed hence make more rational decisions. Rational decisions therefore directly and indirectly allow the organizations to utilize their resources in most optimal manner and hence achieve the better efficiency and long term competitiveness in order to survive in the market. (Hill & Jones, 2007). New product development therefore is one of the areas where the entrepreneurs actually have to look into the possibility of the looking into the analysis and identification of the social trends. Social trends provide a critical insight into the way the consumers in the given market. Some of the social trends which need to be explored in order to assess the probability of success for the introduction of the new products include different factors. (Michael A. Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2009) In this given situation since the business is related with the food therefore they can different and variable factors affecting the choices of the Adam in terms of offering new products on the new menu. Since Adam is offering a menu which already offers products which are diverse, there can be different social trends which need to be explored in further details in order to successfully introduce new items on the menu, Some of the important social trends which can be added to the list in order to add items on the menu may be include: Demographics Understanding the demographic trends is one of the key elements in the launching of new products and services. Demographics include factors such as age, the distribution of different genders in the society, the overall population etc. For example, if the population is relatively young, it may be possible that they will be preferring more fast food rather than eating the traditional foods and if the overall ratio of population is aged, it may be quite possible that they will prefer to eat foods which are healthy and correspond to their life style. The overall growth rates in the population are also an important element to be explored in order to ensure that there will be sufficient demand for the product in the future. (Mellor, 2008). Culture Culture is an important element to be explored because it significantly influence the way people behave, act and relate themselves to certain trends in the society. Culture also outlines the overall orientation of the society towards eating out and overall attitude towards food. If it’s a culture in the society that most families tend to eat in-house, it may not be possible for the businesses to actually successfully launch new products.( Wang, 2009). It is also important to understand that the culture can play critical role in outlining the overall features of the product also. Since the existing menu suggest that Adam has taken care of the different cultural needs of the customers by offering Indian, Thai as well as other food, it is therefore important that Adam must take into consideration the overall influence of culture on the introduction of new product on the menu. Life Style Understanding life style is also another important factor which needs to be explored in order to understand as to what life style the consumers subscribe to. The lifestyle can include different factors such as family’s income and how they spend it, whether the family prefers to spend outside and in eating out as well as who makes the spending decisions in the family. It is also important to note that the lifestyle also allow the entrepreneurs to further get an insight into how the overall changes in the lifestyle will actually affect the decision making process of the family as a whole. Health Consciousness Health consciousness can be another important social trend which Adam may need to consider in order rolling out a new product. Health consciousness may deter the consumers to eat out due to the reasons such as catching up diseases, non-hygienic nature of the food and the place etc. The issue of health consciousness can also be more important owing to the fact that Malaysia is truly becoming a global country with tourists coming to the country every year. In such situation, different consumers may tend to prefer to dine at the places which are safe and provide hygienic food. The overall safety consciousness therefore is also an important element which needs to be considered in order to address the issues of such customers who may be relatively more conscious about their eating habits and safety. Career attitudes Understanding the career attitudes can also an important social trend which need to be considered in order to look for the new ideas for product development. In a society where people are more career oriented and give more importance to it, chances are that such families or individuals may not want to spend much time on cooking their meals and rely on quickly obtained foods from the external sources such as restaurants etc. understanding the overall career attitudes of the individuals therefore can offer a critical insight into what type of products can be more successful at the restaurant and offering them at what time will be more profitable. Assuming that target customers belong to the working class group of young and middle aged professionals, offering them effective food menu at the lunch will be an excellent product idea because most of the individuals tend to prefer eating out for their lunch during their office hours. The careful examination of some of the factors outlined above may be of great importance in order to ensure that the new products or items are successfully added to the menu of the restaurant. The overall extent and influence of each factor can however, be different depending upon the overall nature of the product to be launched and the intended target market. Q#2 Strength of New Venture Team It has been demonstrated in many studies that the overall composition and characteristics of the team is one of the absolute essential for the future success of the new venture activity. A better and more balanced team therefore serves as one of the key links to the success of the effort and defines the overall direction and future of the new enterprise activity. (Morrison, 2000). It is also important to note that the leadership aspect of the team can also be considered as one of the key criteria to judge the Any new venture requires an extensive support from the persons who have already demonstrated a considerable degree of success in their previous assignments. Successful entrepreneurs are always those who have the relevant industry experience and have already achieved the required level of the skills required to succeed in any given industry. It has been shown that the overall success of the entrepreneurs in any given industry largely depends upon whether the person has actually a clear and concise understanding of the industry dynamics or not. Based on this assumption, the success and failure of any new enterprise therefore can be fairly judged. Traditionally it has been observed that the entrepreneurs also serve as the technical persons behind the venture however, in this situation there is a combination of the two really famous and important personalities. (Terrell, & Troilo, 2010). Sir Richard is known for his business acumen and over the period of time, he has been able to develop successful businesses including Virgin Air and Virgin Trains. Similarly, Burton Ruton is regarded as the most innovative technology geek behind the development of spacecrafts which are being made for the public. Another important for evaluating the overall leadership capabilities of the entrepreneurial team is the non-linear and nonparametric decision making process. Further the counterintuitive as well as non-conventional decision making is another important parameter which has been outlined as the key characteristics of the leadership capabilities of the team. Considering the situation given in the question, it is really clear that the overall opportunity is typically counter-intuitive in nature and indicates something which is far reaching. However, such opportunities often uncertain returns and therefore can be risky. The overall combination of the business acumen as well as the technological know- how the Burton Ruton therefore can be of significant importance in terms of the overall leadership aspect of the venture. The leadership element of Sir Richard and his business experience can be significantly a plus point for the new venture in order to obtain the required financing for the venture. The overall strength of the team is therefore really high and as such it may be possible that the combination of the two can successfully create a business venture which can be successfully developed as profitable in the long run. The overall score which can therefore be assigned based on the overall strength of the team should be five. Strength of Opportunity The strength of opportunity is often recognized in terms of how big thinking is behind the opportunity and how wild and imaginative one can be. (Schwartz, & Teach, 2000). The idea of space travel on the commercial basis can be considered as worth taking due to the fact that it has not been explored so extensively in the past. Due to the overall cost involved in the space travel and the affordability issues, not many organizations have actually tried to look into this opportunity of developing the services which can actually allow the consumers to peruse the space tourism. There are four important elements which need to be assessed in order to comment whether the opportunity is strong or not. The first element is whether the opportunity will add value to the customers or end users, whether the new opportunity will solve any problem, whether there is a greater market for the product and whether the opportunity fits into the overall risk reward perception of the founders. (Sorensen, Lassen, & Hinson, 2007). Based on these criteria, the opportunity may not seem to be strong because the space tourism may be considered as a luxury and this opportunity will therefore cater to the very narrow band of the consumers until the economies of scales are achieved and the cost is reduced. Further, opportunity may not be potentially solving any problem of the consumers or neither may it be adding significant value. What is however, may be important is the fact that the opportunity may be serving the future needs of the consumers. Another important element which needs to be taken into consideration with respect to evaluating the overall strength of the opportunity is whether the opportunity is actually a situational in nature or something which is credible and lasting. Taking advantage of the situational nature of the opportunity can be sometimes short term in nature and the firms may not be able to take advantage of such opportunities in their fullest. Thus from a venture capitalist’s point of view, it is really critical and important that the opportunity is real and can provide long term returns to the investors rather than provide some short term advantage. Given the above discussion, it seems that the opportunity is not situational in nature and it may be an opportunity which can provide the returns in the long run rather than in short run and therefore as an investor, it is quite possible that the overall payback period may be high in this type of opportunity. Considering the above situation, it is worth considering to award the total points of 4 to this characteristics. Strength of the industry The overall strength of the industry and its competitiveness is often measure with the help of the Porter’s five forces. Porter’s five forces offer a very concise and elaborative explanation of how the overall industry behaves and how the firm can take advantage of the overall situation in the industry. A Porter’s five forces analysis of the industry in order to judge its industry shall therefore provide a comprehensive assessment of the overall strength of the industry. Supplier Power Supplier power can be significant factor in order to assess the strength of the industry because it can outline as to whether the firm will have the alternative sources to procure the essential materials and goods in order to continuously serve it customers. Suppliers can have effectively large power if there is a differentiation of the inputs, higher switching costs as well as the on forward integration capabilities of the suppliers. Assessing the situation provided in the question, it seems that the supplier may have higher power because of their concentration. Since spacecrafts requires extensive technological knowledge and sophistication besides there is a large capital expenditure requirements to be met in order to roll out new products. This may therefore can provide significant negotiation power to the suppliers. Barriers to entry Barriers to entry can be either natural or created and can be enjoyed by the firms in order to take competitive advantage over others. In this situation, it seems that the high cost of entry will be one of the basic and most important barriers to entry thus giving the firm a special competitive advantage over others. Threat of substitutes Threats of substitutes can emerge where the overall switching cost is low and the customers have choice to refer to other suppliers of the same good or service in the industry. Since the overall cost of travel is so high and the overall journey will be expensive therefore the switching cost will be high which can potentially allow the firm to become more competitive and take the first mover advantage in the industry. As such the overall threats of the substitutes can be negligible. Buyer Power Since the industry will be dominated by very few players therefore the overall buyer power may be limited in terms of switching. However, since the overall cost of journey is high therefore it can be assumed that the buyers can significantly affect future pricing of the journeys. Since not many buyers may be able to afford such expensive journey, sourcing new buyers for the services offered by this venture can prove a significant challenge and therefore buyers can exercise higher negotiating power. Rivalry in the industry Though the overall barriers to entry are high and as such the entry of new entrants in this new and emerging industry may be limited. However, given the overall profitability of such projects, it may be possible that the new entrants can make entry into this industry thus shrinking the profit margins as well as increasing the overall rivalry between the new entrants and the existing players in the market. Given the above discussion, it is clear that due to lesser competition in the industry, there is a higher probability to earn higher returns. However, as the industry grows, it is expected that the profitability will be lessen. Given the overall attractiveness and strength of the industry an score of 4 will be sufficient in this condition. Strength of the Business Model In order to judge the overall strength of the model, it is important to understand as to what category of stakeholders this business model will serve. (Shulman, Cox, & Stallkamp, 2011). In terms of the overall customer base, it ma y be evident that the unless the prices are reduced drastically, this business model is going to serve a very select group of customers therefore may be serving a very narrowly defined target market. The limited market space and the overall cost involved in the overall journey therefore can be one of the significant factors which can decide the success and failure of this business model. What is also important to note that since the overall concentration of wealth is mostly in the Western countries such as US, UK and other Western countries therefore it may be evident that this business model will be focused on the customers located in these regions thus further limiting its utility for a wider base of the customers? It may also be possible that the development of the commercial spacecrafts may restrict the expansion of the market because as such there is only location in New Mexico from where this service will be offered. Due to the high cost and the disadvantage in terms of portability of services, it may not be entirely possible for the firm to offer the services which can be readily provided to the different markets and customers at the same time. As such the overall strength of the business model may be low and a typical score of 3 may be sufficient. Conclusion and Comments Given the above discussion and the average score allotted to the venture is 4 indicating a moderate level of acceptability for the venture. Based on the score and the overall prospects of the success, it is quite evident that the investment should be made into this project. It is also however, important to note that the returns may be slower and the overall payback period may be high given the overall costs involved. Investors therefore shall be prepared for slow returns and potential failure of the business model also. It is also important to note that this business model seem to have some inherent limitations which can potentially restrict its universal application. It is also because of this reason that the business may be slow to be expanded into other geographical regions of the world and as such the market development may not be considered as a viable strategic alternative to peruse. It is also important to note that this venture may risky in the sense that it requires high cost as well as no experience or precedence of the past success. Since this will be an entirely new industry therefore forecasting its failure or success may be too early to access. What is significant however is that the industry holds a lot of promise in the future as the overall wealth of the individuals increases in the future. Considering the long term future prospects, it is advised that the investment shall be made. Section # B Q#2 1) Obtaining venture finance is one of the most important aspects of the overall success of the new ventures to be started. No new entrepreneurial activity can actually be successful without the support from the venture capitalists; it may not be entirely possible. Based on the three core principles of venture finance, the overall process of venture capital investing and its implications for raising the finances for the new enterprise therefore can serve as the key strategic variable to deal with at the start of the enterprise. The initial stage is based upon the formation of the overall fund conception and the investing opportunities in order to target the most suitable investing opportunities. At this stage, the overall broader strategic objectives are described and the hunt for the most suitable investing opportunities is formally started in order to ensure that the timely cash is received by the entrepreneur. Second stage involve the raising of capital for the business is started wherein the entrepreneur actually decides as to what modes of financing can be acceptable and which can be perused successfully in order to obtain the financing. For example, the entrepreneur may be looking for launching an new IPO for his firm or even look for the formation of strategic alliances with already established firms in order to ensure that the timely finances are being received for the enterprise. Third stage involve the generation of the deal flows which allow the young and growing companies to actually start to screen out the new deals in order to ensure that they secure the deals which exactly fit into the overall strategic orientation of the firm besides allowing it the opportunity and time to look into more suitable deals. The next stage in the venture capital investing process is based upon the evaluation of the deals indentified. The evaluation process again requires a comprehensive understanding of the different mechanics behind the deals and how they may affect the business in the short as well as in the long run. Evaluation of the deals therefore offer a very critical insight into how the firm is going to meet its short term as well as long term liquidity needs and how the overall quantum of finance will be utilized within the context of the business. The last stage therefore involves the valuation process and the negotiation in order to formally structure the whole deal. It’s also important to note that its at this stage that the entrepreneur may look into the further possibility of adding value through strategy development, formation of the board, attracting outside expertise and help etc. The overall investing process is important in the sense that it not only allow an entrepreneur to secure the vital cash required for the start of the new venture but also provide an opportunity to look into the possibility of expanding the overall knowledge base of the business thus allowing flourishing of more new ideas in order to further perfect the business model of the new firm. 2) The notion that too much money is chasing two few deals is deeply rooted into the fact that very few new ventures actually succeed in the long term. The bursting of the internet boom in the 1990s provided a very valid wake up call to most of the venture capitalists that the growing and promising companies can readily fail to perform and it’s really hard to bet on the long term success of even the promising and the growing firms. It is also important to note that the venture capitalists tend to fund only those ventures where they can actively balance the risk and reward ratio in most acceptable manner therefore any ventures where the overall risk is relatively high and the chances of the return are very few, venture capitalists may tend to shy away from such proposals. (Klonowski, 2007). Particularly, venture capitalists tend to see certain characteristics in a particular deal and if they are not present chances are that they will not attempt to invest into such deals. (Welsch, 2003). Some of the important and key variables which venture capitalists tend to look into when evaluating the deals involve a careful examination of the different facts. For example, venture capitalists may look into the overall mission of the enterprise and will judge whether the mission is focused on the development of a highly successful and profit oriented company in the market or not. Similarly, the quality of the management team also plays a very critical role in terms of deciding whether it may be acceptable to take the risk on such venture. Another important element which investors often look is whether the product or service to be delivered by the new enterprise can have significant competitive lead in the market or not. If the new product or service is actually not going to gain a successful and leading position in the market, it may be relatively more risky for the venture capitalists to actually look into the possibility of investing into such ventures. (Zheng, Hu,& Wang, 2009). Further, the presence of the large and profitable and growing market opportunity is also a key factor which venture capitalists look into the new enterprise besides evaluating the actual return on the investment which can be expected over the period of time. The satisfaction of such stringent evaluation and screening out criteria therefore suggest that there may be very few deals which can actually fit into the overall acceptability criteria of the venture capitalists. Such episodes however, also tend to occur or reoccur when the overall market and economic scenario may not be favorable. (Green, 2004). Depressed capital markets and the tight economic conditions therefore can make venture capitalists more cautious to take risks on the long term basis. Further, when the overall ratio of the failure of the new ventures keeps on increasing, the venture capitalists can again become more cautious and prefer only those deals which can show a real long term prospect besides offering an acceptable degree of risk. (Dauterive & Fok, 2004). Q#3 Three most important technological advances are: Development of Smartphone Smartphones are new innovation in the mobile phone technology based on the touch screen technology. Smartphones have not only replaced the traditional mobile phones but are also allowing the consumers to use them for the functions which were traditionally being performed by the computers. Creation of 3D technology 3D technology is also a new and revolutionary idea in which images on the screen are created in three dimensional manner. The use of 3D technology has allowed the development of new products such as TV, Cameras, smartphones, films etc. Social Networking Technology Probably the most important technological advances of the recent times is the invention of technology of the social networking. Though it may not be considered as a technology in its strict sense however, social networking has transcended boundaries and have allowed people to socially connect with each other from remote locations. What is also significant to note that the development of social networking websites have allowed the development of new and more innovative products which are utilizing the existing platforms offered by the social networking services and thus further penetrate into the target market of the firm. Considering the above three important technological advances, many important product ideas emerged and have been successfully developed and implemented too. Considering the above technological advances, following two important ideas emerged: Creation of Small Computer Apps for advertisements With the development of the smartphones and tablet computers like Apple IPAD, it also brought together a completely new way of how the advertisement was done traditionally. Usually advertisement was considered as something which was mass produced and aimed at masses however, with the introduction of the smartphone technology, these smaller devices have became an effective devices for sending personalized advertisements. It is also important to note that the smaller applications called Apps are also being developed based on different ideas and themes which are than being resold. These computer apps are of different nature and are countless in numbers targeted at different groups of customers. For example, those consumers who are relatively fat, there are apps which can provide an effective method to keep track of the calories consumed throughout the day, help them to personalize their diet and exercise plans as well as ensure that that weight targets are being managed and maintained over the period of time. Such personalization of the advertisement as well as the new products specifically directed at the chosen group of customers therefore allowed the companies to target customers in unique manner and further customize and personalize their services in order to achieve maximum sales targets. What is also important to understand that such advertisement and product development is relatively cost effective and has also allowed small businesses to successfully advertise their businesses at really low costs. Pay per click schemes have further revolutionized the way smaller companies can actually create their ad campaigns and manage their budgets for the advertising etc. Creation of 3D films and games The creation and successful use of the 3D technology has allowed many organizations to develop the 3D films and games offering customers a new and unique way of entertainment. The success of films like Avatar is much credited to the extensive use of the 3D technology in creating the film which was subsequently declared as the most successful film in the history of film making. There are also other products in making which are also using extensive use of 3D technology to allow the companies to offer more unique and extensive range of entertainment to their consumers. For example, 3D televisions are now being developed and marketed which are using 3D technology and thus allowing the consumers to enjoy the wonders of 3D technology in the comfort of their own homes. 3D Smartphones are also being developed to take advantage of this technology and allowing the consumers to become more involved in the overall process of the product development. The creation and successful commercial use of 3D technology has therefore allowed the firms to become more innovative in their overall product offering and develop and roll out new products and services which can offer the customers a unique and more personalized experience in order to achieve the highest level of entertainment. Each of the above new technological developments especially the development of the smartphones as well as the development of social media technologies will continue to allow the development of new products in the foreseeable future. The way social media websites such as Facebook has gained the publicity and the hype is simply considered as one of the revolutionary ways of how the technology can actually transform the way people can meet and greet each other. The new product development in this context will therefore be largely based upon the development of technologies which will be offering more personalized solutions to the consumers and their needs. Products such as VOIP, online trading etc can offer really important breakthroughs in the future as to how the overall behavior of the whole target markets can be changed through the systematic application of the new and more innovative technologies. The use of smartphones has allowed the development of new applications which can allow the consumers to communicate with each other with no or very minimum cost thus offering a very real chance to the consumers to save money. What is also however, important to understand that since the technology keeps on changing therefore new product ideas associated with the use of any technology is therefore mostly also fluid in nature like technology. It cannot be said with certain degree of promise that the new products will continue to serve the needs of the customers in the foreseeable future because when technology changes, the products related with them also change very fast. Thus the overall risk of the obsolescence of the technology as well as the related product ideas is a real possibility with the new advancements in the technology. Bibliography 1. Dauterive, J., & Fok, W. (2004). Venture capital for China: opportunities and challenges. Managerial Finance , 30 (2), 3-15. 2. Green, J. (2004). Venture capital at a new crossroads: Lessons from the Bubble. Journal of Management Development , 23 (10), 972-976. 3. Hill, C. W., & Jones, G. R. (2007). Strategic management:an integrated approach. 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