BUSINESS 111

Non-BBA NEW VENTURE PROJECT

Introduction

The New Venture Project will test your group’s ability to: perform independent research and write a formal business report, make a formal presentation of your findings, and manage the time and skills of your group members.

The objective of this assignment is to persuade your audience/potential investors that you have identified an opportunity that fills an important gap in the market. You are asked to identify an idea for a new venture and conduct an environmental analysis (PEST, Five Forces, size of market) to prove that your idea is worth funding. Essentially, you are answering two questions: What is your idea and why does it represent a worthwhile opportunity in the business environment?

This project is worth 20 marks of your BU111 final grade and consists of three components: • 4 marks for the New Venture Preliminary Report (hard copy due BEFORE Friday, October 12th at 12 noon; turnitin and peer evaluations due BEFORE Friday, October 12th at 12 midnight • 10 marks for the Final Report (hard copy due BEFORE Friday, November 16th at 12 noon and turnitin and peer evaluations BEFORE Friday, November 16th at 12 midnight) • 6 marks for the New Venture Presentations (done in Labs #10 or #11 as assigned by TA – peer evaluations due BEFORE Wednesday, December 5th at 12 midnight)

Details on what is required and how to complete and submit each of the above components are provided below.

New Venture Idea Qualification

In order for your new venture idea to qualify as a legitimate opportunity, it should possess the following three essential characteristics: 1) creates value such that a customer will be willing and able to purchase your product/service; 2) provides a product/service that is different from existing or substitute products/services in a way that customers value 3) represents an opportunity based on present or future conditions in the business environment and ideally creates a source of advantage that cannot be easily or quickly imitated

PRELIMINARY REPORT - 4 marks, Due BEFORE Friday, October 12th at 12 noon

The purpose of the preliminary report is to develop a rough idea of what your new venture will be and conduct some initial research on the industry and broader business environment to determine whether it is a worthwhile venture to pursue. You will also outline a plan (tasks, delegation, and timeline) for completing the final report and presentation.

Your New Venture Preliminary Report should therefore contain the following:

• A clear description of your New Venture idea and how it creates value o What is your proposed product or service and what does it do[1]? o Who is the likely customer of this product or service? o What are the proposed benefits to the customer – How does it create value for the customer and/or why will the customer be willing to pay for it? ▪ If creating a social venture, you should also describe what the benefits of your venture are for your social or environmental cause, i.e. what value does it create for society, the environment, and/or the clients it serves. o If you are proposing a social venture you should also briefly but clearly describe the financial model for self-sustainability, i.e. how will it generate the resources it needs to continue to operate in the future.

• The size of the market for your product

• A preliminary analysis of competing and substitute products/services that currently exist and how your venture is different from them in a valuable way o Present the competitor information in a single-spaced chart (in the main body of your report) with the following headings:

|Competing product/service |What it does |How your venture is different in a valuable way|
| | | |
| | | |

• A list of elements under each of the PEST factors that you must investigate and consider for your final report (include a brief statement next to each one indicating why it might be important). For example, if you are proposing a new venture product that will be targeted at babies:

Political Factors: - consumer product safety standards (needed for approval to sell product)

• A brief analysis of the Five Forces and issues within each of them that you will have to investigate and strategically consider. Present the Five Forces information in a single-spaced chart (in the main body of your report) as follows:

|Five Forces |Threat/Opportunity |Impact on Profitability/Strategic |
| | |Implication |
| Bargaining Power of Suppliers | | |
|Number/concentration of suppliers | | |
|Switching costs | | |
|Attractiveness of substitute supplies | | |
|Threat of forward integration | | |
|Potential Entrants/Barriers to Entry | | |
|Capital Requirements | | |
|Technology | | |
|Know-how | | |
|Regulatory approval | | |
|Brand loyalty | | |
|Access to distribution | | |
|Other(s) | | |
|Substitutes | | |
|Number of good substitutes | | |
|Price/competitiveness of substitutes | | |
| | | |
|Bargaining Power of Buyers | | |
|Number/concentration of buyers | | |
|Standardization of products | | |
|Switching costs | | |
|Importance/discretion of purchase | | |
| | | |
|Rivalry among Existing Firms | | |
|Number of competitors | | |
|Size/Capability of competitors | | |
|Growth rate of industry | | |
|Consumer switching costs | | |
|Degree of difference between products | | |
|Product perishability | | |

• The results of two “Google” searches: one using your product/company name, and one with a product description. Take screen shots of the results (show the search terms and the results that appear – one page of each is sufficient), and include them as appendices to your proposal. These documents provide evidence that your product idea and name are unique. These appendices should be referenced at an appropriate point in your proposal.

In addition to the New Venture Preliminary Report, you must also submit a Completion Plan for the final project. Include on your Completion Plan the primary research you will do for your final report, i.e. companies/people you will talk to. This can be in the form of a chart that is approximately 1/2 of a page. This will outline what further research you will be conducting to deepen your analysis and refine your new venture idea, as well as the division of labour and time lines for completing the research and the final project. In other words, list what tasks must be performed, who will complete them, and the deadlines for each task and overall completion of the report and presentation.

Format

Your New Venture Preliminary Report and Completion Plan should be no more than five pages (double-spaced, 12 point font) in length. You may wish to put your Completion Plan in the form of a chart. The competitor information, Five Forces and Completion Plan charts can be single-spaced but must be 12 point font, one-inch margins. Exhibits, appendices, and reference pages are not included in these page limits.

Your group can determine the format (order, headings, subheadings, etc.) in which you wish to organize your submission.

Submission Instructions To avoid mark penalties you must completely and properly submit three components.
1. A hard copy must be submitted to the boxes outside of P1002 BEFORE Friday, October 12th at 12 noon or a mark of zero will be given for this assignment. • Be sure that your report is stapled and/or in a report cover

• Print a copy of the “New Venture Preliminary Report Rubric” shown on page 7 of this document and include it as the last page of your assignment.

2. An electronic copy of the assignment (Google search screen shots and marking rubric need not be included) must be submitted to turnitin.com BEFORE Friday, October 12th at 12 midnight or a mark of zero will be given for this assignment. • Turnitin submission instructions are available on the course website.

• Be sure to obtain and keep your submission receipt from turnitin.com so that you have proof of time and date of submission. No other proof of submission will be accepted.

3. Each group member must complete a peer evaluation on the course website BEFORE Friday, October 12th at 12 midnight. • Late peer evaluations will result in a ten percent mark penalty if you are less than three days late in submitting them, with an additional ten percent penalty added for every day after that to a maximum of thirty percent. Note that this penalty can reduce your final mark in the course by as much as one grade point.

o Be sure your evaluations have been properly uploaded – if you do not see a screen that says that your evaluations were successfully uploaded, do them again. It is your responsibility to make sure the system has uploaded your evaluations.

Evaluation

At this point in the course you will not have had sufficient time to complete in-depth research, analysis, and refinement of your idea. That is the purpose of your final project report that is due on November 16th. This preliminary assessment will help your group determine:

• whether or not your proposed new venture is a “go”, a “go with some modifications required” or a “no go” (the idea is not workable and the group must come up with a new one) • if you have engaged in some appropriate research[2] to show that it is feasible and worthwhile • if you have put serious effort into determining what you will research and consider in your final report

Your New Venture Preliminary Report will be evaluated based on the rubric shown on the following page. As indicated above, this rubric must be handed in with the hard copy of your report.
New Venture Preliminary Report Rubric

| |4 |3 |2 |1-0 |
|Idea and market |Very clearly outlined what the venture is |Clearly outlined what the venture is and how |Outlined what the venture is and how (and for|Did not outline what the venture is and how|
|identification |and how (and for whom) it will create |(and for whom) it will create value |whom) it will create value but was vague or |(and for whom) it will create value or was |
| |value[3] | |unclear at times |very vague and unclear |
|Competitive analysis |Very clearly demonstrated that this venture|Clearly demonstrated that this venture is |Provided some evidence that this venture is |Provided limited evidence that this venture|
| |is unique in comparison to existing |unique in comparison to existing |unique in comparison to existing |is unique in comparison to existing |
| |products/services in a valuable way |products/services in a valuable way |products/services in a valuable way |products/services in a valuable way |
|Environmental analysis |Very clearly demonstrated that a |Clearly demonstrated that a significant |Provided some evidence that a market and |Provided little evidence that there is a |
| |significant market and opportunity exists |market and opportunity exists for this |opportunity exists for this venture |market and/or opportunity for this venture |
| |for this venture |venture | | |
|Writing quality |Very well written |Well written |Errors in grammar, spelling, and/or syntax or|Extensive errors or poor writing and/or |
| |Sources properly cited and formatted |Sources properly cited but not properly |sources not properly cited |sources missing or not properly cited |
| |Included thorough and appropriate Google |formatted |Included incomplete or inappropriate Google |Did not include any Google search documents|
| |search documents |Included adequate Google search documents |search documents | |
|Completion Plan |Very detailed plan with appropriate |Detailed plan with appropriate timelines and |Some important details for completion are |Vague plan and/or insufficient details |
| |timelines and task assignments |task assignments |missing and/or timelines questionable |and/or timelines and task assignments |

FINAL REPORT - 10 marks, Due BEFORE Friday, November 16th at 12 noon

The purpose of the final report is to provide compelling and detailed research/evidence supporting the notion that the new venture idea you have chosen is likely to succeed and be financially worthwhile. This means that as you execute the research plan outlined in your New Venture Preliminary Report you should be refining your idea, and perhaps even changing it (with your TA’s approval) based on the evidence that you find.

Final reports should include (yet not necessarily be limited to): • New Venture Idea: o a clear explanation of the idea[4] for your new venture – what it is, why it is unique, who the customer of this product is most likely to be (and information about the cause/injustice your venture will support if a social venture), and what are the product’s/service’s benefits to the customer o discussion of the technical feasibility of your concept, if applicable • Competitive Analysis: Five Forces analysis and how this will affect your venture • PEST Analysis: A solid analysis of the external environment and future trends that would justify undertaking your new venture – such as (yet not necessarily limited to) social, demographic, technological, political, and economic trends that offer opportunities now and into the future • Financial Feasibility: You should provide a thorough assessment of your intended market (i.e. size, location, spending on this type of product/service) that demonstrates it is sufficiently large and you can capture enough of it to make your new venture financially viable. You are likely to draw upon the customer information provided in the “New Venture Idea” section above and may find it helpful to draw on the PEST and/or Competitive analysis as well. • Remember that as you write each section of your report, you should be describing your research AND explaining its implications for your venture (the challenges or opportunities the factor creates and what you plan to do about it). • Your report should illustrate that you have engaged in extensive research and analysis. It must include some primary research, i.e. surveys, conversations with industry contacts, professionals, etc.

Format

You must prepare your report using the formal report format. Guidelines for preparing a formal report are provided in your lab manual (see, “Writing a Formal Report”).

Your New Venture Final Report should be no more than 20 pages, double-spaced, including appendices. A maximum of 15 pages (double-spaced, 12 point font, one inch margins) can be used for text. The title page, executive summary, table of contents, and reference pages are not included in these page limits. Appendices/Exhibits may be single-spaced. Note: The executive summary should be no longer than two pages, double-spaced.

Important Note Regarding Using Content from the Preliminary Report

The final report in comparison to the preliminary report should be a significantly improved and expanded piece of work both with respect to writing and content. However, it is understood that you are building on the content and writing of your preliminary report. As a result, you may wish to include some of this in your final report. Please use the following process to ensure you are not running the risk of plagiarizing:

1. When you are drafting the final report use normal citation formatting for all sources, i.e. if you are copy-pasting from the preliminary report, treat it like any other quotation - indent if it's more than 40 words, use quotation marks otherwise.

2. When you start polishing your final draft, if you find that the number of indented pieces make the report look unattractive/unprofessional then you should include the following footnote (attach the footnote to the title of your final report): “Significant portions of content for this assignment were taken from Authors (2011). New venture proposal. Assignment submitted to BU111, Wilfrid Laurier University.”

Please recognize that if you are copying a significant portion of your preliminary report you are likely not adding significant value in your final report and therefore are not likely to receive a good mark.

If there are only a few spots where you have indented content and/or you have paraphrased the rest you should use normal citation formatting, i.e. use in-text citations.

3. Any content/data from anything other than your preliminary report is considered an outside source and should therefore be cited using in-text citations.

Submission Instructions
To avoid mark penalties you must completely and properly submit three components of this assignment.
1. A hard copy must be submitted to the boxes outside of P1002 BEFORE Friday, November 16th at 12 noon or a mark of zero will be given for this assignment. • Be sure that your report is stapled and/or in a report cover;

• Print a copy of the “New Venture Final Report Rubric” shown on pages 11 and 12 of this document and submit it with your assignment.

2. An electronic copy of the assignment (do not include the rubric in the electronic copy) must be submitted to turnitin.com BEFORE Friday, November 16th at 12 midnight or a mark of zero will be given for this assignment. • Be sure to obtain and keep your submission receipt from turnitin.com so that you have proof of time and date of submission. No other proof of submission will be accepted.

3. Each group member must complete a peer evaluation on the course website BEFORE Friday, November 16th at 12 midnight. • Late peer evaluations will result in a ten percent mark penalty if you are less than three days late in submitting them, with an additional ten percent penalty added for every day after that to a maximum of thirty percent. Note that this penalty can reduce your final mark in the course by as much as one grade point. Make sure your evaluations have been properly uploaded.

• The grade of your final report will be adjusted based on your peer evaluation score (see, “Approach to Teamwork in BU111” in your lab manual for details).

PRESENTATION - 6 marks, Due in Labs #10 or #11 as assigned by TA

You will be given a maximum of 15 minutes for the presentation and 5 minutes for questions.
The presentation will be graded on the basis of content and quality, style, and your ability to answer questions (Q&A) from the audience. Unless unforeseen circumstances arise, all group members must verbally participate in the presentation or marks will be deducted.

Any audio-visual requirements that you have with respect to your presentation must be planned ahead of time through your teaching assistant and the Media Technology Resources office. Arrive early on your presentation day to set up your technology/presentation and test it before the lab begins (arrange this with your TA). Have a back-up plan because if the technology fails when it is time to present you will have to go ahead without it. You will have two minutes to set up before your presentation – any additional time taken will be deducted from your presentation time.

You may wish to review the lab manual materials on, “Creating and Delivering a Great Presentation”.

Your group presentation will be evaluated using the Group Presentation: Expectations and Marking Guide found in your lab manual and on the course website.
Each group member must complete a peer evaluation on the course website BEFORE Wednesday, December 5th at 12 midnight. • Late peer evaluations will result in a ten percent mark penalty if you are less than three days late in submitting them, with an additional ten percent penalty added for every day after that to a maximum of thirty percent. Note that this penalty can reduce your final mark in the course by as much as one grade point. Make sure your evaluations have been properly uploaded.

• The grade of your presentation report will be adjusted based on your peer evaluation score (see, “Approach to Teamwork in BU111” in your lab manual for details).

New Venture Final Report Rubric
Expectations and Marking Guide
| |4 |3 |2 |1 – 0 |GRADE |
|SOUNDNESS OF RESEARCH |Clear and detailed description of |Good description of product, |Vague description of product, |Vague description of product, | |
|AND ARGUMENTS |product, market/ customer, and |market/customer, and uniqueness; more |market/customer, and uniqueness; some |market/customer, and uniqueness; many | |
|( this section is |uniqueness of product |detail needed |important details are missing or inadequately|important details are missing or | |
|worth double the |Thorough research and analysis of |Good research and analysis of competitive |discussed |inadequately discussed | |
|stated rubric level |competitive forces (using Five Forces |forces; more depth of discussion needed |Significantly more research and analysis of |Very little research and analysis of | |
|i.e. 3.5 = 7) |model) and how they will affect new |Good detail and discussion of PEST forces; |competitive forces needed or deeper |competitive forces or discussion of how| |
| |venture |not clear how they will impact this venture|discussion of how they will affect venture |they will affect venture is missing | |
| |Thorough detail, research and |Adequate use of evidence/ research to show |Significantly more detail and discussion of |Very little detail and discussion of | |
| |discussion of PEST forces and how they |why venture is likely to succeed |PEST forces needed; better explanation needed|PEST forces needed; more explanation | |
| |will impact this venture |Good research and demonstration of |of their impact on venture |needed on how they will impact this | |
| |Thorough and credible research and |venture’s financial feasibility (and social|Poor research and demonstration of financial |venture | |
| |demonstration of venture’s financial |return on investment for Social Ventures); |feasibility, poor identification of social |No demonstration of financial | |
| |feasibility (and social return on |more integration of other report content |impact; more integration of other report |feasibility or social impact; more | |
| |investment for Social Ventures) using |needed |content needed |integration of other report content | |
| |market size and other research |Extensive secondary but no primary research|Adequate secondary research but no primary |needed | |
| |contained in report | |research |Limited research | |
| |Extensive primary and secondary | | | | |
| |research | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |

| |4 |3 |2 |1 – 0 |GRADE |
|REPORT FORMAT & STYLE |very clear and logical structure |relatively clear and logical structure |structure unclear |no logical structure | |
|(this section is worth|very easy to read and follow |easy to read |weak readability |difficult to read | |
|the stated rubric |written very clearly and concisely |clearly and concisely written with a few |not clearly nor concisely written |very difficult to follow – had to | |
|level |written professionally yet used clear |areas needing improvement |not professionally written, not specific |reread parts | |
|i.e. 3.5 = 3.5) |and simple language |used simple language |and/or unsubstantiated claims |used unprofessional language | |
| |strong and convincing executive summary|good but not compelling and/or clear |executive summary unclear and/or too much |weak executive summary | |
| |used direct approach persuasively |executive summary |unnecessary detail |poor writing approach - needs to be | |
| |used space effectively; visually |used direct approach |unclear or inappropriate writing approach |edited | |
| |appealling |used space appropriately |did not use space well, no breaks |weak formatting and use of space, did | |
| |appropriate and effective use of |appropriate use of illustrations properly|illustrations not referenced within text |not appear to follow formal report | |
| |illustrations where necessary |referred to |weak paragraph and/or sentence structure |guidelines | |
| |effective paragraph and sentence |proper paragraph and sentence structure –|weak mechanics, several errors |used irrelevant illustrations | |
| |structure |paragraphs organized around one idea only|used a few appropriate and useful sources |poor paragraph and/or sentence | |
| |excellent mechanics (grammar, |and linked to each other |but more were needed; sources properly |structure throughout | |
| |punctuation, syntax, spelling) |good mechanics, few errors |documented; |poor mechanics, extensive errors | |
| |used a variety of appropriate and |used a few appropriate and useful sources|exceeded page limits |poor or no research/ documentation | |
| |useful sources properly documented |but more were needed; sources properly | |exceeded page limits or report was far | |
| |stayed within page limits |documented; | |too short | |
| | |stayed within page limits | |recommend making appointment at Writing| |
| | | | |Centre | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |

New Venture Final Presentation Rubric
Expectations and Marking Guide
| |4 exceeded expectations |3 met expectations |2 below expectations |1 – 0 failed to meet |GRADE |
|CONTENT & QUALITY |material organized in a clear, |material organized in logical fashion|organization unclear, no agenda |lack of organization and structure | |
| |logical and appropriate fashion |– used agenda, limited main points |and/or covered too many points |content unclear | |
| |content came across very clearly |content came across clearly |content confusing at times |audio-visual aids distracting | |
| |and convincingly |appropriate use of audio-visual aids |audio-visual aids hard to see and/or |transitions between points disjointed or | |
| |excellent use of audio-visual aids |–aided understanding |did not aid content |simply not evident | |
| |clear transitions between points |mostly clear transitions between |transitions from point to point | | |
| | |points |unclear and/or not smooth | | |
|STYLE |very effective opening and closing |adequate opening and closing |weak opening and/or closing |poor opening and/or closing | |
| |extremely practiced, polished, and |practiced, polished and professional |evidence of lack of practice and/or |mostly unpracticed and/or unprofessional | |
| |professional |kept the audience’s attention |unprofessional |audience attention lacking due to style of | |
| |kept the audience’s attention |somewhat smooth transitions between |little attempt to keep audience |presentation | |
| |throughout |presenters |attention |transitions between presenters were not | |
| |smooth transitions between |moved at an appropriate pace |some transitions between presenters |smooth | |
| |presenters | |were not smooth |pace inappropriate | |
| |moved at an appropriate pace | |pace often inappropriate | | |
| |throughout | | | | |
|QUESTION & ANSWER |managed Q&A very convincingly – |Q&A managed appropriately |Q&A not managed well – unsure who |Q&A managed poorly – hurt presentation | |
| |improved impression |gave clear and effective answers to |would answer which questions, etc. |weak and/or unclear or confusing answers | |
| |gave really clear and effective |questions |inconsistent and/or unclear answers |unprepared | |
| |answers to questions |prepared |not well prepared | | |
| |very prepared | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | |= /12 |

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[1] If your idea has come from a source outside of your group, i.e. a product that has been patented by someone else but not commercialized, you must give proper credit to the originating source to avoid charges of academic misconduct and disqualification from the New Venture Competition. Check with your professor if you are unsure.
[2] Be sure to cite your research sources using APA format as illustrated in the lab manual.
[3] For social ventures this should be both the social/environmental value, i.e. benefits to society, in addition to the funding needed to continue operations; for all other ventures you should describe value to the customer in terms of why they would be willing to pay for it.
[4] As before, if the idea originated outside of your group then you must clearly indicate its source.

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