The Portable MBA in Entrepreneurship

Abstract

portable MBA in Bygrave, W. D. (Ed.). (1997). The portable MBA in entrepreneur ship. (2nd ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. William Bygrave, editor of portable MBA in entrepreneurship, second edition, has assembled a valuable and highly usable collection of state-of-the-art information on entrepreneurship. The book is structured into fifteen sections that provide the reader with a thorough view of entrepreneurship from both academic and business perspectives. Contributors to the book include well-known professors, consultants, and entrepreneurs with extensive experience in new venture creation. The material is further emphasized through the use of numerous relevant, real-world examples. Several of the chapters include sources where additional information or help can be obtained. The glossary will enable the fledgling entrepreneur to gain an understanding of the language of business and entrepreneurship. The book begins with an overview of the impact and importance of entrepreneurship to the economy of the United States. A model of the process is presented which covers the critical personal, sociological, and environmental factors that influence someone starting a new venture. Bygrave discusses the most important personal characteristics of successful entrepreneurs, which he labels as the ten Ds: dream, decisiveness, doers, determination, dedication, devotion, details, destiny, dollars, and distribute. Environmental factors include the presence of role models and mentors who help inspire and develop the dream of entrepreneurship. Sociological factors include family responsibilities, along with the trade-off between experience that comes with age and the opportunity and energy of youth. Entrepreneurs must also understand the three driving forces for a successful new business: opportunity, the entrepreneur, and the resources needed. These forces must be integrated into the strategic planning process. Bygrave expands Rosabeth Kanter's four Fs for a successful business into what he calls the nine Fs necessary for success. These are: founders, focused, fast, flexible, forever-innovating, flat, frugal, friendly, and fun. He contends that the key to sustained success is to remain an entrepreneurial gazelle and avoid turning into a lumbering elephant or a dinosaur destined to extinction. Jeffrey Timmons presents practical advice on how to recognize a potential opportunity when it appears and why a sense of timing to seize the opportunity is important. Opportunity is envisioned as a three-dimensional relief map consisting of three to four critical factors such as patented innovation, sole distribution rights, and a competent management team. This section also provides valuable and detailed information on how to screen an opportunity against a number of criteria for feasibility. These criteria include issues relative to the market, economics, competitive advantage, the management team, fatal flaws, personal criteria, and strategic differentiation. The author also looks beyond initial startup concerns and includes a discussion of harvest issues such as valueadded potential, valuation multiples and comparables, and exit mechanisms and strategies. Entrepreneurs are likely to start their businesses in the midst of established competitors. When a new competitor enters, established companies are usually quick to respond. The section on market strategies provides critical information on six types of entry used by new entrepreneurs to break into the competitive arena. These wedges are: developing a new product or service, developing a similar product or service that is better, buying a franchise, exploiting an existing product or service, sponsoring a startup enterprise, and acquiring a going concern. …

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