Entrepreneurship and innovation lectures
Lecture 1
Why are entrepreneurs important?
Entrepreneurs fill the needs of a society by creating a product/service.
• Entrepreneurs start new firms.
• Entrepreneurs are also important in existing firms:
- Entrepreneurs play an essential role in strategic firm decisions.
• So entrepreneurship important at firm start, but also throughout a firm’s lifecycle.
• Entrepreneurship …
- … adds to economic growth of regions and countries. It creates economic growth.
- … creates employment – SMEs are numerically dominant, and smaller firms
contribute more to job creation than larger firms.
- … create societal and/or environmental change/value.
The starting point
“A human-centered approach to innovation that brings together what people need with
what is feasible and economically viable.” (design thinking)
Desirability: what people need.
Feasibility: can we do it? The right resources? Right rime?
Viability: revenue streams & costs. (The trade-off between the 2)
These 3 are the core of strong entrepreneurial opportunities.
1. Inspiration stage
An unmet need that needs to be addressed, something is lacking.
What is the problem?
2. Ideation
Lets come up with solutions to those problems.
3. Implementation
How can we make it better?
Which eventually will create a product or service.
,Design thinking process diagram
Usually with these models=> it is based on solving a need. Good counterexample: the
internet (there was no need necessarily).
Problem => Solution => Benefit
How do we generate ideas?
• Creativity underpins innovation
- Ability to generate new ideas
- “The seed of innovation” – creativity involves a process or activity leading to
invention as a result.
- “Creativity is the starting point whether it is associated with invention or opportunity
spotting. This creativity is turned to practical reality (a product, for example) through
innovation.” (Bolton and Thompson, 2000)
• “Inspiration comes of working every day”
- Charles Pierre Baudelaire, French poet, 1821-1867
• Creativity exercises/techniques
,Alertness
• Entrepreneurial alertness: the ability to identify opportunities without searching.
• One “stumbles upon” an idea.
, Sources of new ideas
• Consumers
- (In)formally monitor potential ideas and needs among consumers.
- Let consumers express their opinions.
- Ask consumers=> what do they want/need?
• Existing products and services
- Formally monitor and evaluate competitive products and services on the market
- Uncovering ways to improve current products
- Entrepreneurship is a response to opportunities created but not exploited by the
incumbent firms
- Look at competitors=> what do they lack
• Files from the Patent Office, in response to government regulations, research and
development, …
Trends / external enablers
• The main source of opportunity is change
- Question: Are there changes that you relate to a specific product/service?
• PEST analysis
- Political changes
- Economic changes
- Social/societal changes
- Technological changes
• Changes to technology, demography, culture, human needs and wants; institutional
framework conditions, macro-economic conditions, and the natural environment
(Davidsson, 2015).
Lecture 1
Why are entrepreneurs important?
Entrepreneurs fill the needs of a society by creating a product/service.
• Entrepreneurs start new firms.
• Entrepreneurs are also important in existing firms:
- Entrepreneurs play an essential role in strategic firm decisions.
• So entrepreneurship important at firm start, but also throughout a firm’s lifecycle.
• Entrepreneurship …
- … adds to economic growth of regions and countries. It creates economic growth.
- … creates employment – SMEs are numerically dominant, and smaller firms
contribute more to job creation than larger firms.
- … create societal and/or environmental change/value.
The starting point
“A human-centered approach to innovation that brings together what people need with
what is feasible and economically viable.” (design thinking)
Desirability: what people need.
Feasibility: can we do it? The right resources? Right rime?
Viability: revenue streams & costs. (The trade-off between the 2)
These 3 are the core of strong entrepreneurial opportunities.
1. Inspiration stage
An unmet need that needs to be addressed, something is lacking.
What is the problem?
2. Ideation
Lets come up with solutions to those problems.
3. Implementation
How can we make it better?
Which eventually will create a product or service.
,Design thinking process diagram
Usually with these models=> it is based on solving a need. Good counterexample: the
internet (there was no need necessarily).
Problem => Solution => Benefit
How do we generate ideas?
• Creativity underpins innovation
- Ability to generate new ideas
- “The seed of innovation” – creativity involves a process or activity leading to
invention as a result.
- “Creativity is the starting point whether it is associated with invention or opportunity
spotting. This creativity is turned to practical reality (a product, for example) through
innovation.” (Bolton and Thompson, 2000)
• “Inspiration comes of working every day”
- Charles Pierre Baudelaire, French poet, 1821-1867
• Creativity exercises/techniques
,Alertness
• Entrepreneurial alertness: the ability to identify opportunities without searching.
• One “stumbles upon” an idea.
, Sources of new ideas
• Consumers
- (In)formally monitor potential ideas and needs among consumers.
- Let consumers express their opinions.
- Ask consumers=> what do they want/need?
• Existing products and services
- Formally monitor and evaluate competitive products and services on the market
- Uncovering ways to improve current products
- Entrepreneurship is a response to opportunities created but not exploited by the
incumbent firms
- Look at competitors=> what do they lack
• Files from the Patent Office, in response to government regulations, research and
development, …
Trends / external enablers
• The main source of opportunity is change
- Question: Are there changes that you relate to a specific product/service?
• PEST analysis
- Political changes
- Economic changes
- Social/societal changes
- Technological changes
• Changes to technology, demography, culture, human needs and wants; institutional
framework conditions, macro-economic conditions, and the natural environment
(Davidsson, 2015).
