Course impressions

Different projects, different ideas, different results.

I had seen only some teems on both projects.

No one was perfect.

Someone had problems with financial part, some – with market research, or the clear ideas.... We had everything but the product prototype on the first course project. Of course, it is just a study project, just a case for a week.

But one thing changed my mind definitely - feasibility. Everything is possible!

We have amazing literature recourses, we have professors, who help not because have to, but because are interested in the process and result, we have science park and our own great desire to change the world to better. I think, that was the main idea of this course – to open our minds and prepare to make crea©tivity not only word, but sense behind it.

I’ve never had such joy at studies as at preparing this business-idea project! True.

We contact a lot of people – from student survey to professor of industrial design.

We have a wonderful team.

We decided to do our best and develop this project – talk to science park, register the partnership, start manufacturing and promoting.

So… hope, in a couple years I will upload this blog by words “We did it!”

Because now I feel how thin is the line between just a course project and reality.

Leona, Bengt, thank you!

The role of entrepreneurship and innovation in existing companies – the case of Gucci

Had an amazing lecture by Professor Lorenzo Zanni connected with a Gucci case.

Started with a brief review of Italian economy, he turned to the fashion industry background in Italy. I think, the main thought of this lecture was the importance of small business in Italy – not only in this current Gucci case or fashion industry, but for whole economics. Without small and medium enterprises most of the current Italian results – low rate of unemployment, high quality of goods (as Italian brand) and profit matters – just would not be possible in this country.

 Gucci is a perfect example how large and small companies can cooperate for the decent benefits – small company can provide best quality of materials and hand made accessories, big one – constant work and payments.Network, developed by Gucci, was and is perfect model of cooperating for quickest way of innovation search. Inside large companies it can be really hard to find and develop a real innovation,

but small family firms have their own view on the market, and that helps to avoid daily routine in such a changeable industry as fashion.

 Before the lecture I had no idea, that Gucci owns not only its brand, but also 4 cutting-edge brands with high potential for long-term growth (Balenciaga, Stella McCartney, Alexander McWueen, Sergio Rossi). That is all Gucci – diversification in everything. Different brands, names, designers, markets and final customers. Small and medium external companies, that allows one large corporation to stay on the edge of industry - and it is Gucci style, that helps this company still stay Italian - not French or Chinese. 

It is the first time I see this kind of cooperation model  - it surprises with simplicity and effectiveness. Maybe things in the world could be much easier, if we could mention different ways of leading businesses.

The Business Plan

Every person needs documents – to proof the personality, property rights or health.  Business plan can be defined as a main document of idea, firm’s future and maybe future of its creators.

Honing & Karlsson (2004) gives the following statement, which is quite full: “Business plan is a written document that describes the current state and the presupposed future of an organization”.

Actually before the seminar discussion I was not quite sure about need of creating business plan; as well as during the discussion. Should we create business plan, if we are loosing time and money, for example, season is changing or our product is melting like an ice cream on the sun? Should Bill Gates create business plan for his new idea or just spoken speech will be enough?

 

Ireland and Barringer point in the need of creating business plan, especially for the new-made entrepreneurs. In this case all pros and cons of the business easily can be seen on paper – that is obvious and visual proof of your thoughts.

 I had an experience of writing business plans – one was my course project, other, real – still in the process (hope one day will finally come true). So when you start – it seems so easy, because thoughts in your head are like bees in hive – a lot and noisy. But line by line, page by page, they start suddenly disappear. And in one moment (usually at the boring one) – there is not a single thought about what to do next (with finances, or stuff, or another parts)… so – if you had not started writing, you would never thought about this difficulties before it happened. We should remember, that business plan help to foresee the main challenges of the idea developing stages.

 It is important not only for getting the external recourses of financing, but for self-control also - clear vision of future project (as well as future of the project). But most of all I don't like the idea that it is impossible to plan everything - thing changes in this world, slow or quick. Should we at this case start planning? 

Anyway, maybe it is better to come back to the paper work instead of intangible dreaming:)

Entrepreneurial creativity

One of the most interesting lectures, definitely.

Just to remind myself:
To create something new entrepreneur should answer main questions:
- what problem will it solve?
- What market will be opened?
- Will I earn money?

And product should include additional characteristics:
- innovative
- unique
- solves problem
- gives a long-term profit
-
I was exited about the creativity exercises. Pictures! Examples! Real advises!

Creativity is not so easy to find. If you have – come on, develop! If not… at least, you can steal (or buy) someone’s idea.

But one mind does not let me.
Can we be sure, that all these well-known people are really creative? Maybe Steve Jobs and Bill Gates (just an example) are just good managers and nothing more? What if they just bought (or stolen, or hired people with) creativity? Example (or standart) of what are they in that case?

what is entrepreneurship, part 2

I was surprised, when on Friday, sep 03 came to the lecture and had a seminar de-facto.
It was an interesting, almost unformal talk. But I need to get used to such a lecture format.

More than seventy years ago Shumpeter suggested a term “innovation”. In becomes more and more popular year by year, but be true, not everyone who tells “innovation”, knows the meaning of this word.
On other hand, this is one of the most ambiguous terms in the modern science – so it is no surprise that we can get confused.

The most interesting discussed idea for me was connected with the thought, that entrepreneurs pay great attention to the details.
It surprised and scared a little bit. Looks like person can be creative, but not entrepreneurial, as well as entrepreneurial, but not creative. Does the missing page in the business plan (no matter which, according to this theory) determine, is its creator entrepreneurial or not? Is it possible to provide everything? All possible scenarios, future forecasts and grotesque disasters? What if the person did not thought about the end of human being in 2012 (or goat flu, or Martian invation, or dinosaur’s awakening, as well as stock market crash caused by weather changes in Peru), and it suddenly came true, just one of this billion possibilities, and ended his business? Can he still be called entrepreneur? Or we should stain this looser because he did not pay attention to that detail?
To my opinion, entrepreneur is not the one who tries to provide everything, but the one who can be mobile and react on the changes quickly, to make even drawbacks came into profit.
And what’s on your mind?

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A couple words about the entrepreneurial game. Wonderful opportunity to see all benefits and drawbacks of any teamwork and brainstorming. It showed, that it’s hard for me to work in team. Unbelievable hard, so I should learn it quick.
Also it proved an obvious thing: if one team has seven people, three teams each has six and the last one has five people, and the background of all persons is approximately the same… Who will be a winner and a looser?
Yes.
Obvious.

what is entrepreneurship, part 1

First day at JIBS impressed me with a words – It is easier to make the future, than to forecast it.
That is a real entrepreneur slogan. Create it, don’t try to avoid troubles and bad public opinion.
Statistics says, that 100% of unrealized ideas fails. It means, that the realized ideas have better chances to succeed.

So this is my view on the difference between entrepreneur and ordinary human. Taking risk instead of waiting, making trends instead of being in fashion.

Some additional thoughts:
- people aren't born as entrepreneurs, but are made; indeed. I think, culture makes us humans, as well as sometimes culture makes humans entrepreneurs.
- children are a great example of entrepreneurship. Yes: even between children we see passion, product focus, creaCtivity, competition and of cource tenacity in case of failures.
- entrepreneurship is a basic human capability. But should we learn to be entrepreneurs or it’s better to avoid education as a creativity killer? Is it possible to find a middle?

The entrepreneurial self

Person needs to be entrepreneurial, if he lives in Russia. Indeed.
When I was seven, I tried to start up my first venture – selling chewing gum to the classmates.
I was not lucky in that case, be true. But that experience taught me some things. Firstly, to understand the customer’s needs. Secondly, not to deal with the seven-year-old children.