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Cowboys in the IT-industry Teaching Case in Entrepreneurship

Cowboys in the IT-industry Teaching Case in Entrepreneurship. Narrator: David Madie - Editor: Suna Sørensen/Jesper Piihl - Producer: GoVisual Financed by:. The Entrepreneurial Process. The Main Story Cash Management A Valuable Failure Initial Challenges Financial Viability

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Cowboys in the IT-industry Teaching Case in Entrepreneurship

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  1. Cowboys in the IT-industryTeaching Case in Entrepreneurship Narrator: David Madie - Editor: Suna Sørensen/Jesper Piihl - Producer: GoVisual Financed by:

  2. The Entrepreneurial Process The Main Story • Cash Management • A Valuable Failure • Initial Challenges • Financial Viability • Handling Growth • Selling the Company? • To Go Corporate • A New Turnaround • Personal Re-orientation The Supplementary Story • About Politics • About the Business Idea

  3. Cash Management Narrator: David Madie - Editor: Suna Sørensen/Jesper Piihl - Producer: GoVisual

  4. Cash Management: Questions for Discussion Who are the entrepreneurs? What type of business is it?/Who are the customers? What are the company’s competative advantages?

  5. Cash Management: The Business Idea ”We thought ”WoW” let us go out and sell it to the big companies” Key Questions: • What are the entrepreneurs’ motives for initiating the business? • Under which circumstances do they create the business idea? • Is it a good business idea? • Does the business idea represent an entrepreneurial opportunity? • What do you think happened next?

  6. Cash Management: The Reaction “However, something very strange happened” Key Questions: • Where did the customers see the problems? • Did the entrepreneurs give up too soon? • What could the entrepreneurs have done differently to succeed?

  7. Cash Management: In Reflection ”All these things we could have known by making a few phone calls” Key Questions: • What can you learn from the story? • ”Research your market before you start your business”: Is it always a good idea? • Which theories can be applied to understand what is going on in the story?

  8. A Valuable Failure Narrator: David Madie - Editor: Suna Sørensen/Jesper Piihl - Producer: GoVisual

  9. A Valuable Failure: A Second Business Idea ”Sometimes entrepreneurs need to make mistakes” Key Questions: • Under which circumstances do they create a second business idea? • Does this business idea represent an entrepreneurial opportunity? • How does the first start-up situation differ from the second? • What are the pros and cons of being a student and an entrepreneur? • What should be the next steps?

  10. A Valuable Failure: To become Visible ”All the other companies had never heard of us” Key Questions: • What type of strategy do the entrepreneurs apply to become visible in the market? • Is it a winner strategy?

  11. Initial Challenges Narrator: David Madie - Editor: Suna Sørensen/Jesper Piihl - Producer: GoVisual

  12. Initial Challenges: The Pre-start ”This story is about some of the challenges we faced” Key Questions: • What characterizes the pre-start phase of entrepreneurship?

  13. Initial Challenges: A Team Approach “We tend to think that businesses are created by ONE entrepreneur” Key Questions: • What are the (dis)advantages of starting up as an entrepreneurial team? “We contributed with different aspects” • Can a team with heterogeneous members be expected to be more successful than a team with homogeneous members? • Which theories can be applied to understand team dynamics in entrepreneurship?

  14. Initial Challenges: How to Protect the Idea? ”A barrier for further growth” • Is it necessary that the entrepreneurs protect the business idea the way they do? • What could be alternative solutions? “Cowboys in the IT-industry” • What did they offer compared to their leading and potential competitors?

  15. Initial Challenges: Too many Ideas ”Businesses that had nothing to do with the other company” Key Questions: • Why do the entrepreneurs end up applying a scattergun technique? • What are the problems related to performing as a portfolio entrepreneur? What are the advantages? • What would you do? ”We wanted all the ideas” • What do you think about the entrepreneurs’ solution?

  16. Financial Viability Narrator: David Madie - Editor: Suna Sørensen/Jesper Piihl - Producer: GoVisual

  17. Financial Viability: How to make a Profit? ”We did not make enough money” Key Questions: • How can the entrepreneurs provide their product at a price that will cover their costs and bring home a profit? • What models/theories do you know that can support the entrepreneurs?

  18. Financial Viability: Chaos in Administration ”It is all a big mess” Key Questions: • How can the entrepreneurs create structure in the growing company? • What models of organizational structure do you know? • What type of leadership is required in the company?

  19. Handling Growth Narrator: David Madie - Editor: Suna Sørensen/Jesper Piihl - Producer: GoVisual

  20. Tackling Growth: An Introduction ”We thought we were finally secure, but…” Key Questions: • What are the challenges that entrepreneurs need to handle in the growth phase?

  21. Tackling Growth: Cash-flow Crisis “You find yourself in a cash-flow crises” Key Questions: • What can the entrepreneurs do to meet the specific challenges? • What could be the role of different investor types? • What is the gap between the entrepreneurs’ need and the bank’s point of view? “Track down every single payment” • What do you think of this approach of cash-flow control?

  22. Tackling Growth: The Divorce “The partners developed different interests” Key Questions: • What is the problem? • Is a divorce the only possible solution? • What would you have done? “Because of Per”

  23. Tackling Growth: Internationalization “At some point you start to look for other markets” Key Questions: • What characterizes the entry mode? • What do you need to consider, when searching for an international partner? • How would you overall characterize the entrepreneurs’ internationalization process? • What are the cultural problems associated with the establishment of international joint-ventures? • How do the entrepreneurs’ motives change as a result of the internationalization process?

  24. Selling the Company Narrator: David Madie - Editor: Suna Sørensen/Jesper Piihl - Producer: GoVisual

  25. Selling the Company: A Big Surprise “It was something we never expected” Key Questions: • Why are investors interested in the company at this very point in time? • What considerations are related to the potential sale of the company? • Who could be potential buyers? • How do you set the price? • Would you sell the company? “It created a strange atmosphere in the company”

  26. To Go Corporate Narrator: David Madie - Editor: Suna Sørensen/Jesper Piihl - Producer: GoVisual

  27. To go Corporate: A Completely New Situation “We were now hired” Key Questions: • Is this entrepreneurship? • Under what circumstances does it make sense to define it as entrepreneurship? • What are – if any – the major differences between an entrepreneur and a manager?

  28. To go Corporate: Life on Business Class “I would sign the contracts” Key Questions: • What does it mean to the entrepreneur that he has become part of a larger corporation? • What would you prefer: To be an independent entrepreneur or a corporate entrepreneur?

  29. A New Turnaround Narrator: David Madie - Editor: Suna Sørensen/Jesper Piihl - Producer: GoVisual

  30. A New Turnaround: A Phone Call “We are out of cash” Key Questions: • Why was the news a surprise? “Everybody is waiting” • What are the new challenges that confront the entrepreneur? • What would you do?

  31. A New Turnaround: No Salary “You won’t get your salary this month” Key Questions: • What do you think about the solution? • What will happen next? What will be the new headlines?

  32. A New Turnaround: A New Headline “We hit the headlines again!” Key Questions: • What was the end of the story? • Was it a story of failure? • What could the entrepreneurs have done differently to create a more happy ending?

  33. Personal Re-orientation Narrator: David Madie - Editor: Suna Sørensen/Jesper Piihl - Producer: GoVisual

  34. Personal Re-orientation: The Dismissals “I was good at building it up and not at tearing it down” Key Questions: • What is the entrepreneur’s new role? • Discuss the psychological challenges involved in the entrepreneurial process?

  35. Personal Re-orientation: Towards new Goals “I am not happy any longer” Key Questions: • At what stage in the entrepreneurial process do you stop being an entrepreneur and become something else? Three Messages • Based on the three messages; do you think everybody can become an entrepreneur?

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