ENTR 452 – ADVANCED ENTREPRENEURSHIP

SPRING 2012 – PROF. ROB SINGH

DUE: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2012

ASSIGNMENT #1

Assignment #1 is the first developmental step toward your final business plan and will consist of writing a draft executive summary (ES). This assignment is worth 4 percent of your final grade.

The draft ES should be no longer than two typed, single-spaced pages. Use 1 inch margins and 12 point Times New Roman or Arial fonts (or some professional, standard font). I have put up a sample ES on my website and provide some additional resources online.

Use section headers and follow the template - you should cover the following in the ES:

1. The major product(s)/service(s), unique qualities, and why they are needed.

2. The company section – current status, location and legal form of organization (e.g., sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation), competitive advantages, etc.

3. The market (who is your target market) and how you will market to the target market.

4. Management (names and brief relevant backgrounds of owner/managers).

5. An estimate of sales (revenues) for the first five years – put this in a table. You should not do profits and cash balance or margins – just the revenues.

6. Deal structure (how much money you need to make this business go and what deal you offer – debt, equity, or both).

Each group (only 2 students per group) or individual should submit only one copy of Assignment #1 to me. Assignment #1 is due at the beginning of class on the due date.

Your grade will be determined by the clarity and organization of your written assignment.

I realize that you have not learned the technical details of the business plan and may have difficulty with elements such as the financial forecasts. The purpose of the assignment is to begin the thought process of developing the business plan. Most plans go through many iterations and this is just a starting point of the plan development process.

It is early and you will likely make changes to the above items before the end of the semester – you can change the information by the end of the semester. In fact, I expect you to make changes as you do the research.