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RIP: Groupon???
What follows is a post from Dr. Atul Teckchandani, one of the great professors teaching Entrepreneurship at CSUF. Groupon has the unique distinction of being a firm whose name is now a part of our vocabulary. When people buy an online deal, they talk as if they purchased a “Groupon.” Just like when people…
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Not your Typical Movie Theater – Alamo Drafthouse
What follows is a post from Dr. Atul Teckchandani, one of the great professors teaching Entrepreneurship at CSUF. Most movie theaters operate in one of two ways. Either they are the types of theaters that get the newest movies and then attract film-goers who are willing to pay $8-12 to see these movies as soon…
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It's in the Process, not the Plan
What follows is a post from Dr. Atul Teckchandani, one of the great professors teaching Entrepreneurship at CSUF. The current philosophy in entrepreneurship is being “lean.” In a nutshell, this approach advocates continuous innovation of the firm’s business model. The notion of going into stealth mode for a year and then suddenly appearing in the…
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Is College Necessary for Entrepreneurs?
What follows is a post from Dr. Atul Teckchandani, one of the great professors teaching Entrepreneurship at CSUF. While most of the people who come to my office are college students, I recently had an individual come who had just graduated high school. He came to see me because he wanted to be an entrepreneur…
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Focus on your core competencies
by: Atul Teckchandani Years ago, the most successful firms were vertically integrated. If you go way back – to the 1930s – there was Ford’s River Rouge plant, which made everything that went into the automobiles it ultimately manufactured. The plant had a steel furnace, a tool and die plant, a tire-making facility, and a…
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Looking for ideas up and down the Value Chain
There is quite a bit of academic research that says entrepreneurs start companies in industries in which they have work experience. They can leverage their deep knowledge of the industry to come up with a way to add value. A great way to brainstorm business ideas within an industry is to use the value chain.…
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Business Model Generation
The most important part of the planning process in starting a new venture is putting together the business model. A business model communicates all of the activities that affect how the firm competes in the marketplace. Investors want to know how the business will deliver value – to customers, partners, employees, and shareholders. Articulating a…
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Diana Ho designs
In this age of social media, a trend can go viral and mainstream in a matter of days. A fashion item that looks like it could be part of a new trend can be reproduced by mainstream retailers in a matter of weeks. But there is an increasing group of people who want to wear…
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CSUF Investor Panel
Every semester, students taking entrepreneurship courses at Cal State Fullerton present their business plans to a group of (mock) investors. These investor panels are comprised of members of the local business community who have extensive experience in a variety of different disciplines and industries. Many of the panelists have also been involved with a number…
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Everything Counts
As a leader, the reality is that most of the other people in your organization will not get to know you very well. This is likely to be true even in smaller organizations. Most of your employees will not be directly reporting to you or be able to have lengthy one-on-one meetings with you. Instead,…