BUS 2403 Project 3

2014-10 (FA)

Opportunity Analysis Project (OAP)

Due Week 15
Project 3 - Final Assessment (Worth 40%)

Part A: Written Report (20%) - Team Based

Part B: Elevator Pitch (20%) – Individual

Learning Outcomes Addressed

CLO 2: Differentiate between an idea and a viable opportunity within entrepreneurial

ecosystems.

Introduction

For this project, student teams will delve deeper into the problem identified in Project 1. You
will learn to differentiate between an idea and a viable opportunity, using class time to
determine whether your idea is a true opportunity that can be turned into a scalable enterprise.
You will make a presentation to your peers and develop a corresponding written report based
on your analysis and insights gained from contacting users, customers, and partners.

We recommend five basic steps in the process of analyzing an opportunity:

1. Identify potential opportunities. Combine your own personal experiences and

creativity with external forecasts and trend analysis. How is the world changing with
respect to new technologies? What is the impact of globalization on current solutions?
What new requirements will those changes produce? Recent media articles on trends
are often a good place to start.

2. Define your purpose and objectives. Identify your most promising opportunity, being
careful to discriminate between an interesting technological idea and a viable market
opportunity. Prepare an outline which will help you to determine what types of data
and information you need to demonstrate the attractiveness of your chosen
opportunity.

3. Gather data from primary sources. It is crucial for you to obtain data from primary
sources. Potential investors will place more trust in well conducted primary research
than in stacks of data from secondary sources. There is simply no substitute for
talking to potential customers from the target market in order to validate the
opportunity you have identified. Consequently, we prefer that you spend time
gathering data from primary, not just secondary, sources. Past teams have found
Survey Monkey to be helpful in gathering primary data. The basic service is free and
provides most of the features you’ll need. Visit Survey Monkey at
www.surveymonkey.com.

4. Gather data from secondary sources. Countless secondary sources exist on the web
and in various library resources. Try not to get too bogged down in financial and
accounting data.
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5. Analyze and interpret the results. Persuasively summarize your results. A key success
factor for a successful project is the depth of your analysis and what you learned from
it. If, after careful research, you have determined that your business idea is not as
promising as you originally thought, it is acceptable to present an OAP that describes
why your idea will not make sense now rather than why it is the next big thing. An
honest, rigorous analysis of an idea that did not survive further scrutiny is preferable
to either (a) a half-baked presentation of an idea your team is unsure of, or (b) an
enthusiastic job of over selling your current idea, even though you know it is
problematic.

Part A: Written Report (Team-Based) – Worth 100 marks

Students should use the skills, knowledge, tools and techniques gained in the course (in
weeks 1 – 14) to prepare a report on their innovative concept. The report must include the
following sections:
1. Concept and Visions (10%)
Identify your theme and briefly describe a specific issue (problem or area for
improvement) linked to this theme. Describe a product, service, or process linked to
this issue that you would like to innovate, outlines a brief description of limitations to
current specification, functions, uses, and benefits if improving an existing
product/service.
2. Generating Knowledge and Awareness (10%)
Relate how you became aware of this issue and how you increased your knowledge of
this issue. Test your (OAP) idea by talking to at least ten potential users, customers,
and partners, document these discussions, and share what you learned.
3. Generating Ideas (10%)
In formulating your creative and innovative concept, apply at least two of the Tools &
Techniques to actively generate ideas (Brainstorming, Why-Why-Why Analysis, etc.).
Present your findings and outputs from this activity (in an appendix if necessary) and
analyse these findings and outputs in the body of the report.
4. Approach to Innovation (5%)
Based on the idea generation outputs and findings, develop a proposal for how you
would like to innovate the product, service, or process. Detail which aspects of the
product, service, or process you propose to change and why. (Specify the ‘Type of
Innovation’; add images, sketches, diagrams, or graphs to illustrate your point).
Describe how your proposed innovation would change the application (function /
benefit / uses / users, etc.) of the product, service, or process.
5. Limitations (5%)
Classify and rate at least three potential risks or limitations to the implementation of
your innovative concept.
6. Market Analysis (5%)
What industry or sector of the economy are you addressing? Why is this market
attractive? What segment of the overall market are you pursuing? What market
research can be done to describe this market need? What are the total industry or
category sales over the past three years? What is the anticipated growth for this
industry? If this is a new market, what is the best analogous market data that

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illustrates the opportunity? Project the potential market size and growth for your
opportunity.

7. Customers and Customer Development (10%)

This is extremely important. You need to have a clear idea of who your target
customer is. The only way for you to be able to do this is to "get out of the building"
and speak with your potential customers. You will need to answer questions such as:
What does the customer need? Why does the customer need it? What is the customer
using today? What is the customer willing to pay for your solution? Why? How will
you reach this customer? You should include both primary (or first-hand) research
and secondary research, emphasizing primary over secondary.

8. Competition and Positioning (10%)

Who else serves this customer need? Who might attempt to serve this market in the
future? What advantages and weaknesses do these competitors and would-be
competitors have? What share of the market do specific competitors serve? Are the
major competitors' sales growing, declining, or steady? What are the barriers to entry
for you? What are the barriers to entry for additional competitors? How could partners
and allies best help you overcome competition from established enterprises or other
startups?

9. Marketing Mix (10%)

You need to have a strong understanding of competitive advantage, seamlessly
integrated into the marketing mix, showing strategic insight. The product is
thoroughly defined with detailed features. The pricing strategy is well-justified and
aligned with market research. Distribution channels are comprehensive and strategic.
The promotional strategy is creative, detailed, and well-aligned with the product
positioning.

10. Business Model and Lean Startup Philosophy (15%)

Now that you have identified an opportunity and engaged potential customers, how
will you transition it into a business? How do you plan to generate revenue, and when
do you anticipate your venture becoming profitable? Please refer to the Financial Plan
Excel sheet (part of the OA Project). What pricing strategy have you chosen for your
product/service? You can focus on planning for at least 1 year (instead of 3 years).
What are your projected revenue streams over a 1- to 3-year period? What are your
total inflows and outflows? What sources of capital are you relying on? If your plan
unfolds as expected, what will be the valuation of your business after 12 months (or
36 months from today)? Please note, for this activity, you can concentrate your
analysis on a 1-year period and extend it up to 36 months if desired, but planning for 1
year is mandatory.

11. Learning and Adaptation (5%)

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What did you learn between the time you chose the idea and wrote the first draft of
the report and producing the final written report? Is this idea a true opportunity or
not?

12. Report Formatting (5%)

Ensure formatting is consistent with Times New Roman font, size 12, and 1.5
spacing. Header and footer include student name, ID, and course details. Attention to
your spelling and references are appropriately included where needed.

Grading
Please refer to the detailed rubric provided in the Excel format for comprehensive grading
criteria.

Part B: Pitch / Presentation (Individual work) – Worth 100 marks.

You will deliver a 'Dragons' Den' style or Shark Tank-style pitch lasting no more than 3
minutes and 1 minute for the Q&A (2 questions).

Ensure your elevator pitch is concise and within the allotted time (maximum 3 minutes). Be
prepared and well-organized. Communicate the key points of the pitch compellingly and
engagingly, capturing and maintaining the audience's interest throughout. The pitch should be
based on the content of your report.

Recording the pitch is a good practice that all colleges should consider. It aids in moderation
and helps address any potential issues later.

For the Pitch, it is recommended to have two faculty members assess each pitch on the day of
the presentation. This practice helps facilitate moderation and standardization of assessment
results across the colleges. If this is not possible, faculty members will need to moderate the
assessments using alternative methods, which can be time-consuming and prone to technical
difficulties during review.

Pitch Structure:

 Introduction (10%): Present the identified problem.

 Gap Identification (10%): Highlight the gap that needs addressing.
 Solution Description (10%): Explain how the proposed solution effectively
addresses the identified gap.
 Personal Contribution (30%): Reflect on your individual contribution to the team
report, including the specific part you worked on, the skills you developed, and how
you applied theoretical concepts.
 Question and Answer (20%): Please note that you will be asked two questions
during the Q&A, covering the entire project, not just your focus area.
 Presentation Skills (20%): Deliver your pitch clearly and concisely, ensuring you
adhere to the 3-minute time limit for the pitch and 1 minute for the Q&A.

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Grading
Please refer to the detailed rubric provided in the Excel format for comprehensive grading
criteria.

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