Where do the great entrepreneurial ideas come from?

WSJ has an article on how entrepreneurs come up with great ideas. Good read.

Most importantly their ideas enlight the fact that alertness (in its various forms) is still a valid point. TechStar's David Cohen puts it pretty well: "Look at what's bugging you" by which he means about problem solving. Basics? Yes. Valid? Yes. Similarly, like fashion designer Liz Lange says, "search for a better way", great ideas may pop up just by questioning the current state of affairs and routines.

Simple as that. How many times you have came up with a great idea for a business? 10, 11, 25?

Blank: Why the Lean Start-Up Changes Everything

Steve Blank's article in HBR. Read it here.

They are at it. Again

Here you go. Brand new promo of BoostTurku.


What is Boost Turku? from Boost Turku on Vimeo.

Research seminar in entrepreneurship

Professor Colm O’Gorman from the Dublin City University, Ireland will be visiting Pori Unit. At this occasion an entrepreneurship research seminar will be organised on 25th of April.

Programme:

Welcome, Prof. Ulla Hytti

 

The Growth of New Firms: An application of Penrose’s “Theory of Growth of the Firm” to a New Venture, Prof. Colm O’Gorman, Dublin City University

- Q&A

 

Entrepreneurial Networks in Change, presentation of PhD thesis, PhD Student Katja Laitinen, Turku School of Economics

- Q&A

 

Effectuation and Networks, presentation of a paper based a larger research project focusing on service networks and their management, project researchers Tiina Mäkitalo-Keinonen and Tanja Lepistö, Turku School of Economics

- Q&A

Discussion

New generation of Young Entrepreneur ventures are on the roll

Julja NY, one of the six YE ventures which have been in the middle of their start-up process since last September, was awared for the national Best Web Presence title among University-level new ventures.

According to Young Entrepreneur website the judges appreciated the stunning visual identity of the company and also the great use of different social media sites to attract attention to the company and to their new brand. Updating activity and likes in Facebook are telling the story of a well planned web branding and commitment to the JA Company’s future as a real enterprise.

Website

• www.juljafinland.com

Blog

• juljafinland.blogspot.fi/

Social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, Intragram and Pinterest)

• www.facebook.com/juljafinland
• twitter.com/JULJAFINLAND
• instagram.com/juljafinland
• pinterest.com/juljafinland

Together with the University of Applied Sciences and University of Applied Human Science TSE Entre is involved in running the YE course. The course comprises an unexptional close hands-on approach on entrepreneurship. In September a number of students with different backgrounds team up, generate business idea and execute. Simple as that. The entire course lasts until the mid-May after which some of them register their business while the others root for their unique experiences in entrepreneurship.

Founder Institute: Best entrepreneurs are older, have less ego

A global start-up program the Founder Institute published results of their follow-up survey. More than an ordinary survey they tracked over 15.000 of application during their new venture creation process.

 

And this is what they found about the best ones (those who succeed in the NVC process)

• They start their businesses in the field they are familiar with (experience for a decade or more
• Thus, they are closer to their 40s
• They are open-minded
• They are flexible
• They are able to pivot in a blink of an eye
• They are agreedable
• They are not narcisists

From researcher's perspective some objective facts would be really valuable (if not necessary):

• How was the potential selection bias of applicants (age, gender, industry, earlier experiences) handled?
• How much an effect the attrition might have on these results, i.e. biased is the successful sample of founders? Are they voluntarily leaving the process or is it based on other aspects?
•  In addition to the personality related aspects, how much other similar factors (industry, size and type of start-up team) influence the exits from the NVC process or vice versa their success?

And what comes to the results, only the ways of behavior (ability to pivot and agreeability) are something new. The rest of the story is widely acknowledged, which on the other hand provides support for the FI’s findings. Previous research shows that the middle-aged people much more likely to become entrepreneurs than their younger peers. In the US the most common age group for the founders has been 35–44-years (Reynolds, 2008). Similarly, the earlier experiences in industry, entrepreneurship and managerial positions have been associated with the engagement in entrepreneurship as well as with succeeding in the new venture creation (Bates, 1995; Evans and Leighton, 1989; Reynolds, 1997). The role of personality issues i.e. is there psychological characteristics that differs entrepreneurs from the rest of us, have only a little effect in entrepreneurial engagement and success (Reynolds et al., 2004; Van Praag and Cramer, 2001).

Thus, if the FI’s results are sold as new, it is an unfortunate overlooking of what we already know. As interesting as they sound like a more robust assessment of the findings would make a better justice. Still, read Mashable's story here.

References mentioned:

Bates, T., 1995. Self-Employment Entry across Industry Groups. Journal of Business Venturing, 10 (2), 143-156.

Evans, D. S. and Leighton, L. S., 1989. Some Empirical Aspects of Entrepreneurship. American Economic Review, 79 (3), 519-535.

Reynolds, P. D., 1997. Who Starts New Firms? Preliminary Explorations of Firms-in-Gestation. Small Business Economics, 9 (5), 449-462.

Reynolds, P. D., 2008. New Firm Creation in the United States: A Psed I Overview. Foundations and Trends in Entrepreneurship, 3 (1).

Van Praag, C. M. and Cramer, J. S., 2001. The Roots of Entrepreneurship and Labour Demand: Individual Ability and Low Risk Aversion. Economica, 68 (269), 45-62.

EVA's report for understanding start-up culture

Only in Finnish.

Sami Kuuselan kirjoittama EVA Pamfletti on kulttuurinen käsikirja startup-maailmaan. Pamfletissa on paljon itseironiaa, kokemuksesta nousevaa huvittuneisuutta, mutta pohjalla vakavaa asiaa.
Vaikka innostusta ja puhetta startup-yrityksistä riittää, on startupeilla vaikeuksia löytää alkuvaiheen rahoitusta.

Hyvät ideat eivät myöskään tunnu muuntuvan menestykseksi, sillä Suomen exit-markkinat ovat varsin vaatimattomat. Samanaikaisesti yritysmaailma on jakautunut kahteen leiriin – perinteisen teollisuuden konkareihin ja startup-yrittäjiin. Pamfletissaan Kuusela haluaa rakentaa siltaa näiden leirien välille.

Raportti

Next research seminar in entrepreneurship is on 4th of March

This time the seminar will offers talks given by historians, social scientists, and our Norwegian guests.

Updated info will follow. Stay tuned.