Session 6: January 24, 2008

From Idea to Opportunity II

Guests: Benjamin Ling and Tim Kendall

 

Quote of the Day

"What people say you cannot do, you try and find that you can."  ~ Henry David Thoreau

 

Summary

This is the second of two sessions where we discuss the differences between an idea and an opportunity.

 

Required Readings (Policy on Required Readings.)

• Case:
  • Facebook [in the course reader]
• Watch the following short video clips:
• Vinod Khosla (KPCB) - Any Big Problem is a Big Opportunity
• Arcadia Kim (Electronic Arts) - Opportunity Assessment: Lord of the Rings
• Matt Hershenson, Joe Britt, Andt Rubin (Danger) - How Danger Turned Down Some Opportunities

 

Study Questions (Policy on Study Questions.)

• What makes Facebook an attractive opportunity (and not just a good idea)?
• How will Facebook make money?
• Identify the major risks in each of these categories: technology, market, team, and financial. Rank order them.
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of each of the business models and funding options they could pursue?
• How are startups in "Web 2.0, Social Networking" (e.g.; Facebook, MySpace) different from those in "Life Sciences" (e.g.; A.I.R, Nanogene) and "Clean Tech" (e.g.; Think, Tesla Motors)?

Team Case Analysis (Policy on Case Analyses.)

What's your next target market? Why? What are the risks of alienating you core market? How will you manage these risks?

Cases must be submitted by 9AM on the due date.

Note: This is the first submission for the Thursday teams which should be sent to the appropriate homework list. If you are a Tuesday team, do not submit a case by email. All teams will still be responsible for the material in class.

 

Submission Format

1.      PUT IN EMAIL HEADER: E145: Case Number, Case Name, Team Name
          i.e. E145: Case 1, AIR, The Randys

          You must submit all cases with this format for the subject line. Your assignment may not be graded if you fail to do so.

2.            PUT IN CASE STUDY:

• Names of the students in the team
• First sentence should be whether or not you agree with the prompt