Unit 1: Creativity and the Entrepreneur

1a. Compile and analyze the methods entrepreneurs use to gain an entrepreneurial mindset, such as vision and goals

  • What are the different types of entrepreneurs?
  • How might an entrepreneur apply the business lifecycle in their business?
  • What two models or frameworks can be used to develop a business idea?

An entrepreneur is a person who identifies and acts on an idea or problem that no one else has acted on. There are four types of entrepreneurs. The first is an innovator who finds new approaches or methods that uniquely add value. Creators are people who see a problem others have not noticed. A market maker is a person who innovates or reinvents their market to consider what the market can evolve into. An expander (or scaler) is a person who seeks out opportunities to expand on previously created methods or products.

Every successful entrepreneur develops a vision statement, which is the picture of what the entrepreneur has for the future. A mission statement is a formal declaration about what the venture will do, how it will add value, and how the company will accomplish these actions. A value proposition is a summary statement that conveys the benefits of the product, service, or business model. To make a business successful, entrepreneurs should have an entrepreneurial mindset, which is an awareness and focus on identifying an opportunity through solving a problem and a willingness to move forward to advance the idea.

A new venture lifecycle consists of three main stages: pre-seed, early stage, and late stage. Pre-seed involves idea development, while early stages involve implementation, growth, and maturity. The late stage involves selling the business or seeking funding for future growth. The business life cycle consists of phases a business goes through startup, launch, growth, maturity, harvest, and rebirth or exit. In each phase, an entrepreneur will take a different approach to managing the idea or the business.

Many entrepreneurs use the Lean Model Canvas to identify problems, solutions, value propositions, and customer segments. In doing so, successful entrepreneurs focus on the concept of the design thinking process, which involves empathizing, defining, ideating, prototyping, and testing.

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1b. Apply creative thinking and brainstorming techniques, such as mind maps, design thinking, and ideation processes

  • What are some ways you can use creativity processes to develop ideas?
  • What are the steps in the creativity process?
  • What is open innovation?

Many tools can be used to help with creative thinking. One way is the SixThinking Hats method, which creates structure around how to think about new ideas. The six hats are:

  1. The white hat, which focuses on information gathering;
  2. The red hat, which focuses on emotions;
  3. The black hat, which focuses on logic and caution;
  4. The yellow hat, which focuses on optimism;
  5. The green hat, which focuses on creativity; and
  6. The blue hat, which focuses on structure.

Other ideas to generate creativity include scheduling creative free time, thinking about the quantity over the quality of ideas, and reading and writing more. The SCAMPER technique is a way of thinking about modifying an existing idea and involves looking at a product or service in a new way.

When attempting to be creative in a team, some threats to team creativity can get in the way. These include social loafing, conforming, production blocking, and performance matching.

Open innovation involves searching for and finding solutions outside of the organizational structure. It takes an optimistic view of sharing information and ideas. In using open innovation, organizations employ creativity, innovation, and invention. Creativity is the ability to develop something original. Innovation is a change that adds value to an existing product or service, while invention is a novel product or process that is a major leap in improvement.

The creativity process involves five stages: preparation, incubation, insight, evaluation, and elaboration. When employing a creativity process, understanding the meaning of the five key qualities of innovative products is important. These qualities are sometimes called DICEE: deep, indulgent, complete, elegant, and emotive.

The Timmons Framework is a method of looking at creative ideas and involves consideration of opportunities, objectives, and resources needed to meet the objectives.

To review, see:

 

Unit 1 Vocabulary

This vocabulary list includes terms you will need to know to successfully complete the final exam.

  • creativity
  • creator
  • design thinking process
  • entrepreneur
  • expander (scaler)
  • innovation
  • innovator
  • invention
  • market maker
  • mission statement
  • open innovation
  • SCAMPER technique
  • Six Thinking Hats method
  • Timmons Framework
  • value proposition
  • vision statement
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