2. Overview
In this first seminar you are tasked with working in a group to
come up with your own business idea and thereafter formulate a
plan to get it up and running.
It is important to note that you will be working in the same group
and on the same business for a number of weeks and therefore
should come up with a business idea that is exciting and viable.
For todays seminar we will be looking for your group to come up
with:
• The type of business and structure you would go for
• The various roles in the organisation each of you would take on
• Consider what the customer need is and how your company is
going to satisfy it?
• What have you learnt about working together to come up with
a business and organising yourselves into a structure?
3. 3
• Be able to articulate the type of business you would go for
and its implications
• Critically evaluate and discuss the various types of business
structures and hone in on the most appropriate one for
your business
• Identify and describe the various roles in an organisation
• Demonstrate an understanding of what is a customer need
and how you would satisfy them
• Work through group dynamics to come up with a robust
business & structure
Learning outcomes of this seminar
4. Agenda for this seminar
The various roles in the organisation each of you would take on
Consider what the customer need is and how your company is going to
satisfy it?
What have you learnt about working together to come up with a
business and organising yourselves into a structure?
The type of business and structure you would go for
5. Structure for the session
You will have
15 minutes to
discuss each
question
We will have a
de-brief at the
end of each 15
minutes to hear
your thoughts
on each area
Feel free to ask
questions but
please do not
have separate
conversations
‘we are all in
this together’!
6. So if you could start a business what would it
be?
Richard Branson
'Above all, you want to create
something you're proud of.
This has always been my
philosophy of business. I can
honestly say that I have never
gone into any business purely
to make money. If that is the
sole motive, then I believe
you are better off not doing
it.'
7. More importantly ask yourself why?
To develop a
product they
wanted but
couldn't find
To build a
better company
They came up
with a real
breakthrough!
8. What would your vision be for your business?
“An ideal
that…represents or
reflects the shared
values to which the
organisation should
aspire”
Kirkpatrick, Wofford
and Baum,
2002:139
Our vision is a world where
everyone can be connected
We bring good things to life
Be, and be recognised as, the
best consumer products and
services company in the world
Which Company?
Nokia
GE
P&GSource: Palmer, Dunford and Akin, 2009
10. Start with: What is the problem you are trying
to solve
What really
inspires me is
my students
energy and
curiosity but
they have no
framework
If I fly and the
experience is
not a pleasant
one, then I
think, well
maybe I can
create the
airline I’d fly on
You must be
crazy to think
of selling cell
phones to the
poor… yet it has
emerged as a
source of social
and economic
change
David Kelley
Founder of Stanford D
School
Richard Branson
Founder Virgin Group
Mohammad Yunus
Founder Grameen Bank
They all drive towards a purpose and a vision
What do these have in common?
11. “If I fly on somebody else’s
airline and find the
experience is not a pleasant
one, which it wasn’t 21
years ago, then I think, well
maybe I can create the kind
of airline that I’d like to fly
on. So I got a second hand
747 from Boeing and gave it
a go!”
Change the way something is
currently done?
Create something that has
never been done before?
“To end global
poverty”
Ask yourselves – What are we looking to
cause in the world?
12. Would you start a profit or not for profit?
Making money is a happiness. And that’s a
great incentive. Making other people happy
is a super-happiness.
Muhammad Yunus
Founder of the
Grameen Bank
As long as your going to be thinking
anyway – think big
Donald Trump
13. What are the implications of your structure?
• Purpose of serving the
interests of a specific
cause
• Profits re-invested
• Governed by
board/trustees
• Favourable taxes
• Government subsidies
• Purpose of maximising
shareholder value
• Profits distributed
amongst shareholders
• Owned by shareholders
• Corporation tax
14. Consider the size you want your organisation to
be… what are the pros and cons of each?
16. What are the functions in an organisation?
Marketing Leader/Legacy Sales
Finance Operations Legal
17. Consider the type of person you are…
Creative Numbers Logical
Organised Presenter Methodical
18. Your time is limited, so don’t
waste it living someone
else’s life. Don’t be trapped
by dogma – which is living
with the results of other
people’s thinking. Don’t let
the noise of other’s opinions
drown out your own inner
voice. And most important,
have the courage to follow
your heart and intuition.
They somehow already know
what you truly want to
become. Everything else is
secondary.
Steve Jobs
Founder Apple
What role do you feel passionately about?
19. Make sure your team has all the skills you
need…
As an individual you are a drop… as a team you are the ocean
22. +
Customer Insight
Understanding your customers and
their needs
Market Insight
Understanding the gap in the
market
Centred around an insight and ability to deliver
a solution
23. Know what you know first
Squeeze the value out of the information we have about how
customers behave
Put yourself in your customers shoes
Interview and observe customers in their normal surroundings
Give yourself time to think
Insights come when you least expect them
Keep digging
Insight discovery isn't easy, but keep going
Test the insight in action
When you think you’ve found an insight, think about where it
could take you. Make sure it is actionable
How do you discover an insight? Direct Line’s View
24. How is your company going to solve the
problem? An education example…
