ENTREPRENEURSHIP&
INNOVATION
UNIT 1: INTRODUCTION TO
ENTREPRENEURSHIP & INNOVATION
Summary: Learners will be introduced to the
fundamental nature and principles of
entrepreneurship, innovation and critical
thinking.
Learners will use tools and techniques to
develop greater awareness of their strengths
and weaknesses and use this information to
develop a personal development plan.
LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR THIS UNIT:
1-3-1 Identify opportunities for solving a defined problem.
1-3-2 Create and use a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, threats ).
1-3-4 Demonstrate flexibility and adaptability when suggesting
solutions in response to a defined Problem.
5-2-1 Identify how personal strengths and weaknesses may
impact on the outcomes of entrepreneurial activities.
5-2-2 Produce a personal development plan.
5-3-2 Evaluate the validity and quality of data.
KEY VOCABULARY AND STRUCTURES:
Entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, social
entrepreneurship, social entrepreneur, innovation,
business start-up
Critical thinking
Data validity, data quality
Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
(SWOT) analysis, personal development plan
Command words, state, identify, define, describe,
analyze, discuss, evaluate, assess, reflection
1. PRINCIPLES OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP
AND INNOVATION
Learning outcome(s ):
This activity introduces the course and contributes to the later
achievement of all learning outcomes
1.Principles of entrepreneurship and innovation
WHAT IS CREATIVIT Y?
1. creativity:
Creativity is the spark that drives the development of
new products or services, or ways to do business. It is the
push for innovation and improvement. It is continuous
learning, questioning, and thinking outside of prescribed
formulas .
WHAT IS INNOVATION?
a new or improved product or process (or a combination
thereof) that differs significantly from the unit’s previous
products or processes and that has been made available to
potential users (product) or brought into use by the unit
(process).”
Entrepreneurial behavior can add significant value and
innovation is an essential aspect of this process. However,
remember that to be described as innovating, an organization
must be proactively moving away from what is to what could
be!
WHAT IS ENTREPRENEURSHIP?
1. Entrepreneurship: a mindset and set of
behaviours where limited resources are not seen as a
hindrance to the realisation of visions and solutions.
Entrepreneurs identify problems, come up with
solutions and recognise opportunities. They seek to
leverage resources.
The mindset and set of behaviours and practices
whereby opportunities are pursued irrespective of
resources currently controlled.
WHO IS THE ENTREPRENEUR?
1. entrepreneur :
one who creates a new business in the face of risk and
uncertainty for the purpose of achieving profit and growth by
identifying significant oppor tunities and assembling the
necessar y resources to capitalize on them.
(secure the use of resources beyond those they own or control)
and build organisations (organised groups, projects, clubs,
charities or business ventures) through which to deliver their
ser vices.
WORDS TO DISCRIPE THE
ENTREPRENEURES
WORDS TO DESCRIBE HOW THE PERSON
IS BEING ENTREPRENEURIAL
1 . A Positive Mental Attitude
A positive attitude and outlook is a must for successful
entrepreneurs.
2. A Creative Mindset
The mind of an entrepreneur is always looking for novel ideas and
innovations. The basic life cycle of any entrepreneurial product
stems from the conception of an idea followed by turning that idea
into a viable product or service.
3. Persuasive
The best entrepreneurs are persuasive individuals. The power of
persuasion can help you negotiate, close a sale, or score a lower
price on your inventory.
4. Intrinsic Motivation and Drive
One of the top entrepreneurial characteristics is intrinsic
motivation, meaning you are self -motivated as opposed to
looking drive.
5. Tenacity and an Ability to Learn from Failure
When you’re star ting a business, you hope that your business
will be a wild success. It ’s true that success is wonder ful, but
failure is where growth and change happen. The key to learning
from failure is to actually learn and embrace your mistakes so
they make your better, not break you.
6- leader
7- risk taker
8- driver
9- determination
10- hard worker
WHY ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS IMPORTANT
FOR THE ECONOMY?
WHY ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS IMPORTANT
FOR THE ECONOMY?
Entrepreneurs provide job oppor tunities:
Entrepreneurs create new businesses and in turn create
oppor tunities of employment for people.
Entrepreneurs increase competition & boost productivity
Ent repre n e ur s c halle ng e ex ist ing firms to bec o me mo re c o mpet it ive as t hey o f ten
enter t he market wit h lower pric es and g reater pro duc t variet y. T his c an c ause
ex ist ing player s in t he market to re - assess t heir o perat io ns, inc reas e t heir value,
lower c o st s, and bec o me mo re ef fic ient .
Entrepreneurs create new business & new markets
A s t he t rends in t he wo rld c o nt inue to c hang e , peo ple’ s demands will c hang e, g iv ing
ent repr e n eur s an o ppo r t unit y to st ar t new busines s e s.
Entrepreneurs add national income
T he new pro duc t s o r ser v ic e s c reated by ent repr e n eu r s result in new wealt h fro m
t he new market s. A ddit io nally, hig her earning s due to ent repre n e ur s hip c an help
bo o st nat io nal inc o me.
Entrepreneurs introduce innovative technologies
L i k e s o m e o f t h e l e g e n d a r y n a m e s i n b u s i n e s s , B i l l G a te s ( M i c r o s o f t ) , L a r r y E l l i s o n ( O r a c l e ) ,
S tev e J o b s ( A p p l e ) a n d m a ny m o r e , e n t r e p r e n e u r s c r e a te i n n ova t i o n s . N e w a n d i m p r ov e d
p r o d u c t s e n a b l e n e w m a r k e t s w h i c h o f te n l e a d to e c o n o m i c g r o w t h .
Being a business owner can be extremely rewarding. Having the
courage to take a risk and star t a venture is more than financial
gain:
I ndependence: As a business owner, they are their own boss. More
impor tantly, they have the freedom to make the decisions that are
crucial to their own business success.
Lifestyle: Because they are in charge, they decide when and where
they want to work. They enjoy lifestyle flexibility, because they're
creating their own schedule. They might decide to run their business
from their home.
Financial reward: Successful business owners have the
opportunity to make more money for the risks they take. They
benefit from their own hard work.
Learning oppor tunities: As a business owner, you’ll be
involved in all aspects of your business. This situation creates
numerous oppor tunities to gain a thorough understanding of
the various business functions.
Creative freedom and per sonal satisfaction: As a business
owner, you’ll be able to work in a field that you really enjoy. It
allows individuals to grow beyond a par ticular skill set, put
their skills and knowledge to use, and gain personal
satisfaction. fulfillment .
T YPES OF ENTREPRENEURIALS:
1 . Social entrepreneurship
A socially conscious business is focused on solving social
problems, such as access to food, money, and education. The
stated goal of these companies is to make the world better
(although, for most, the ultimate purpose is still to make
money). Such companies develop products and ser vices with
the
2. Innovation entrepreneurship
Innovation entrepreneurship is rooted in new inventions and
ideas, which are then transformed into ventures. These firms
aim to change how people live and seek ways to make
products and ser vices stand out, thereby accomplishing
something that other companies haven ’t.
Big business entrepreneurship
One major disadvantage for a business when it gets larger is that it starts
to move slowly. As a result, big businesses of ten tr y to jump -start
entrepreneur ship by snatching up a smaller company
and delegating innovation to the new acquisition .
Re a l -wor ld ex a mple: Af ter being par tner s for year s, Disney finally
purchased animation studio Pixar in 2006. Rather than create its own
studio to compete with Pixar, Disney decided it would simply buy the up -
and-coming studio behind Toy Stor y and other hit movies.
4. Small business entrepreneurship
In small business entrepreneur ship, innovation is typically more modest
and based on a new twist on currently available products and ser vices — or
simply on doing a job well — while profits are used to support the
company’s family rather than being poured into more expansion. These
small businesses are often made up of family members and friends. Local
restaurants, dr y cleaner s, and mom -and-pop stores are good examples.
5. Scalable start-up business entrepreneurship
As defined by Steve Blank, the father of the lean star tup
concept, scalable startup business entrepreneurship begins
with a founder’s belief that they can change the world.
Venture capitalists often swoop in to fund these sor ts of
star tups in the hope of landing massive returns. They then
hire highly skilled and educated professionals to run them,
seeking to address market holes or disrupt entire industries.
Real-world example: Uber star ted as an idea to revolutionize
the taxi industr y and, after attracting investment, the
company exploded and grabbed massive market share in a
very shor t time.
Decide what you want before launching your business.
CRITICAL THIKING
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF CRITICAL
THINKING
The fundamentals and principles of critical thinking: critical
thinking is the process of actively and skillfully
conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesising and
evaluating information from observation, experience,
reflection or reasoning, as a guide to belief and action.
It is a way of approaching a question that allows us to
carefully deconstruct a situation, reveal its hidden issues, and
make the best decision to produce positive outcomes.
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF CRITICAL
THINKING
The Critical Thinking Process:
Critical thinking involves asking questions, defining a problem,
examining evidence, analyzing assumptions and biases, avoiding
emotional reasoning, avoiding oversimplification, considering
other interpretations, and tolerating ambiguity .
In essence, critical thinking requires you to use your ability to
reason. It is about being an active learner rather than a passive
recipient of information.
A critical thinker understands the connections between ideas,
and is able to construct arguments based on facts, as well as
find mistakes in reasoning.
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF CRITICAL
THINKING
Stages in critical thinking
One: Formulate your question:
In other words, know what you're looking for.
Two: Gather your information:
There's lots of it out there, so having a clear idea of your question will help
you determine what's relevant .. Information gathering helps you weigh
dif ferent options, moving you closer to a decision that meets your goal .
Three: Apply the information:
N o t a l l i n fo r m a t i o n i s e q u a l l y r e l eva n t . I n o r d e r to m a ke a c r i t i c a l j u d g m e n t , i t ’ s
i m p o r t a n t to b e a b l e to j u d g e t h e r e l eva n c e o f t h e i n fo r m a t i o n yo u h av e . A r e t h e s o u r c e s
r e l i a b l e ? I s t h e r e e n o u g h i n fo r m a t i o n o r d a t a to s u p p o r t t h e g i v e n a s s u m p t i o n ? A r e w e
s u r e t h e s o u r c e s w e fo u n d a r e u n b i a s e d ?
I t a l l o w s u s to d i s c ov e r f a c t s a n d f i g u r e s to m a ke a n a r g u m e n t . W i t h o u t j u d g i n g
r e l eva n c e , w e w o u l d s p e n d to o m u c h t i m e o n d e t a i l s t h a t d o n ’ t m a t te r a s m u c h
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF CRITICAL
THINKING
Four: consider the implications:
Think about the consequences.
Five: explore other points of view :
This will allow you to explore alternatives, evaluate your own
choices, and ultimately help you make more informed
decisions.
This five-step process is just one tool
It can help us increase the number of positive choices we
make. Critical thinking can give us the tools to sift through a
sea of information and find what we're looking for.
WHY CRITICAL THINKING
Please tr y the below exercise;
Today I learned ……
I was surprised when ……
I did not understand ……
I would have liked to ……
I can be more successful in this class if I …….
