Overview

This group project will involve developing and elaborating an entrepreneurial concept or idea, creating the important documents (feasibility study, start-up procedures, funding plan, etc.), pitching it to the class in an oral presentation with multimedia components (PowerPoint, Keynote, website, etc.), and then assessing the group’s effort at the end in a Collaborative Project Evaluation Form.

Deliverables

1. Oral presentation with team (7-10 minutes, December 4 or 6).
2. Comprehensive Concept Statement (5-7 pages, single-spaced, not including images, appendices, and sources page, as needed). Due December 6 in class, in printed form: one copy, with each team member’s name listed. Please also send an electronic copy to Dr. Blakesley (blakesle@purdue.edu) and each member of the team (use doc, rtf, or pdf format, but not docx).
3. Peer Collaborative Project Evaluation Form. Submit this document in printed form in class on December 6. You can download the form at our website: http://www.digitalparlor.org/fa07/blakesley2/peerevaluation
4. Project Log. All members of the team should be active contributors to the team’s project log at the course website. Remember that it’s important for everyone to document their work on the project (if you don’t let us know what you’ve done, who will?)

Collaboration

Teamwork is a key component of the project. Because a major part of the project will involve producing a polished document, you’ll want to manage the project carefully. Here’s one method of producing a collaboratively written document that you might find useful (the divide and conquer method):

1. Elect or appoint a project manager who will make sure to keep people on task, collect work from members, and submit the work to a project editor.
2. Assign each member of the team to research and draft a particular section that matches their expertise and interests.
3. Elect or appoint a project editor who will a) assemble all the parts of the document into a first draft, edit it, check all sources, and then distribute a draft to team members for review.
4. Team members are responsible for sending corrections to the project editor promptly. Please pay particular attention to the integrity of source documentation. (All uses of outside material must be documented in the text and at the end in References or Works Cited section.)
5. The team leader should submit the printed document on behalf of the team and should email an electronic copy to the instructor and all team members.

Key Ingredients of the Comprehensive Concept Statement

• Executive Summary
• Context
• Description and Elaboration of Product
• Feasibility Analysis
• Start-Up Procedures and Timeline
• Funding Plan
• Possible Strategic Partners

 General Project Parameters

• The team’s presentation should last 7-10 minutes (including Q & A), maximum.
• Your Comprehensive Concept Statement should include all the necessary ingredients, sufficiently developed, to be persuasive and informative to potential investors and strategic partners. For length, that means (not including images, sketches, etc.) about a 5-7 page (single-spaced) document, plus a sources cited page.
• Your final document should be professionally designed, readable, and presentable in printed format.
• The due date is the last day of regularly scheduled class. Peer evaluation forms are due in print on that day also.

Parts of the Document

Executive Summary

• An executive summary should be at most two paragraphs and should list the key points of the document, presented in a top-down manner (most important ideas first).
• The writing has to be clear and concise, capable of standing in for the entire document.

Context

• Your document (and thus your research) should account for the context in which your product will be launched. Cultural, social, and economic factors should be addressed, as needed to show the value of the product or concept.
• Target Market should be discussed in some detail to show the timeliness and value of the concept or product

Description and Elaboration of Product

• In this section (a major component of the document), you should describe the product or concept and all of its features. You might include drawings or images for illustration.

Feasibility Analysis

• Your document should include a detailed feasibility analysis, drawing from the guidelines in the textbook. At minimum, you should research and discuss issues of product development, suppliers, manufacturers, delivery, and barriers to entry.

Start-Up Procedures and Timeline

Your discussion of start-up procedures and the timeline should address (at minimum) these questions:

• What must happen first for the product or concept to be brought into the world?
• What legal or institutional issues would need to be resolved?
• What are the key events in the launch of the product (timeline)?

Funding Plan

• What funding will be needed to launch the venture? (be detailed)?
• Where will it come from?
• What investment will the partners make?
• How long will or should it take to turn a profit?
• Are there supplier issues to address?

Strategic Partners

• Are there any key partners that might help make the venture successful?
• When will they be brought on board?
• What incentives will there be?

Documentation

• All sources must be fully documented in the text and listed in a Works Cited or Bibliography or Resources section at the end of the document.
• It’s strongly advised that each team appoint one member to review all citation and documentation issues.
• For reference help, see The Thomson Handbook (Blakesley & Hoogeveen; available in Purdue’s Writing Lab, Heavilon 226) or Purdue’s OWL: http://owl.english.purdue.edu