6.9 Discussion Questions
- After a search, give examples of companies with clear vision but poorly defined mission statements.
- What are the pitfalls in crafting a vision statement that is too broad or too narrow?
- Place the SMART goals in order of importance and discuss why you chose that order.
- How can telling your entrepreneurial story help build a brand?
- What is the risk of falling in love with your own entrepreneurial story?
- What would it take to rework a pitch deck created for a campus competition and present it to an individual angel investor?
- In what ways is an elevator pitch an abbreviation of a longer professional pitch? In what ways does it differ?
- Reflect on the Airbnb pitch deck. What would the elevator pitch version of that presentation sound like? What would the ask be for the new elevator pitch?
- At what stage of product development for a manufactured good should you file for patent protection?
- Are noncompete clauses fair in entrepreneurial work? Why so? Are noncompete clauses always fair for employees? Why or why not?
- Research the average time it takes to win a patent in an industry you are interested in. What are some factors that contribute to delays in patent seeking?
- It is common to develop a product based on limited feedback using as few resources as possible only to watch as no one uses or buys the product. Can failure be a valuable part of finding product-market fit? Why or why not
- This section advocates using qualitative and quantitative data to develop products and find the right market for them. When might it be appropriate to rely heavily or solely on quantitative data? Can you think of a product that had very high usage rates that was incredibly popular but that almost as quickly fell out of favor? Which is better at predicting a fad: qualitative data or quantitative data?
- Imagine entering your campus pitch competition. What is your strategy to win?
- If your campus does not have a competition, what national competition might you enter? What is your strategy to win? Do some research online to find what has put past winners ahead.
