Difference Between an Idea and an Opportunity

Course Description

Lectures

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   Lecture 1 - Difference Between an Idea and an Opportunity

   Tom Byers, professor at Stanford University and founder and a faculty director of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP), stresses that "Entrepreneurs are not born, they are made". He discusses a framework that elaborates the difference between an idea and an opportunity.

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   Lecture 2 - Why do Ventures Require Dynamic Leaders?

   Byers strongly believes that entrepreneurs have to evolve with their organization. He uses a metaphor to compare entrepreneurs to three kinds of dogs: retriever, bloodhound, and husky, as they evole into the role of CEOs.

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   Lecture 3 - Role of Context in High-Tech Venturing

   Byers believes there are various events that are not within the control of a management team. Good entrepreneurs are those who find a way to navigate and deal with this 'context,' he adds.

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   Lecture 4 - Market Positioning and the Importance of Partnerships

   Byers believes that the impact of marketing is often underestimated by companies. He  talks about how partnering is one of the keys to crossing the chasm between the early market and the mainstream market.

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   Lecture 5 - Purpose of a Business Plan

   Byers talks about how a great business plan can be developed. He uses Sahlman's alignment model to explain that an opportunity has to be in alignment with resources, people and context for deals to get completed.

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   Lecture 6 - Importance of Cash Flow

   Byers explains that smaller companies need to pay extra attention on how they spend their cash because if they run out of cash, it is game over for them. Byers uses the example of Palm Inc. to show how well the company managed their cash flow.

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   Lecture 7 - What are the Essentials of the Venture Finance Process?

   Byers goes over the essentials of a venture finance process: angel investors, corporate venture capital, boot strapping and the public. He also discusses the pros and cons of each of these pieces in this process.

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   Lecture 8 - Characteristics of Entrepreneurs

   Along with being audacious, courageous, patient, and adaptive, Byers believes that entrepreneurs should be exceptionally good at sales.

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   Lecture 9 - Role of Ethics in High-Tech Entrepreneurship

   Byers gives his perspective on how ethics played a role in high-tech entrepreneurship in the late 90's. He strongly believes that it is okay to fail but at the end of the day, it is character that matters.