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COMM 320 Entrepreneurship Midterm Mock review 2025 complete update Concordia University CONTENTS COURSES | TUTOR ACCO 360 ACCO 400 ACCO 435 ACCO 465 COMM 315 COMM 320 COMM 401 - 1@ase - 3 Long Answer Questions (in 1.5 hours!) co Based on key topics covered in class from ch. 1-5 co Responses to the 3 questions will be limited to 2 pages pf the exam booklet per response Introduction to Entrepreneurship e Entrepreneurship is a way of thinking, acting, and being that involves finding or creating new opportunities and taking action on them. Entrepreneurs are action-oriented and often change the world through their ideas. ¢ Traditional View: Entrepreneurship is often thought of as starting a business or a startup. e Modern View: Entrepreneurship is more about the mindset and methods. It's not just about starting companies, but about acting on opportunities and taking risks in uncertain environments. co Social Entrepreneurship: Solving social and environmental problems with innovative approaches. o Family Enterprises: Family-run businesses, though most fail before the second generation. 0. Serial Entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurs who continually create new ventures. Entrepreneurship as a Method (vs a Process): e Anonlinear, unstructured process requiring entrepreneurial thinking. e Entrepreneurs often fail early but learn quickly from those failures, increasing the likelihood of future success. e The method focuses on quick action, experimentation, and learning from feedback. ¢ 7 components of the Entrepreneurship Model: 1. Come up with why statement Start with means at hand Describe idea today Identify (or next) actions Enroll stakeholders Calculate affordable loss Act, learn and build 2s 2 oS as Entrepreneurship Takes Deliberate Practice: e Deliberate practice enhances entrepreneurial skills such as identifying opportunities, understanding complex patterns, and decision-making. ¢ Continuous learning and practice are critical to becoming a skilled entrepreneur. ¢ Activating an entrepreneurial mindset involves changing how you think and act under uncertainty in entrepreneurial settings. Mindset Types (Based on Carol Dweck’s Research): ¢ Fixed Mindset: Belief that talents and abilities are fixed traits. Individuals with this mindset aim to look smart and avoid challenges that could expose their weaknesses. e Growth Mindset: Belief that abilities can be developed through dedication and effort. These individuals embrace challenges and see failure as a chance to improve. Connecting Your “Why Statement” to Your Entrepreneurial Mindset: ¢ Your “why statement” reflects your purpose, motivation, and passion, serving as your North Star to guide decisions and actions. e Entrepreneurs are driven by passion but must avoid confirmation bias (interpreting all information positively) and focus on developing, not just discovering, their passion. 5 Habits to Cultivate an Entrepreneurial Mindset: CIFSR, CISFR = ee the learning process. Social Entrepreneurship: ¢ Focuses on identifying societal problems and creating innovative solutions. When an organization is formed to address these problems, it becomes a social venture. Measuring Impact: Social Impact Measurement: Evaluates the social change brought about by an organization's activities over a period. Theory of Change: A plan explaining how initiatives will lead to specific outcomes, ensuring everyone involved shares the same vision. Social Return on Investment (SROI): Calculates if the social benefits outweigh the costs, helping stakeholders understand the value created by the investment. What is an Opportunity in Entrepreneurship? Opportunity refers to the possibility of generating value by introducing unique, novel, or desirable products, services, or processes that haven't been exploited ina particular context. Key Characteristics of opportunities include: o Potential economic value o Novelty or newness co Perceived desirability Entrepreneurs must evaluate ideas based on their novelty and potential to address demand. Only innovations that meet market needs turn into successful opportunities. Opportunity Identification and Development o Favorable opportunities are those that are: o Valuable o Rare o Costly to imitate o. Fit 1. Find Pathway: Opportunities exist independently, waiting to be found. 2. Search Pathway: Entrepreneurs actively seek opportunities based on their interests or expertise. 3. Effectuate Pathway: Creating opportunities by leveraging existing resources and learning through action. 4. Design Pathway: Focusing on unmet customer needs to create entirely new markets or solutions. i Challenges in Moving from Idea to Opportunity Despite having a market for their product or service, entrepreneurs face challenges such as: co Access to important networks, information, and capital. o Socioeconomic factors that may hinder success, especially for underrepresented groups. Execution of an opportunity often depends on overcoming these roadblocks. EVALUATION CRITERIA AND WORD LIMITS Each answer is limited to 350 words. Communicating in a concise manner is part of demonstrating your mastery of the material. Point form is permitted, but please be coherent and communicate your ideas clearly. Your answers will be evaluated on the extent to which they: e Use appropriate terms correctly e Apply concepts and theories correctly e Discuss all the relevant concepts to completely answer the questions posed Please answer the three (3) questions regarding the case. Each question is worth five (5) points. 1) Social Entrepreneurship (5 points) ch 2 How can MissFresh integrate social entrepreneurship principles into its business model to enhance its social impact, and what opportunities exist for the company to address broader societal or environmental challenges? > Sustainable sourcing: continue sourcing ingredients from local farmers that also use environmentally friendly practices. That is, reducing pesticides, or adopting regenerative farming techniques. This ties to the social need of consumers wanting more locally sourced ingredients that exhibit environmental practices and improvements. This would allow MissFresh to also collaborate with socially responsible farmers. Promoting healthy eating in under-served communities: good publicity, further growth to the business, balancing profitability and social impact. > Reducing food waste > Biodegradable packaging 2) (IBIERIERSrehieUirialMinaBEE (5 points) ch 1&2 In what ways have Marie-Eve and Bernard demonstrated an entrepreneurial mindset in their approach to growing MissFresh? > Marie-Eve and Bernard demonstrated an entrepreneurial mindset through their adaptive approach of growing MissFresh. First, they recognized an opportunity in the Canadian market and acted on it. Marie-Eve acted with limited information in the Canadian market as she took the idea from when visiting her brother in Australia and applied the same concept in Canada by quickly launching their product. > Their willingness to experiment with various marketing strategies, such as targeted gift cards digital strategies, using the radio reflects adaptability. By measuring website traffic and engagement, they iterate and refine their approach which shows resilience. > Marie-Eve exhibited mental process (self-efficacy) in her ability of believing she could apply the same business from Australia to Canada and did not look back. 3) GRBatINE|OppPORtMMIFIES (5 points) ch 4 How has MissFresh used the IDEATE method to identify and evaluate new opportunities for product and service innovation? Identify, discover, enhance, anticipate, target, evaluate MissFresh has effectively used the IDEATE method to create and evaluate new opportunities for innovation. Vv income demographics, trying different digital strategies to become known, and investing in traditional strategies such as radio. In the end, several small-scale trials were carried out successively to measure the impact of each approach. By measuring website traffic and customer engagement, we finally came to the conclusion that a mix of different strategies would bring us success. The important thing for us is to reach as many people as possible, and by of seeing us everywhere, people began to try our service. What seems to work the most, too, is word-of-mouth. Our SEO program is our best ambassador. Missfresh delivers almost everywhere in Canada. Shipping is generally free, although there can be charges if you are in further regions. Missfresh currently only has one distribution center in Montreal. Missfresh has many Canadian competitors. The most popular ones are GoodFood, Chefs Plate and Cook it. These companies are all very similar in their offers: a box filled with fresh ingredients and recipe cards. Cook it stands out with its box for 3 people (good for 2 adults and 2 children). Cook it also offers ready-to-eat meals (simply heat up in the microwave). While Missfresh is the only one who offers a selection of tea, coffee or snacks that can be added to your order. In August 2017, the Metro grocery chain announced that they had acquired 70% of Missfresh. The three founders still own 30% of the company. The reasons behind Metro’s acquisition are clearly explained with the rise in the market share for online shopping in the food industry and it should keep rising in the upcoming years. Therefore, Missfresh allows Metro to take part in the very dynamic meal kit delivery services industry. As Marie-Eve says “Our vision has always been to grow the business to its full potential. So when Metro approached us and made us an offer, it was a "no-brainer" for us.” She further noted that there are several opportunities for synergies between the two companies, but she did have concerns about how to best build the team in the future. “For the moment, the people of Metro offer us a lot of support and, among other things, we benefit from their knowledge of the Quebec and Ontario markets. But we do not say more for reasons of competition.” The Metro grocery chain has left Marie-Eve responsible for running things and she is very interested in continued growth. In the early days, Marie-Eve approached people who could both invest, but also contribute their skills to the company. She noted, “My brother Bernard is a Chartered Accountant and | am a Web Marketing Specialist. So we had experience in digital management, product development and finance, but not in logistics, packaging or agribusiness, for example. We targeted people who had complementary skills to ours, and we managed to interest about ten people. We are always working to create strategic alliances because it's a good way to get growth.” Now, Marie-Eve looks forward to the future, and more new challenges. = Modern entrepreneurship is nota linear or predictable process and involves constantly learning and adapting. = Scott exhibited this method by launching in the e-commerce space with minimal planning and adapting/learning as he went. That is, inventing cooling mattress. >» Entrepreneurs think differently = They focus on actions and using the available resources they may have even though they’re often scarce. Instead of sticking to traditional retail model, he shifted to online sales. >» Action over planning = They often prioritize read world data/action over extensive planning. He recognized there was an opportunity in the online space and without spending excessive time planning or money, he just went for it and it paid off. » Profit is not the sole driver = Scott's focus on product innovation for his customers to sleep cooler, recover faster and wake up energized showcases his desire for customer satisfaction at any cost. * Collaboration over competition = He built strong partnerships with influencers and fitness celebrities to promote Bear mattresses. > Entrepreneurship is a life skill = Modern entrepreneurs apply this thinking to many parts of their life, not just start- ups. 3. Using Design Thinking ch. 5 How did Scott Paladini use the design thinking process to innovate Bear Mattress’s product and differentiate it in the competitive direct-to-consumer mattress market? E-D-I-P-T > Empathize = He understood the preferences of his target market especially seeking better sleep and recovery. By observing these consumers needs, he recognized the increasing need for mattresses tailored for customers to sleep cooler, recover quicker and wake up energized. This focus on empathy helped him gain customers in the health- conscious industry. >» Define = After empathizing with his target market, he clearly define the problem of what customers wanted; they needed enhanced sleep quality and recovery. He saw this Opportunity and capitalized on it. > Ideate = During this phase, he collaborated with developing new technologies to manufacture a new product. >» Prototype = He transformed these ideas into prototypes, > Test = Testing of the product obviously passed as he then sold $1M mattresses in a month. Case - Bear Mattress Based on: How This Founder Took His Family's Mattress Business Online and Reached the Million- Dollar Mark in Just 1 Year By: Christine Lagorio-Chafkin, Senior Writer, Inc. Magazine - Scott Paladini spent much of his youth in suburban New Jersey helping out with whatever ventures his father got into. At one point, he found his way to Rockaway Mattress, a company where Dad was consulting. “I'd work in the warehouse, unloading trailers full of mattresses. | worked in some of the stores all through school," Paladini says. Over the years, during breaks from high school and college, he sold mattresses to all of his friends. After a post-college stint in finance in New York City, Paladini wanted to move home to be closer to family. At the same time, he felt the call of entrepreneurship, so he decided to open his own mattress store in Bernardsville, New Jersey. It was a logical move, since his family was familiar with the business and it was an affluent area--Paladini figured his high-end and organic mattresses would sell well there. Hibernate Bedding was successful enough that after two years, in 2014, Paladini opened up a second store 40 miles east in Hoboken. But, that same year, he noticed something was happening outside of the brick-and-mortar world. In the midst of the direct-to-consumer boom, which Warby Parker had helped usher in a few years earlier, a lot of other products formerly seen as "try before you buy" items were being sold online. Beds were among them. For example, the company Casper Sleep raised nearly $2 million in January 2014, and sold $1 million in mattresses in its first month. Paladini wanted in. He figured he could dip a toe in e-commerce while continuing to run his profitable stores. He built a website and developed a unique, American-made mattress to differentiate his company from an increasingly crowded field. Although he hired no new employees for more than a year, the strategy worked: In 2018, Bear Mattress had more than $20 million in sales--a 13 percent three-year growth rate that earned the company the No. 7 spot on 2019's Inc. 500, the annual list of the fastest-growing private businesses in the United States. To separate his products from those of other upstarts that were adopting the mattress-in-a-box approach, Paladini looked to the changing industry. He'd seen that a lot of manufacturers were developing new technologies, including foams infused with copper or graphene that could cool the bedding to make it better for sleep. There was also a fabric innovation called Celliant that had just been approved by the FDA for medical applications. It was essentially more than a dozen crushed minerals woven into fabric that transferred body heat into infrared waves. Bear's website boasted the technology would “help you sleep cooler, recover quicker, and wake up energized.” Using both of these technologies, Paladini enlisted manufacturers around the country to create mattresses and covers. Riffing off his stores' name, Hibernate Bedding, he called the new mattress company Bear. It launched at the beginning of 2015, selling direct-to-consumer online and in Hibernate stores. Though it didn't sell $1 million in mattresses in a month like Casper had that April, the business did reach the million-dollar mark in its first year. Customers come to Bear's website through search results, as well as from paid and influencer social marketing. The company has a partnership with a self-proclaimed "Mvmt Ninja," Travis Brewer, who has more than 100,000 Instagram followers and who performs a combination of yoga and acrobatics with his partner on mattresses. Several other sports and fitness celebrities have endorsed Bear too. The startup's customers span a range of age groups, and the majority are women. Ina field rife with competition, Paladini is confident Bear can continue its growth because of the way he's distinguished it from the pack. "When someone does their research about other mattress brands, we do a very good job about educating them on our website," he says. "We inform people about the performance materials we use, and we have 10,000 five-star reviews. It's a lot of social proof from our customers." 
