E-Cells: Campus Entrepreneurship

Lesson 2: Explore E-cells on Campus

• E-cells help shape career dreams and develop skills required to build a successful career.
• E-cells can transform individuals into successful leaders and entrepreneurs.
• Inspiration can be drawn from the success story of Practo's founder, Shashank ND.
• One can express their entrepreneurial dreams through E-cells.

Entrepreneurship Cell (E-Cell)

• E-Cell is a club run by students to practice and promote entrepreneurship in their campus communities.
• E-Cell helps students explore entrepreneurship as a career option.

E-Cell Activities

• E-cells provide students with space and opportunities to develop leadership skills.
• E-cells foster innovation and generation of new ideas via brainstorming and mind mapping.
• E-cells encourage creative and critical thinking by encouraging divergent thinking and problem-solving skills.
• E-cells help in opportunity evaluation through Market Research, SWOT Analysis, and Cost-Benefit Analysis.
• E-cells guide business planning, including strategic, financial, and operational aspects.
• E-cells foster team building and resource raising by prioritizing investments to align with the business's strategic priorities.

Leadership Skills

• Effective communication is fundamental for conveying ideas, expectations, and feedback clearly, as well as ensuring everyone understands their roles and responsibilities.
• Leaders make timely, well-informed decisions, weighing various factors and potential outcomes, enhancing efficiency.
• Strategic thinking involves analyzing trends, foreseeing future opportunities and threats, and devising plans accordingly.
• Conflict resolution involves negotiation, mediation, and problem-solving to mitigate conflicts and maintain productivity.
• Effective delegation involves leveraging the strengths of team members while also fostering their growth.

Innovation and Generating New Ideas

• Creativity Techniques encourage brainstorming sessions and mind mapping to stimulate idea generation.
• Cross-functional Collaboration fosters collaboration between different departments or disciplines to bring diverse perspectives and expertise together.
• Experimentation and Risk-Taking cultivate a culture where experimentation is encouraged, accepting the possibility of failure.
• Continuous Learning encourages employees to stay updated on industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices.

Creative and Critical Thinking

• Divergent Thinking encourages thinking outside the box and exploring multiple perspectives or solutions to a problem.
• Problem-Solving Skills provide frameworks like design thinking or the scientific method to systematically approach and solve complex problems.
• Analytical Skills foster the ability to analyze information critically, separating fact from opinion and identifying underlying assumptions.
• Feedback Culture encourages giving and receiving constructive feedback, which can help refine ideas and solutions through iterative processes.

Opportunity Evaluation

• Market Research helps identify emerging trends, customer needs, and potential gaps in the market.
• SWOT Analysis evaluates the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats associated with each potential opportunity.
• Cost-Benefit Analysis assesses the potential risks and rewards of pursuing a particular opportunity, considering factors such as resources required, market demand, and competitive landscape.

Business Planning

• Strategic Planning develops a clear vision and mission for the business, along with specific goals and objectives to guide decision-making.
• Financial Planning creates detailed financial forecasts, budgets, and projections to ensure the business's financial health and sustainability.
• Operational Planning defines operational processes, workflows, and systems to streamline business operations and maximize efficiency.
• Risk Management identifies potential risks to the business.

Team Building and Raising Resources

• Recruitment and Talent Development recruits individuals with diverse skills and backgrounds who are aligned with the company's values and goals.
• Provide opportunities for training and professional development to enhance team members' skills and capabilities.
• Networking and Partnerships help build relationships with potential investors, strategic partners, suppliers, and other stakeholders who can provide resources, expertise, or support.
• Motivation and Engagement fosters a positive work culture where team members feel valued, motivated, and engaged.
• Recognize and reward their contributions, and provide opportunities for autonomy, mastery, and purpose.
• Resource Allocation effectively allocates resources, including financial, human, and technological resources, to support the team's goals and initiatives.

Why Join an E-cell?

• E-cells provide networking opportunities to connect with successful entrepreneurs, investors, and mentors.
• E-cells allows attendance startup events, guest lectures, and panel discussions.
• Skill development in essential entrepreneurial skills like business planning, marketing, and pitching.
• Hands-on experience can gained through workshops and competitions.
• E-cells provide funding and incubation support by granting access to seed funding opportunities through grants and investor pitches.
• Support is available for developing business ideas through incubation centers.
• There is startup support & competitions e.g. hackathons, business plan competitions, and startup fests.
• Get mentorship to refine ideas and create viable business models.
• Collaboration & Internships allows the member to work with industry leaders, startups, and research labs.
• Internship opportunities are available in early-stage startups.

UR Entrepreneurship Initiatives

• The Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (UR-CIE) enhances the capacity of staff and students to manage innovation projects.
• UR-CIE increases utilization of research to address socio-economic needs.
• The Grid Innovation and Incubation Hub (GIIH) is hosted by the African Centre of Excellence in Energy for Sustainable Development.
• GIIH does research, innovation, and entrepreneurship to foster partnerships between industry, government, and researchers.
• HATANA Innovation Bootcamp is supported by the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program.
• HATANA guides participants on the basics of innovation and entrepreneurship.
• Selected teams compete for grants to develop prototypes of their innovative ideas.

The Story of Shashank

• Shashank displayed curiosity and a problem-solving passion from a young age with parents who supported him.
• In high school, Shashank excelled in math and science, but he often dreamed of creating innovative solutions to societal issues.
• During college, Shashank discovered the Entrepreneurship Cell (E-cell), which fosters the entrepreneurial spirit and supports aspiring entrepreneurs.
• Joining the E-cell was a turning point for Shashank, as he became immersed in the vibrant entrepreneurial community via workshops, networking events, and startup competitions.
• Shashank became determined to pursue his own entrepreneurial venture after innovative ideas and passionate individuals inspired him.

Shashank's Mobile Application

• During his second year of college, Shashank teamed up with classmates to develop a mobile application to improve access to education for underprivileged children.
• Despite challenges, including technical hurdles, funding constraints, and doubts from skeptics, Shashank and his team launched their app, which gained traction.
• Shashank wore many hats and embraced being an entrepreneur, continuously seeking feedback, honing his skills, and expanding his network to support his growing startup.
• Years later, Shashank's startup began a thriving social enterprise, reaching thousands of children across the country attracting investors and media.
• Shashank is a role model and inspiration to aspiring entrepreneurs and his story is a testament to the power of passion, perseverance, and community in driving meaningful change.

How Shashank Generated Idea to Start Practo

• Shashank ND is Practo's co-founder (leading healthcare platform connecting patients with doctors worldwide).
• Shashank's idea for Practo stemmed from his personal experience of trying to find a good doctor for his parents.
• He realized the challenges people face in accessing healthcare services, including finding doctors, booking appointments, and managing medical records.
• In 2008, Shashank and co-founder Abhinav Lal started building a database of doctors, clinics, and hospitals, focusing on India with an easy-to-use platform.

Practo's Evolution

• Over the years, Practo evolved to provide appointment booking, online consultations, telemedicine, electronic health records (EHR), and health insurance services.
• Practo became one of the leading healthcare platforms globally, serving millions of users and partnering with healthcare providers.
• Shashank's leadership and entrepreneurial spirit has identifies problems, leverages technology, and stayed focused on the mission despite challenges.

Generating a Business Idea

• Business opportunity and development of successful business ideals starts with a problem to solve.

Identifying a Business Opportunity

• Help identify opportunities and study how they create opportunities for entrepreneurs.
• Observing the trends e.g. PEST (Political, Economic, Social, Technological).
• Observe renewable energy solutions and digital infrastructure.
• Focus on agricultural technology and Agribusiness.
• Identify gaps in tourism and hospitality Services.
• Solve problems and find gaps in the market place.

Form Team and Assign Roles - Process Flow

• To make your elevator pitch, sign up to be a CEO by entering a name and filling out the document.
• You get 60 seconds to talk about skills, your entrepreneurial style, and why people should join your team.
• List up to 5 names, in the order of preference in which you would like to work.
• Each person in the team must take up a specific role, such as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Operating Officer (COO), Chief Product Officer (CPO), and Sales Head.

Feasibility Analysis

• Feasibility analysis is the process of determining if a business idea is viable
• Before spending resources, a feasibility analysis should be conducted to determine if an idea is worth pursuing.
• It follows the stage of opportunity recognition.

Feasibility Determination

• Confirm product/service feasibility.
• Confirm Industry/Market feasibility.
• Confirm Organizational feasibility.
• Confirm Financial feasibility.
• If all four are confirmed, proceed with a business plan. If not, drop or rethink business idea.

Product/Service Feasibility

• An important assessment of the overall appeal of the product or service being proposed.
• Ensure confidence in the product and that it has a healthy market.
• Ensure you deliver a superior product or service.
• New product success or failure is decided early on.

Benefits of conducting a product/service feasibility analysis

• Know what consumers want because they are asked.
• A product's usability and the user's experience is tested.
• Often, conduct the analysis for a product/service concept test.
• Firms/individuals become the first customers/adopters by participating in the analysis.
• Asking prospective customers to test results in finding design errors early.
• Capital and time are used more efficiently with high confidence in product market fit.

Product/Service Concept Test

• A product concept test involves showing a preliminary description of the product or service idea to prospective customers to gauge customer interest.
• Need to have the ability to know how likely customers would be to buy the product and if they: definitely, probably, might and definitely/probably not buy the product.
• There needs to be a description of the product or service that's being offered.
• Explain the intended target market, benefits and positioning of the product relative to similar products in the market.
• Explain how the product will be distributed.

Product/Service Usability Testing

• Is a form of product/service opportunity assessment, which measures the product's level of comfort and the user's perception.
• Usability tests are may be called user tests.
• Basic prototypes are tested by entrepreneurs that ask their friends or colleagues for feedback. Most of which would have a low budget.
• Other companies invest on elaborated usability testing programs and facilities.

Industry/Market Feasibility

• Assessment of the overall appeal of the market for the product/service
• Industry attractiveness, market timeliness and identifying a market niche is needed.

Industry Attractiveness

• Industries that are growing are more receptive to new entrants and products.
• The worst thing is to describe the potential market, assume it and think that size guarantees results. You need a real advantage over competition.
• Must be some way of preventing imitation or they could be pioneers.

Market Timeliness

• Ensuring product/service is launched at the right time.

Niche Identifying

• Ensuring a niche market is being captured.
• A niche market is a place within a larger market, that represents a narrower group of customers with similar interests.

Organizational Feasibility

• A proposal business has been conducted to determine sufficient management expertise and other resources to launch its business.
• Management competence such as skills, experience and familiarity with the industry are assessed.
• Resource Sufficiency and capacity is evaluated.

Financial Feasibility

• Total start-up up cash needed is required.
• Show financial performance similar to most other businesses.
• State an overall financial attractiveness of the proposed venture including where the money is coming from and if elaborate plan is required to determine pay back.

A Business Plan

• A business plan is typically about 25 to 35 pages and its purpose is to explain the business.
• It's more for existing partners and team members and for potential investors.

Successful Entrepreneur Learning Objectives

• Understand the entrepreneurial journey and the styles.
• Understand each of the five entrepreneurial styles in the model differences.
• Identifying potential entrepreneurship styles based on their own personal traits, strings and weaknesses
• Understanding how their different entrepreneurship styles work and how different peoples styles work together

Entrepreneurship Styles

• Entrepreneurial style transforms or provides shape to idea which can lead to a successful organization.

Categories of Entrepreneurial Styles

• Managers are someone who focuses on administrative roles only
• Survivalists seek everyday goals rather than long term
• Calculators are not necessarily in success as practices often lead to failure due to the constant search of profits.
• Opportunists are entries in an industry that should produce consistent success.
• Innovators are the strongest who withstand different journeys
• Revolutionaries addresses the urge to make worldly changes such as fixing climate change

Advantages of Entrepreneurship

• Since entrepreneurs have to rely on themselves, also rely on their finances due to constantly facing all sorts of challenges.
• Entrepreneurs can quickly to develop awareness and identify possibilities by doing this.
• Entrepreneurs can decide how much they are worth starting from the beginning.
• Can manage their own flexibility.

Successful Entrepreneur Characteristics

• Successful entrepreuenres are curious to seek new opportunities.
• They expermint by pusuinng new opportunities.
• Adapting to changes in opportunistic.
• They can make irrational decisions.
• Create well rounded teams and dont give up easily despite the fact most startups fail and there is a risl of failure.
• They have to be innovative to improve the product to meet customer changes
• Have a long term goal to see the start to end.