Anatomy of a Venture

Anatomy of a Venture

1. What is a Venture?

2. Why a Venture?

3. Venture Brainstorming

4. Selecting the Venture

5. Making it a Reality – The Logistics

6. Follow up

Overview

1: What is a Venture?

• Student-run small businesses on college campuses• Revenue generators for sustainable development projects

Example 1- Consistent Venture: Hunger Lunch Example 2-

One-time Event:

Hold ‘Em For Hunger

2: Why a Venture?

• Build awareness and engage a membership base

2: Why a Venture?

• Provides avenues for socially conscious consumers

2: Why a Venture?

• Leadership development: Learn what it takes to run an enterprise

Leadership Development

3: Venture Brainstorming

• What unmet need exists?• What would you have a blast doing on campus?• What gets you excited?

Venture Brainstorming Session

1. Break into groups for 15 Minutes• Select a team spokesperson• Brainstorm venture ideas• Choose one to report back to the group• There are no bad ideas!!

2. Back to the full group for 15 Minutes

4. Selecting the Venture

Tools:

1. Innovation Table• Compare your ventures with those of other

organizations • How are you different?• How can you do better or collaborate?

2. Prioritization tool• Where should I spend my time?

Innovation Table: Hunger Lunch

4. Selecting the Venture

Cancer Awareness Bake Sale

Nourish International Hunger Lunch

•Group runs a bake sale once a semester for cancer research•Publicity for bake sale is fairly passive

•Focused on global poverty•Hunger Lunch offers a more substantive meal, costs more but raises more as well•Hunger Lunch will happen once a week at the same time

•Maybe no meaningful collaboration

•We will publicize our Hunger Lunches through media, word of mouth, and excitement•Regular times makes it a part of people’s schedules•Garner repeat customers through incentives such as a meal plan card

4. Selecting the VentureInnovation Table: Hold ‘Em For Hunger

Inter-Fraternity Poker Tournament

Nourish International Hold ‘Em For Hunger

•Fraternity Council runs a poker tournament once a year•Though open to the public, there is little publicity outside of the Greek community•Money raised is used for council operating expenses

•Greek life has requirements for philanthropic work, they could co-sponsor a venture

•Aggressively market to a campus-wide audience•Demonstrate the money is going to a compelling cause•We’re going to have larger prizes and let people know about it!

•Hold Em’ for Hunger is essentially the same idea, except that we are making accessible to the whole of campus •The money we’re raising is going to sustainable development projects

Prioritization tool

• Decision making with limited resources

• Useful for chapter plan this evening

Prioritization Tool

DifficultyHard Easy

Imp

act

Low

Hig

h 12

34

5: Making it a Reality

• General Tips• Building a Strong Team• Finances• Marketing

• Start early• Plan ahead• Be persistent

5: Making it a RealityGeneral Tips

• Recruit your team• Enthusiasm• Dedication

• Division of responsibility• Delegate clearly• Set deadlines• Check-in and follow-up

5: Making it a RealityBuilding a Strong Team

• Partnerships• Know your audience• Know your value add

• University Administration• Maintain a positive

relationship• Gain approval where needed

5: Making it a RealityBuilding a Strong Team

5-Making it a RealityFinances

Revenue-

Expenses=

____________Profit

100 meals x $4/meal = $400 -

Food: $2/plate x 100 = $200 Equipment fees ~ $50

~ $250=

____________$150 Profit

First step: Initial calculation to determine potential gains of your venture

• How big do you envision this event, what are your goals?

• What is your target audience?

5-Making it a RealityMarketing

5- Making it a Reality

• Market Segmenting -> tailoring your pitch

Segment:Poker Players

Segment:Socially Conscious

Segment:People who like cool prizes

Pitch:Awesome poker tournament with huge prizes, winner named poker champion of Carolina

Pitch:Poker tournament raising money for sustainable development projects abroad

Pitch:Fun Poker with prizes like a big screen TV, vacation to Europe, Scooter

Marketing

5- Making it a RealityMarketing

Marketing

• What really matters:• Word of Mouth: repetition and personal

connection• Energy and excitement

5: Follow Up

• Maintaining relationships• Leadership team, partners, participants

• Planning a group meeting to un-pack shortly after• Group meeting: What worked and what didn’t?• Look at time spent versus money gained

• Exit surveys• Relax and take some fun time with the group!

Parting Thoughts

• Build venture over time• Focus on the high output time investments

• Give ownership to others

“If you want to build a ship, don’t herd people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.”

Antoine-Marie-Roger de Saint-Exupery