Fundamentals of Management, 11/e

What’s Involved in Planning New Ventures?

1. 7-2 Explain what entrepreneurs do in the planning process for new ventures.

Although pouring a bowl of cereal may seem like a simple task, even the most awake and alert morning person has probably ended up with cereal on the floor. (Have you ever done that?!) Philippe Meert, a product designer based in Erpe-Mere, Belgium, came up with a better way. Meert sensed an opportunity to correct the innate design flaw of cereal boxes and developed the Cerealtop, a plastic cover that snaps onto a cereal box and channels the cereal into a bowl.17

The first thing that entrepreneurs like Philippie Meert must do is to identify opportunities and possible competitive advantages. Once they’ve identified the opportunities, ...