| Idea Evaluation Process |
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So you have an idea that you think would make for a terrific new venture? Be careful. Lots of people have lots of ideas. But not every idea makes economic sense; this is why the economic landscape is littered with failed new ventures, including the "dot-bombs" of the recent past. There is a "chicken and egg" question about ideas for new ventures. You will never know if an idea can be successful as a new venture until you try it, but trying every idea is bound to lead to lots of failures. So how can we help separate the wheat from the chaff, and only pursue the most promising ideas? The University Center for Entrepreneurship exists to help you with your ideas, and to help you become more educated about entrepreneurship in order to increase your odds of success. Before committing resources of the Center to an idea, we want to make sure it's a strong idea that makes sense to continue developing. So we have developed a process to help provide some initial evaluation, feedback, and guidance for the development of ideas into new venture projects. Below is a description of our process. Screen your idea -- You may have several ideas that have occurred to you about possible new ventures. The first step is to do a simple evaluation using some basic criteria that help distinguish more promising ideas from less promising ideas. These criteria include: creating a clear, articulate statement about your product/service and its benefits; carefully defining your intended target audience; examining the "industry" for basic characteristics such as size and growth trends; and identifying your probable competitors. You should also be asking other people what they think about your idea. The Center has a form for you to use to help you screen your idea. Click here for an Idea Screening Form Get informal feedback on your idea -- Several times each year the Center will provide forums in which you can get informal feedback on your idea and the screening you have already done. We schedule Sounding Boards during open meetings with the members of the Center, during which students outline their ideas and receive advice and comments from the members. These sessions are helpful because you get a lot of feedback from a number of people. The Center will also schedule Private Advisory discussions periodically; these will typically include a member of the faculty and representatives from the Center's student review committee. Typically, private sessions are for those ideas that may involve some type of proprietary, possibly patentable technology. Develop a Project Proposal -- With your own screening in hand plus having informal feedback from interested Center members, develop a Project Proposal to submit to the review committee. Your project proposal should follow these general Proposal Guidelines. Review Committee Evaluation -- The review committee will typically meet two times per year to deliberate on Project Proposals. The review committee consists of students, the Center Director, and an ad hoc group of faculty. Projects accepted by the review committee may get a physical work-station assignment in the Center and qualify for additional financial resources and support through the Center's annual operating budget. Project leaders of accepted projects have a responsibility to compose a team of students to assist in the planning of the new venture, and must establish and report on development goals for the project periodically. Return to "Get Involved!" web page. |