S03 - Opportunity Identification and Screening Flashcards
When performing a SWOT analysis, which of the following would be categorized as an opportunity?
A. A competitor’s recent market exit.
B. Lack of technical skills within the team.
C. High production costs.
D. A limited customer base.
Answer: A. A competitor’s recent market exit.
Opportunities in SWOT analysis refer to external factors that could give a business a competitive advantage, such as a competitor leaving the market.
Which statement best reflects the difference between addressing market needs and identifying opportunities?
A. Market needs involve creating entirely new market structures, while opportunities focus on improving existing ones.
B. Opportunities involve creating new market needs through innovation, while market needs focus on addressing known demands.
C. Addressing market needs is associated with radical innovation, while identifying opportunities is not.
D. Both market needs and opportunities always require technological advancements to succeed.
Answer: B. Opportunities involve creating new market needs through innovation, while market needs focus on addressing known demands.
Market needs are about fulfilling existing demands, while opportunities often involve innovating to create new markets or address unmet needs.
Which of the following scenarios best represents a blue ocean strategy?
A. Launching a product that competes in an already saturated market.
B. Creating a new product category that has no direct competitors.
C. Differentiating an existing product by lowering its price.
D. Improving a product’s features to match those of competitors.
Answer: B. Creating a new product category that has no direct competitors.
A blue ocean strategy focuses on unexplored markets without competition, while red oceans involve competing in saturated markets.
What is the primary goal of opportunity screening in entrepreneurship?
A. To identify the quickest path to market for an idea.
B. To evaluate if an idea aligns with the entrepreneur’s personal goals and values.
C. To ensure an idea is both technically feasible and commercially viable before committing resources.
D. To determine the potential scalability of a product without considering feasibility.
Answer: C. To ensure an idea is both technically feasible and commercially viable before committing resources.
Screening ensures that resources are only allocated to ideas with a high chance of success, both technically and commercially.
Which of the following best describes the purpose of the S.C.A.M.P.E.R technique?
A. Generating incremental changes in existing processes.
B. Developing entirely new ideas by eliminating existing constraints.
C. Systematically rethinking elements of a concept to inspire innovation.
D. Using a fixed framework to validate a business plan.
Answer: C. Systematically rethinking elements of a concept to inspire innovation.
The S.C.A.M.P.E.R technique encourages innovation by substituting, combining, adapting, modifying, putting to another use, eliminating, or reversing aspects of a concept.
Which of the following is NOT a rule for recognizing opportunities as per Shepherd (2024)?
A. Build expertise through repeated experiences and effort.
B. Focus on outcomes over processes when evaluating opportunities.
C. Seek disruptions in user behavior or environmental trends.
D. Use entrepreneurship as a channel to align with personal preferences and values.
Answer: B. Focus on outcomes over processes when evaluating opportunities.
Shepherd (2024) emphasizes focusing on processes rather than outcomes to avoid bias and encourage continuous learning.
Anna is an experienced software engineer in a small town with no local e-commerce platforms. During her SWOT analysis, she identifies strengths in software development, weaknesses in marketing, opportunities in the untapped local market, and threats from larger competitors.
Question:
Which strategy should Anna prioritize to mitigate her identified threats?
A. Focus on developing a nationwide e-commerce platform.
B. Partner with a local marketing expert to increase community engagement.
C. Ignore competitors and focus solely on technology.
D. Avoid launching the platform until the competitors exit the market.
B. Partner with a local marketing expert to increase community engagement.
Partnering with a marketing expert addresses Anna’s weakness in marketing and strengthens her local presence to compete effectively against larger companies.
A tech startup has developed an AI-powered learning app for rural schools but faces a lack of high-speed internet in many areas.
Question:
To address this issue, the startup should:
A. Focus on addressing the market need for existing educational apps.
B. Develop offline AI learning capabilities to create a new opportunity.
C. Abandon rural markets and target urban schools instead.
D. Wait for high-speed internet infrastructure to improve in rural areas.
B. Develop offline AI learning capabilities to create a new opportunity.
Creating offline AI learning capabilities addresses the rural market’s infrastructure challenges and creates a unique opportunity for the startup.
A fitness company plans to create a VR-based workout solution in a highly competitive market for at-home fitness apps.
Question:
Which strategy would ensure alignment with a blue ocean approach?
A. Lowering subscription costs to undercut competitors.
B. Replicating features of existing fitness apps with minor enhancements.
C. Offering immersive and gamified VR fitness experiences targeting non-users.
D. Competing directly with market leaders by increasing advertising spend.
C. Offering immersive and gamified VR fitness experiences targeting non-users.
This strategy aligns with a blue ocean approach by creating a unique value proposition and targeting untapped customer segments (non-users).
An entrepreneur developing biodegradable packaging discovers high demand in major cities, unclear government regulations, and high production costs.
Question (True/False):
The entrepreneur should proceed with the product without additional screening since demand is high.
Answer: False. The entrepreneur must also evaluate cost reduction strategies, regulatory risks, and consumer willingness to pay.
False.
The entrepreneur must perform additional screening to evaluate production cost reduction, regulatory risks, and customer willingness to pay a premium.
Using S.C.A.M.P.E.R., a travel company brainstorms new ideas, including:
AI-driven automated trip planning (Substitute)
Virtual reality previews integrated into booking (Combine)
A redesigned airport check-in process (Modify)
Question (Multiple Choice):
Which of the following would be the next step for the company in screening these ideas?
A. Evaluate technical feasibility and customer demand for each idea.
B. Eliminate all but one idea without testing.
C. Immediately launch the most expensive idea.
D. Focus only on the simplest idea to develop.
A. Evaluate technical feasibility and customer demand for each idea.
Screening ensures that only viable ideas proceed, considering technical feasibility, customer demand, and commercial potential.
John wants to enter the renewable energy market but lacks experience. He notices inefficiencies in solar energy storage.
Question (True/False):
John should rely solely on his existing skills to develop a solution for solar energy inefficiencies.
Answer: False. John must build expertise and collaborate with renewable energy professionals.
False.
John must acquire expertise by networking and collaborating with professionals in the renewable energy sector to address the inefficiencies effectively.
An entrepreneur is evaluating two opportunities:
Opportunity A: An app for urban commuters to optimize transit routes using real-time data.
Opportunity B: An affordable, solar-powered phone charger for rural areas.
Question (Multiple Choice):
Which opportunity aligns best with a blue ocean strategy?
A. Opportunity A, because it targets a competitive market with well-established players.
B. Opportunity B, because it addresses an underserved market with minimal competition.
C. Opportunity A, because urban commuters are more likely to adopt new technology.
D. Both opportunities equally align with a blue ocean strategy.
B. Opportunity B, because it addresses an underserved market with minimal competition.
Opportunity B aligns with blue ocean strategies by entering an untapped market with a unique value proposition.
