Assessment Brief 2
Assessment Title: Business StartUp Incubator Report
Assessment Number (if relevant): 2 of 2
Assessment Type: Business Opportunity Assessment
Restrictions on Time/Length: Min. 3,000 words for groups of 3; 3750 for groups of 4, 4250 words for groups of 5. The limit in each case is exclusive of appendices & the template provided on Moodle
Individual/Group: Group
Assessment Weighting: 75%
Issue Date: January 2015
Hand In Date: +3 weeks after last class, indicatively Friday 20 March, exact date will be confirmed with the class & posted on Moodle following the final class.
Planned Feedback Date: 6 weeks from submission date
Mode of Submission: Moodle
Student must submit:-
1. MS word / PDF documents via Moodle
Assignment Objectives:
Following a short taught stage, learners – in teams – will be encouraged and facilitated to conceive a product, service or organisational idea and develop it into a detailed, viable and cogent business assessment . The assessment should enable the future realisation of the innovation and should provide clear objectives and plans with all relevant business areas covered, such as customers, marketing, development, operations, finance, etc. Formative feedback on the draft plans will be supplied throughout the module.
Requirement
Details of assignment brief
This is a research-based individual assignment designed to test students in regard to the principal learning outcomes for the module as set out in the Module Guide. For the purposes of the assignment, each student is required to adopt the role of an entrepreneur, as part of a team, who has been asked to investigate a business idea to determine if it is a viable business opportunity. The output of your assessment is a business opportunity assessment which will be submitted to a Dublin based business startup incubator for potential funding, mentorship & office space.
You will be required to investigate many aspects of the idea including
• Who are potential customers
• What is the customer problem that the product is fulfilling
• How will the product best be sold
• Product pricing
• Who are the competitors & what is their position
• Operational issues
• Legal , funding & Intellectual property issues.
A template has been provided by the incubator in order for you to address the multitude of areas necessary to turn an idea into an opportunity. You are reminded of one message by the business incubator:
Business opportunity = business idea + customers
The assignment deliverable is as follows:
A formal written report addressing the requirements specified below (100 marks). The report will be based on the MS Word Template supplied with this assessment brief & posted on moodle. The team may modify the template in any way they see fit, however the guidance provided should be covered as this will deliver a well-rounded report.
The assignment must be submitted in electronic format using Moodle. It is the students’ & teams’ responsibility to ensure that their submission is accessible, and to keep an electronic copy of it in a separate storage device.
The report to the Business Incubator must address the following:
1. Executive Summary
2. Products & Services
3. The Market
4. Market Research
5. Marketing Strategy
6. Competitor Analysis
7. Operations & Logistics
8. Cost & pricing Strategy
9. Other Matters, including legal, funding & IP
10. Appendices
The report must also contain the following:
• An Executive Summary (no more than 100 words)
• An identifiable main body, with numbered sections
• A list of References & Bibliography
• Numbered Appendices (where appropriate).
The word limit does not include the executive summary ( Section 1) or the appendices (Section 10) ; it also does not include the text , in italics, included in the document as guidance or the questions posed in the headers in bold. The guidance text should be removed when you are completing or have completed the report.
Assessment Criteria
Heading Required
Content and structure
80% Answers topics & questions posed
Justification of decisions made
Logical organisation and presentation of the business plan
Conclusions
Sources
10% Variety of research sources & market research conducted
Legitimacy of sources
Currency and relevance of sources
Language and style
10% Business like presentation
Appropriate vocabulary, formal academic tone
Correct spelling, punctuation, grammar, formatting
Fluent sentences, clear transitions, and effective paragraph structure
Referencing
Total 100%
