Entrepreneurial Opportunities

What is an opportunity?

What is An Opportunity? (1 of 2) Opportunity Defined An opportunity is a favorable set of circumstances that creates the need for a new product, service, or business idea.

What is an Opportunity? (2 of 2) An opportunity has four essential qualities

Opportunity "Everyone is surrounded by opportunities. But they only exist once they have been seen. And they will only be seen if they are looked for." Edward De BONO

Window of Opportunity Window of Opportunity The term “window of opportunity” is a metaphor describing the time period in which a firm can realistically enter a new market. Once the market for a new product is established, its window of opportunity opens, and new entrants flow in. At some point, the market matures, and the window of opportunity (for new entrants) closes.

An Idea Instead of an Oppotunity

How can we identify opportunities?

Three Ways to Identify An Opportunity

First Approach: Observing Trends Environmental Trends Suggesting Business or Product Opportunity Gaps

1965 yılında Beyoğlu'nda Dünya ve Fitaş adlı 2 salonla hizmet vermeye başlayan AFM, sinemaseverleri beyazperdeyle buluşturmaya devam ediyor. Türkiye çapında, toplam 29 lokasyonda, 201 salon ile hizmet veren AFM Sinemaları, daima sektörün öncüsü oldu ve birçok ilke imza attı. 1965 - İlk çok salonlu sinema, AFM Fitaş - Dunya Sinemaları 1993 - İlk DTS ile dijital ses sistemi, AFM Mövenpick Maslak 1994 - Alışveriş merkezinde açılan ilk ileri teknoloji, çok salonlu sinema, AFM Akmerkez Etiler 1995 - İlk arabalı sinema, AFM Tatilya 1998 - İlk yatar koltuklu lüks sinema, VIP sinema konsepti, AFM Mayadrom Akatlar 1998 - Dünya sinemalarında kullanılan ilk akıllı kart, AFM Gold Card 2000 - Sinema sektöründe ilk kez uluslararası bir fonla ortaklık, AIG 2001 - İlk 10 salonlu multiplex, AFM Fitaş Beyoglu 2001 - İlk bağımsız filmler festivali organizatörü, !f Istanbul 2002 - İstanbul'da THX ses sistemlerinin ilk kullanımı, AFM Umraniye 2002 - Türkiye'de ilk "Guinness en uzun süre film izleme dünya rekoru" organizasyonu, AFM Carrefour Umraniye 2003 - Türkiye'nin ilk 3 kanallı JBL hoparlör sistemi, AFM Carrefour Umraniye 2003 - İlk özel cam bölmede farklı dilde film izleme imkanı, AFM Uptown 2004 - İstanbul Menkul Kıymetler Borsası'na kote olan ilk sinema işletmesi 2005 - İstanbul'un ilk 3 boyutlu IMAX® sineması, AFM IMAX İstanbul 2006 - AFM Film Hattı 444 1 AFM (236)

Mavi’nin hayatındaki ilk önemli dönüm noktası; Erak’ın Mavi’yi çıkararak üreticiden marka yaratan şirket haline gelmesiydi. Türkiye’de blue jeans kültürünün yeni oluşmaya başladığı ve dünyaca bilinen markaların pazarın mutlak hakimi olduğu dönemlerde, Türkçe ismiyle dünya standartlarında bir marka yaratmaya cesaret eden ilk marka oldu. 1991 yılında kurulan Mavi, sadece beş yıl içinde uluslararası rakiplerini bırakarak Türkiye’de pazar lideri oldu. Gerçek dönüm noktası ise Ersin Akarlılar’ın, Mavi’yi dünyanın en zor pazarlarından biri olan Amerika’dan başlayarak yurtdışına açmasıydı. İyi yerel marka olmadan, küresel marka olunamayacağı düşüncesiyle; 1996'da pazar lideri olduktan sonra, New York’da Mavi America Inc.’i kurdu. Operasyonu, rekabetin en yoğun yaşandığı ABD'nin ardından Kanada, Avrupa ve Avustralya'ya taşıdı. Mavi'nin bir jeans markasından global bir moda markasına doğru gelişiminde "Perfect Fit" stratejisinin önemli bir etkisi oldu. Mavi'nin sadece vücuda değil, bulunduğu kültüre ve bütçeye de mükemmel uyum sağlaması anlamına gelen bu kavram, girdiği her pazarda dikkat çekti. Buradaki formül, markanın “Maviterranean” olarak adlandırdığı Akdenizli ruhunu bozmadan, farklı ülkelere uyarlanmış, kalıp, satış stratejisi ve iletişim çalışmaları yapmasıydı. Mavi’yi kısa sürede Kuzey Amerika pazarının popüler blue jeans markalarından biri haline getiren Ersin Akarlılar, 2002 yılında DNR dergisi tarafından "ABD’de Erkek Giyiminde En Güçlü 100 kişi” arasında seçildi. 2006 yılına gelindiğinde Time Dergisi Mavi’yi dünyanın en iyi 16 jeans markası arasında gösterdi. Bugün dünyada 50’nin üzerinde ülkede, 171’i Mavi shop olmak üzere 4.000’in üzerindeki satış noktasında müşterileriyle buluşan Mavi, dünya çapında operasyonunu; Mavi Türkiye, Mavi America, Mavi Canada, Mavi Europe ve Mavi Australia şirketleri aracılığıyla yürütüyor. Kendi perakende ağının yanı sıra; Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters, Peek&Cloppenburg, Macy’s, David Jones, Lafayette gibi dünyanın en önemli zincir mağazalarında, premium ve high end markalarla birlikte müşterisiyle buluşuyor.

Second Approach: Solving a Problem Sometimes identifying opportunities simply involves noticing a problem and finding a way to solve it. These problems can be pinpointed through observing trends and through more simple means, such as intuition, serendipity, or chance. Some business ideas are Clearly initiated to solve a problem. For example, Symantec Corp. created Norton antivirus software to guard computers against viruses.

Second Approach: Solving a Problem (2 of 2) Businesses Created to Solve a Problem

Third Approach: Finding Gaps in the Marketplace A gap in the marketplace is often created when a product or service is needed by a specific group of people but doesn’t represent a large enough market to be of interest to mainstream retailers or manufacturers. This is the reason that small clothing boutiques and specialty shops exist. The small boutiques, which often sell designer clothes or clothing for hard-to-fit people, are willing to carry merchandise that doesn’t sell in large enough quantities for Wal-Mart, GAP, or JC Penney to carry.

Personal Factors of the Entrepreneur Factors that tend to make some people better at recognizing opportunities than others Prior Experience Social Networks Cognitive Factors Creativity

Prior Industry Experience Several studies have shown that prior experience in an industry helps an entrepreneur recognize business opportunities. There are several explanations for this. By working in an industry, an individual may spot a market niche that is underserved. It is also possible that by working in an industry, an individual builds a network of social contacts who provide insights that lead to recognizing new opportunities.

Cognitive Factors Cognitive Factors Studies have shown that opportunity recognition may be an innate skill or cognitive process. Some people believe that entrepreneurs have a “sixth sense” that allows them to see opportunities that others miss. This “sixth sense” is called entrepreneurial alertness, which is formally defined as the ability to notice things without engaging in deliberate search.

Social Networks (1 of 3) Social Networks The extent and depth of an individual’s social network affects opportunity recognition. People who build a substantial network of social and professional contacts will be exposed to more opportunities and ideas than people with sparse networks. In one survey of 65 start-ups, half the founders reported that they got their business idea through social contacts. Strong-Tie Vs. Weak-Tie Relationships All of us have relationships with other people that are called “ties.” (See next slide.)

Social Networks (2 of 3) Nature of Strong-Tie Vs. Weak-Tie Relationships Strong-tie relationship are characterized by frequent interaction and form between coworkers, friends, and spouses. Weak-tie relationships are characterized by infrequent interaction and form between casual acquaintances. Result It is more likely that an entrepreneur will get new business ideas through weak-tie rather than strong-tie relationships. (See next slide.)

Social Networks (3 of 3) Why weak-tie relationships lead to more new business ideas than strong-tie relationships Strong-Tie Relationships Weak-Tie Relationships These relationships, which typically form between like-minded individuals, tend to reinforce insights and ideas that people already have. The relationships, which form between casual acquaintances, are not as apt to be between like-minded individuals, so one person may say something to another that sparks a completely new idea.

Creativity (1 of 2) Creativity Creativity is the process of generating a novel or useful idea. Opportunity recognition may be, at least in part, a creative process. For an individual, the creative process can be broken down into five stages, as shown on the next slide.

Five Steps to Generating Creative Ideas Creativity (2 of 2) Five Steps to Generating Creative Ideas

Full View of the Opportunity Recognition Process Depicts the connection between an awareness of emerging trends and the personal characteristics of the entrepreneur