Knocking doors for creating new ventures

Entrepreneurs take huge risks in exploiting business opportunities for profit, where they bring together human resources, financial resources, technical skills, and assets for carrying out their entrepreneurial activities and achieving their objectives. While some entrepreneurs own sufficient resources in start-ups, a majority of them rely on resources held by others, which they largely access through social contacts. They adopt appropriate business strategies and structures to optimise the performance of their firms. Besides, they exercise excellent communication and negotiation skills in managing and growing their businesses with the help of human and social capital. The case study explores the growth of a small entrepreneurial firm from its inception and highlights the entrepreneurial characteristics and factors contributing to its success. It explains how entrepreneurs adopt different strategies and structures, face challenging situations, and provide solutions to problems that encounter in managing and growing their organisations. In addition, it throws light on the importance of building and using social and human capital, effective networking systems and team management that determine the success of an organisation. Apart from this, it emphasises the importance of relational contracts in organisations, where employees, customers, investors and suppliers largely contribute to its success. European Case Clearing House, Cranfield, UK. Case Study - Ref 811-020-1 + Teaching Note - Ref 811-020-8