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INTERVIEW WITH AN ENTREPRENEUR

The aim of this report is to explore how the entrepreneurs have gained access to the resources for start-up their own venture. Before we focus on the resources let me give you a brief overview of the company. Overall the main goal is to provide a service to the customers. By allowing the customers to rent indoor tennis courts, this is giving the advantage ofplaying the sport no matter the weather conditions for any day of the year. In addition to providing a service, they also sell equipment related with tennis such as rackets, t-shirts and tennis balls giving customers the experience they deserve. The founding partners of this company each have their own specialty that contributes to the success of this business. In my opinion, they have become a foxafter their venture. The same happens with Mark Zuckerberg as we saw in class.

Regarding the financial resources, the entrepreneurs informed me that initially they wanted to start-up their company by using their own capital. However, when they made the business plan they realized that would have not been a viable option. The founders then decided that in addition to the loan from the bank,combined different financial forms, each would need to invest one 10.000 pounds. They explained to me that the best way is by using your own money, because by doing this you avoid having to pay high interests rates that later are required to be paid back. Investing a large amount of money was a sacrifice that needed to be made in order for the business to work. Nevertheless, they did not use love moneyas we saw in class. In the end, they made a fantastic business plan along with a sensitivity analysis. The three entrepreneurs got a loan of 60.000 pounds. This amazed me because in class it was mentioned, “66% of capital required for new ventures was provided by the entrepreneurs themselves”. In fact most of the entrepreneurs presented started their ventures by using their own money.

Inrelation to human resources, the entrepreneurs said that the ‘employee’ is the most important asset the company has. It is really important to hire the right people. Three people were hired in order to manage accounting, marketing and sales. During the interviewing process the applicants hired were younger and had previous experience with influencing, persuading and negotiation skills, though there wasworry about the pay being low. Professor Jonathan stated in class that it is really important to hire the best candidates in order to succeed. I was given a piece of advice by the entrepreneurs, “it is really important to believe that normal people do extraordinary things”. With the right mentors, the candidates were presented with guidelines that gave them the knowledge, and the skillset neededto thrive in the company. It is important to invest in people; this correlates to the statement made by the professor “human capital contributes to the marketing success”. It was also pointed out that the best thing is to have regular customers and a good network. There is a link between this and the theory of Astebro “Entrepreneurs: Jack-of-all-trades or Hobos?”

Regarding the physicalresources. In their first year, they built three tennis courts. Each tennis court cost 20.000 pounds. Furthermore, they had to rent three buildings in order to place the courts. They had to pay 2.000 each month for the renting. However, they negotiated with the court suppliers to pay in instalments. Instead of paying the three courts, they decided on only paying for two, and the third would be paid afterseeing how well the business did in profits after start-up. By providing service of playing tennis, a shop was added that presented people with quality gear, and equipment to add to the tennis experience. In order to obtain these products they contacted with a local tennis shop from the city, and agreed to share revenues from sales. The price of booking a court would be 15 pounds each hour, after...