BCAP SEED

This pinterest site has many examples of trees in large planters. This is a practical solution for many situations where planting the tree in the ground is not feasible.

See the link above for many very nice examples of trees in large potted planters. This can solve many problems, 

- moving the trees becomes a lot easier- the trees can be grown in the planter itself allowing for more control over the growth

- the planters can be put in places in the city where it would otherwise not be possible to put a tree.

- the city does not need to break open the sidewalks and ground put soil and deal with drainage

- The trees can be moved in the city if they get too large

- The tree have some protection in the planters

- it may be easier to provide water to these plants without wasting the water as run-off.

- A smaller tree can appear much larger if planted this way so that we do not have to wait to grow full trees before selling them

- The pots themselves are decorative and add to the aesthetic

Following are 14 more of our key findings. If you would like to read the full report, you can download it here.

1. Founders that learn are more successful: Startups that have helpful mentors, track metrics effectively, and learn from startup thought leaders raise 7x more money and have 3.5x better user growth.

2. Startups that pivot once or twice times raise 2.5x more money, have 3.6x better user growth, and are 52% less likely to scale prematurely than startups that pivot more than 2 times or not at all.

3. Many investors invest 2-3x more capital than necessary in startups that haven't reached problem solution fit yet. They also over-invest in solo founders and founding teams without technical cofounders despite indicators that show that these teams have a much lower probability of success.

4. Investors who provide hands-on help have little or no effect on the company's operational performance. But the right mentors significantly influence a company’s performance and ability to raise money. (However, this does not mean that investors don’t have a significant effect on valuations and M&A)

5. Solo founders take 3.6x longer to reach scale stage compared to a founding team of 2 and they are 2.3x less likely to pivot.

6. Business-heavy founding teams are 6.2x more likely to successfully scale with sales driven startups than with product centric startups. 

7. Technical-heavy founding teams are 3.3x more likely to successfully scale with product-centric startups with no network effects than with product-centric startups that have network effects.

8. Balanced teams with one technical founder and one business founder raise 30% more money, have 2.9x more user growth and are 19% less likely to scale prematurely than technical or business-heavy founding teams.

9. Most successful founders are driven by impact rather than experience or money.

10. Founders overestimate the value of IP before product market fit by 255%. 

11. Startups need 2-3 times longer to validate their market than most founders expect. This underestimation creates the pressure to scale prematurely.

12. Startups that haven’t raised money over-estimate their market size by 100x and often misinterpret their market as new.

13. Premature scaling is the most common reason for startups to perform worse. They tend to lose the battle early on by getting ahead of themselves.

14. B2C vs. B2B is not a meaningful segmentation of Internet startups anymore because the Internet has changed the rules of business. We found 4 different major groups of startups that all have very different behavior regarding customer acquisition, time, product, market and team.

We start concepts that never get off the ground.  We work at companies not our own and without purpose.  We stop before mastering the task or continue long after the potential is exhausted.  How do venture ever get started?  Why do they stop before growing?  What difficulties cause so many to give up?

Prior to the industrial age people had to figure out how to survive on their own in communities by being entrepreneurial, now people just get a job and have lost the skills and desires to find an entrepreneurial way to thrive.  Entrepreneurship can be learned, it is inherent in all people, sure talent matters but it is indistinguishable from perseverance and lots of hard work. Entrepreneurship is about overcoming obstacles therefore it is in the realm of ordinary people not the mythical legends of billionaires.

Entrepreneurship is about action and exposing the gap between what you intend to do and what you actually did.  It is not about watching others or praising mythic figures.  What matters is that the business value is created, the process of doing it, the experienced gained.  Don't romanticize the vision, instead make it real.

Much of the work of an entrepreneur may never go very far but without doing it a lot you won't find the path forward that could work.  You learn how to build a business by building a business, it is a self-reflective meta-cognitive learning process.

Economics have been around longer than any modern business structure, it is at the core of our being, we just need to rediscover our inner entrepreneurial spirit.

Entrepreneurship has become part of an identity for many people who give it a try so whenever an attempt fails one feels very vulnerable.  All businesses are seriously flawed in someway, but the ones that figure out how to survive outlive the others who fail fatally.  Learning how to recover from failure is an essential skill for business and those entrepreneurs who are able to continue to discover the market increase the chance of survival and potentially thrive.  Don't let the fear of failure stop you.

Businesses get started when the pain of not trying is greater than the pain of thinking about failing.  Most people who try end up quitting, only those who try again and again figure it out.  It is necessary to know when to stop and change course but not quit.  Most people quit when they don't get to a purpose beyond the specific outcomes they think they needed to achieve.  It takes courage to stop and continue anew, quitting is easier since it is so final.

The number of MBA's who go and work for corporations instead of starting a business is alarmingly high.  Lack of support for entrepreneurial aspirations is likely one cause.  To increase the chance that one actually tries to start a business after taking a course:

Learn to think and act on your aspiration while in school and do not wait until it is over.

Network with everyone you can connect with until you have built your support network to enable your business.

Target customers not investors as your goal.  If you get customers you increase the attractiveness to investors.

Treat it as a lifelong choice not a momentary experience that you try once then give up and quit.

What prevent people from starting is the fear and self doubt between what you think you should be and what you might be based on your actions which expose what you don't or can't know.  Entrepreneurship will challenge your fears by applying your skills to your ideas.  Your vision of the business is so much better than the reality.  This will never change.  Don't chase a vision, work through the reality.

Develop an imagination of the possible; your imagination should compel execution; let your imagination be undisciplined but your execution be very disciplined and determined.  The business plan in your head is always perfect, execute against real problems.  Don't get seduced by the accounting, the plan is not the business, create product, get it into customers hands.

If you have any questions not answered by this FAQ please contact us at info (at) bcap (dot) biz

Does BCAP SEED offer the program to partners or groups or companies or individuals?

Contact us for details on what we may be able to set up. We work through a partnership network of organizations that have bundled and packaged the program to be affordable for their respective constituents.  We work with corporations who want to provide an entrepreneurship innovation program to their employees, we work through partnership in each country region, we service groups or teams in smaller companies, and we work with individuals who become members to access the program benefits.  Each bundle and packaging is appropriately configured for the needs and budget of each segment.  Our aim is to provide exceptional value and therefore you will find one of packages appropriate for your needs.

Is this a school or educational course? No, we are not a school or an educational course. We are an organization that is promoting and fostering entrepreneurship and innovation internationally as a means of economic development.  We have programs to help our aspiring entrepreneurs with their goals and business projects which may include on-line content and books, but entrepreneurs use these at their discretion to develop their own businesses. Our methods and techniques for helping entrepreneurs and innovators use coaching, mentoring, and consulting based on the specific needs.

Will entrepreneurs need to disclose their business concepts? Not really.  BCAP SEED focuses on assisting the entrepreneurs to get from concept to reality but we do not require that you reveal any ideas you do not want to share.  We can only help with what you tell us so that we can guide you in avoiding common mistakes in building your business.  We require that the coaches and mentors hold all information in confidence.  Some information will need to be shared to complete the exercises and we encourage team members to participate and collaborate.  Frankly, most ideas are just that, ideas; it is the execution that really matters. Become a member and take the program and you’ll find out why.    For people who have an invention that warrants a provisional patent we will advise that they go through this process and we may help guide the inventors through this before disclosing it with their permission in the course.   Many of coaches are high-tech engineers or lawyers so we understand the sensitivity of protecting Intellectual Property.

Can members find others to team up with? Yes. We hope this will happen between entrepreneurs who have shared areas of interest coming from a variety of backgrounds.  Working in teams is the best way to solve hard problems where multiple perspectives are needed to understand the possible paths to solutions.

Would members have similar ideas to each other? Mostly likely.  BCAP won’t ask anyone to submit their specific business concept in the membership application process. Our focus is on developing your competence regardless of the specifics of your business concept.  We encourage you to share ideas and collaborate within the program to get the most benefit, but you select what you want to share and work on.

Is BCAP membership for Engineers and Scientist or Designers, or for everyone? It is for everyone who has the desire to learn the type of fast growth Entrepreneurship that has been defined by the hi-tech sector. While coaches come from a high-tech background and their experience is with Internet start-up ventures, they have done many years of consulting work with large and small companies where the advisory services were provided to people who did not have any technology background. We encourage designers to apply and also people who just have an idea and want to make it real. But, if you are a techie, you should certainly apply since in such cases we can coach and mentor you through the process of creating a start-up venture.

Does BCAP focus on any particular industry? Our experience is high-tech, high-growth sectors but the strategies apply to many businesses.  We believe that even the smallest business needs to find ways to expand rapidly using all the capabilities now available for accessing global markets. We want to have a wide variety of members and have found that the best opportunities happen and synergies occur when crossing two industries and infusing them with novel approaches and innovation.  While we do have a point of view and bias toward high-growth industries we do not impose our notions on your business.  We focus on what works for your context and borrow from the many experiences we can draw from.

What is the time commitment required by a prospective Entrepreneur? Members are expected to do the work necessary to further their goals and to complete the parts of the program to a degree that they produce useful understanding and artifacts that can be used for the business they are creating.  In our experience to launch a business of get an innovation to market can take 6 months but much depends on the nature of the product and service.  The program has three optional components, on-line, activities in NYC, then guidance to launch.  We have structure this over as 8 weeks, 1 week, 12 weeks.  Each component prepares for the next but at anytime one can decide that they are ready to work on their own and will remain active members but not participate in an event or the continuing guidance.  You decide what is best for your business and we support your efforts.

What is the range of Coaches’ and Mentors’ experience? We are transparent about coaches’ and mentors’ experience and endeavor to match up relevant coaching and mentoring with the needs of the participants. The coaches’ experiences are varied: working as innovators in large corporations, as entrepreneurs, and in academia. We aim to involve dynamic individuals who have many years of experience, experience with success but also with some failures to draw from. All have worked on developing several business in the course of their careers. The coaches and mentors are selected for their ability to explain and consult on the specific set of important business issues that affect all high-growth startups. We do not invite “one hit wonders”, or people who had a first lucky venture but no experience beyond that. We shy away from the propensity for personality driven leadership or those charismatic speakers who only speak about themselves. These have a place for inspiring Entrepreneurs but they do little in demonstrating how to be an effective Entrepreneur. We recognize that only a few will ever make billions but many might achieve sizeable sustainable fortunes and our goal is to increase the chances of everyone who tries to accomplish realistic goals.

How do members get matched with mentors? The matching process is flexible, usually undertaken through our network. We believe that continuity of engagement is fundamental to the development of entrepreneurs. The relationships are those that the entrepreneurs find consistently valuable and therefore the process of finding and engaging a mentor is one of the attributes of successful entrepreneurs. Being prepared, energetic, willing to ask for and receive help, are all characteristics that BCAPs members should bring to the mentoring relationship.

Should I complete all aspects of the program? Yes. We recommend that each component of the program is completed even if you are familiar with the topic. This is only our recommendation and will vary greatly based on previous experience of the entrepreneur and the needs of the venture they are developing.  There are processes that are easy to overlook and often not considered. Their oversight often leads to typical failures for any new business. However, if you’ve advanced your plan quickly and have expertise in some areas it is acceptable to focus on what you need to learn most during your time in the program. We bias the activity to whatever works for your business, providing an innovative combination of structure and the flexibility that the coaching and mentoring provides.

How does an Entrepreneur “graduate” from the program? There is no graduation. This is not a school. It is a membership organization which promotes and fosters effective Entrepreneurship. The goal is that you form your business and start executing on it. If you are confident and you have actually acted on this by the end of the program then you are on your way. Your success is the best indicator that you have acted on the skills you have acquired.

What other costs are there as part of the membership program ? For the activities in New York City there will be travel, lodging, food and minor expenses. If your company needs to be formed there are legal costs that you will incur in creating the business. The remainder of the costs will be related to your business and this is what you will determine during the program.

Applications

Is it better to apply for BCAP membership sooner rather than later? Contact us as soon as you find out about BCAP and think you may be interested in membership.  Do not hesitate or wait. If you are serious about your goals then acting with urgency is what we recommend. We will evaluate the member candidates in the order in which they contact us. The on-line phase of the program can accept many members but the event planned for New York City will be limited to 20 people. We will also have limits on the coaching program after the event and will evaluate each entrepreneur based on the degree to which they have acted on their business goals and were able to make progress.

Can I apply for membership if I have an established business? Yes. We accept members who run an existing business and want to expand to new markets or consider creating or adopting an innovation. This is actually our core focus to assist existing business with new market expansion.  Such businesses may want to expand and develop additional lines of business. We expect that some of the candidates have already attempted the creation of the business or are already working in a company. Also, in many parts of the world it is common for family businesses to be the predominant form of Entrepreneurship and these are of particular interest to BCAP. Finally, a typical business that is less than 10 million dollars in revenue and only a few years old, where the business was formed without any training will benefit from the program.

Do you allow teams to apply for group membership? Yes. We do accept teams and think this is very valuable for new businesses. Having your team involved in the entire process has the advantage of alignment of purpose. We recommend limiting the number of team members to three.

BCAP SEED is different than other program in the following ways:

We ask that the prospective entrepreneurs understand their own motivations, learn the skills that will help them throughout their professional lives.  Explore their aspiration, ambitions, concepts, and creativity, and make a serious attempt at realizing their dreams.

We focus on entrepreneurs only and on critical business formation principles that create lasting value that will result in tangible outcomes.

The coaches guide the companies in building the value of their ventures at a substantially reduced cost and high quality by employing strategies to avoid the most common mistakes of many start-up ventures.   While the candidates learn the mechanics of business they focus on the goal of what is to be achieved and therefore learning and doing is encouraged as a means of gaining valuable experience under the guidance of a coach.

We strive to protect the value created by entrepreneurs first and foremost instead of protecting the interest of investors as do other programs.  While we may have investors provide mentoring we do so with care to avoid conflicts of interest.

We are not like many incubators, which for the most part provide cheap space but lack the support and services needed to get off the ground.  We are a virtual accelerator for your business.

We do not ask people to quit their jobs and put at risk their means of income while they are starting a new venture.  We ask for commitment but we are pragmatic and want people to be prudent and take measured risk.

We are not like any of the programs from educational institutions that are extensions of business schools and primarily focus on the theory and not the practice of business.  We support and advocate for formal education when appropriate but we believe that fundamentally entrepreneurship is a life long journey that requires constant learning and a supporting organization to provide opportunities for collaboration and cooperation amongst the membership.  We use a wide variety of textual sources for reference purposes but our methods are experiential. No grading, just consultative guidance on whether you are achieving your objectives using whatever means is most appropriate for each unique situation. The organization is operated like a consulting cooperative and therefore is not a school or course in any traditional sense.

The average cost of an MBA from a top US school can cost in excess of $100,000.  Most of these programs train people to enter large corporations.  A few provide entrepreneurship courses and degrees.  Before spending this kind of money we believe that a much smaller investment and use of the remaining funds to create your own experience can be as valuable an experience as an MBA program. In effect, getting a sense of whether you would be effective as an entrepreneur and conserving your funds to invest in your own business might be the option that is more appropriate for a large segment of the aspiring entrepreneurs.

We are a complement to schools, courses, start-up boot-camps, business centers, in that we provide the experiential environment in a cooperative collaborative membership program that benefits the entrepreneur through access to expertise that would otherwise be very expensive for them to hire.

Our motivation to create the BCAP SEED program comes from our beliefs that

(1) with desire, persistence, training, and guidance more people can succeed as entrepreneurs,

(2) when prepared entrepreneurs find creative ways to realize their aspirations, regardless of the challenges of the current business climate, and

(3) innovative ventures have a major impact on the global economy and are the best path to economic development.  

Entrepreneurs learn to consume resources intelligently by being capital efficient, they employ people in creative ways, and innovate market driven products more efficiently.

Our entrepreneur’ focused philosophy is enshrined in BCAP SEED economic model.  We keep costs low, we invest our time in the entrepreneurs to help them build real value, and the more success stories we have collectively the larger the potential impact of the program. We are operating as a “not just for profit” business so that we practice what we say while providing goodwill in the process.  A socially conscious, economically sustainable and beneficial experience that generates tangible value for the aspiring entrepreneurs.

The prospective entrepreneurs is referred to us for a free evaluation of their suitability to become an entrepreneur.

The prospective entrepreneurs accepted and who want to access the program contribute a fee to cover the cost of the on-line programs and purchase the materials for the 8 week intensive program where they may have interaction with the coaches through the on-line sessions.

A candidate may design an activity in New York City to support their business venture with the help of the coaches.  This activity is where the entrepreneurs may make their business presentations, receive direct coaching, meet local businesses, make contacts in the US, explore options for executing the business internationally, discover funding opportunities, and network with others who are visiting NYC at the same time.

If a company is successful in launching its new venture or innovation within their company they may arrange for consulting to make sure that the business gets off to a fast start and accelerates its growth as is our focus in the program.   We ask that the successful entrepreneurs reserve some time for sharing their experiences with others to increase the overall value of the experience.

We believe that the best way to grow a business is to work through every detail including empowering your succession team so that you can expand at an accelerated rate.  That succession strategy is part of what BCAP SEED will enable for your business.  The success of the BCAP SEED program is based on the success of the companies that launch from the program and the continued involvement they have with the activities.

BCAP SEED is conceived as a unique approach to business formation and innovation.  Our focus is on providing the best guidance in the world to entrepreneurs by having them form actual operating businesses.  We have adopted the best of what academia provides but in a format that is a blended experiential learning that is closer to the reality of what most business need to do to succeed.  Selection into the program is based on our assessment of high-potential individuals who are as disciplined as the BCAP SEED coaches and have the drive to succeed.

BCAP SEED works to increase chances of success for aspiring entrepreneurs by addressing the most common traps of starting and growing a business, in particular when that business is attempting some product or service innovation or entering a new market.

We offer each member the following benefits:

Network of like-minded entrepreneurs: All participating entrepreneurs share in the common goal of succeeding in business and create a peer support network as they form and grow their respective ventures.

Training: participants have access to a rigorous program of business-building exercises developed by experts in the field of entrepreneurship, combined with the experience from practicing entrepreneurs who are acting as their coaches and mentors.

Coaching and Mentoring: Successful entrepreneurs spend direct time with the members in the program and help grow your business by assisting with the most challenging aspects of building a business.

Funding Potential: entrepreneurs who complete the program are much better prepared to seek funding from investors and are more likely to secure fair market value for their company.  The coaches will guide you through this process to protect your interest.  Even if funding are not easily available for your type of business we will work with you to help bootstrap the business by using prudent start-up venture strategies.  This is particularly valuable for first time entrepreneurs.

Services: BCAP SEED partners with leading service providers for rapid and easy access to the services you need to reduce the cost of aggressively progressing in your venture.  Many businesses have very similar needs and can avoid re-creating documents thus reducing cost to the venture.

Aspiring entrepreneurs engage in a challenging and rigorous program to build real business potential and will reap the benefits of the outcomes of the activities and the sessions in which they have participated.  In contrast to courses offered by other organizations, the BCAP SEED program is not simply an educational or academic training: we strive for the entrepreneurs to produce real tangible business results in their own businesses that will deliver value to the marketplace. We have designed the program to be focused on the needs of entrepreneurs and innovators and encourage everyone to help each other succeed through their networking and forming business relationships.

BCAP SEED is interested in developing global entrepreneurial talent by using the United States form of entrepreneurship as a reference model.  Aspiring entrepreneurs globally can re-interpret this model and apply it to their home country or use it to expand their business into the U.S. market.  Our premise is that the U.S. global reach, in many industries, has impacted the way international business is conducted.  Also, the emergence of the importance of Internet and Communication Technologies as enablers of global business is essential to understand and exploit for any business regardless of size.  The excitement of the growth of the technology sector in the U.S. has influenced other regions of the world to adopt models for innovation clusters. Governments, commercial sectors, and the investment community have converged in fostering innovation in support of economic development.

Our belief is that at the core of this global phenomenon are entrepreneurs, people willing to take risk, being inventive, changing the world around them by creating value.   Therefore, our focus is on coaching and supporting the global community of aspiring entrepreneurs, and our program may be unique from that perspective.  The traditional cost of business consulting is prohibitively high and so we are using the very technologies that help fuel new economies to deliver the best entrepreneurship development experience we can deliver.

Our plan is to bring this capability to many regions of the world but our initial intentions are to focus on few specific countries where the modern elements of practices for global entrepreneurship exist in some form. We will adjust our technique, methods, and models for coaching to the needs of each region of the global.

Initially, we are focusing on aspiring entrepreneurs from North America and Europe.  In the near future we would like to expand to the Middle East, India, China, and South Korea as well as Central America and Latin America and are seeking partnerships and coaches for every region. Africa is of particular interest where the conditions to help remotely are present.

Our intention is to expand the program to include particular modules on the needs of developing countries and for those who are engaged in social entrepreneurship.  Our hope is that businesses that succeed as a result of our program will help fund the expansion to support countries where entrepreneurship can make a dramatic difference in the economic life of the populations.

Each program session is limited to a selective group of ten invited aspiring entrepreneur who are interested in doing business between North America and the home country and want to start thinking more globally about their business plans, growth strategy, and operations.

The Buoyant Capital Team will dedicate time to BCAP SEED Business Competence Accelerator Program by providing business consulting through coaching, mentoring, advisory, and guidance, and are effective at producing results.  BCAP SEED carefully selects the program material and coaches.  Coaches – who are are practicing entrepreneurs and experienced executives of successful ventures – are selected on the basis of their ability as business consultants to provide valuable guidance, in practical terms, by sharing their relevant experiences. Coaches are accessible to aspiring entrepreneurs in the program during the sessions and through the program website.

The BCAP SEED coaching program is oriented to support the following entrepreneur profiles:

Starting or expanding a business in your home country with the desire to use the U.S. model of entrepreneurship as a reference to learn the techniques for scaling for high-growth.

An existing business which would like to enter the US market but needs to first get familiar with the typical practices of how business are formed in the US as a means of gaining insight and understanding to best prepare for the new venture.

An innovator (intrapreneur) within an existing business who wants to learn the basics of how high-tech companies plan and generate new business products and services.

An engineer or scientist with aspirations for starting a high-tech venture who needs to learn the basics of business before considering one of the “pitch” programs that support start-ups in the US.

A young aspiring professional interested in learning the US style of business either for their own venture or to better prepare for the workforce.  This could include a pre-MBA candidate who wants to explore the basics before making a longer commitment. (This would be on exception since our focus is on forming real businesses but an ambitious person should apply if they are interested and highly motivated.)

We are seeking aspiring entrepreneurs who have a strong desire to succeed in business and who recognize that early training and coaching can help accelerate their plans and address many of the common pitfalls of inexperience in business.  Our criteria for acceptance into the program are the basic traits of any entrepreneur: self-motivating, constantly learning, willing to take measured risk, having a creative and innovative vision of the world, spotting opportunity where others see problems, able to seek out advice and be willing to apply it, having the perseverance to overcome adversity, willing to make an investment in themselves and to build lasting fruitful business relationships with others.

The application process is by referral only.  We will arrange for an interview to understand your goals and interest and guide you towards to a path of success.  If we believe that the program will benefit you and that you have the motivation to do the work required, then we will work with you to develop and accomplish your business or innovation intentions.

Even if you are not accepted into the program at this time, because we believe you are not ready or your aspirations are not yet formed, we will provide useful guidance on how you may discover your potential as an entrepreneur; when you are ready we may invite you back to participate in the program.

Our goal is for every entrepreneur to become a huge success.  While the odds of this happening are less than 100%, we start with the assumption that everyone has a chance to meet the challenges in business if they are willing to try to apply their talents and develop the skills they need to go on the journey.

A typical participant would be an individual with an advanced degree and (or) enough work experience to have developed a point of view on what business outside of an academic setting is like.  Any of the following profiles  may allow acceptance and access to the program: a researcher with a business idea needing help to make it a reality, a mid-career professional who is leaving the corporation to form a business, existing small business interested in how to grow, ambitious youth wanting to understand business, a career builder within a corporation needing to understand business in order to introduce an innovation to his/her company, a freelance individual wanting to gain essential skills in order to survive as an independent talent.

An ideal aspiring entrepreneur would be someone who understands the basics of personal financial management, has the discipline to pursue a financial goal and understands the value of life long self-directed learning.  This would be someone who has the commitment, courage, creativity, and critical thinking needed for developing a concept and for executing it to make it a reality, but who is seeking the basic competencies needed to be successful in business.   While we do not expect that a candidate would have all these skills prior to the program they, should have an appreciation for the value of achieving them through their own persistence and self determination.  We will act as a catalyst and as mentors for their aspirations.

The BCAP SEED program is organized as a practicum that is action oriented. While it has elements of a formal course, the methods and techniques are intended to help the members grow a real business. We address how to think and act like an entrepreneur.  What is the model of entrepreneurship? How does one learn it, and apply it, and what is the psychology of an entrepreneur?

The candidates optionally participate in three complementary program stages:

Foundations of entrepreneurship

Full immersion to launch

Coaching to grow

We ask participants to commit to follow-through on their business aspirations and in return, we commit to guide them throughout the business (start-up) journey. We are investing our energy in developing winning businesses and on that basis we are selective in accepting participants to the program.

1. Foundations of entrepreneurship

The content demystifies the process of starting a business by presenting difficult or unfamiliar US business concepts and practices in a manner easily understood by inexperienced business people and in particular by those whose primary language is not English.  The book is based on proven techniques used by the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship and conforms to the US National Content Standards for Entrepreneurial Education. It has been used to teach over 100,000 aspiring entrepreneurs in the US. We use this material as part of our coaching and mentoring methods and techniques but not as instructors but as guides.

What business do you want to grow?

Entrepreneurs Recognize Opportunities

The Business Plan: Roadmap to Business Success

Creating Business from Opportunity

Who are your customers?

Exploring Your Market

Developing the Right Marketing Mix

Smart Selling and Effective Customer Service

Financing: Finding, securing, and managing it.

Understanding and Managing Start-Up, Fixed and Variable Costs

Using Financial Statements to Guide a Business

Cash Flows and Taxes

Financing Strategy: Debt, Equity or Both?

Operating a business venture effectively.

Addressing Legal Issues and Managing Risk

Operating for Success

Management, Leadership and Ethics

What you need to know to grow.

Franchising, Licensing, and Harvesting: Cashing in Your Brand

2. Full Immersion to Launch

This a capstone activity in New York City for participants who have completed the Foundations of Entrepreneurship where they may network with local business people, potential investors, take part in presentations, talks, and visit companies.

3. Coaching to Grow

This is the stage where the entrepreneurs are executing their business plans and adapting to the market realities as they encounter them.  It is a critical stage that determines whether the company or innovation will reach market realization and requires an active mentoring to address challenges that are new to the candidate.

The program material is being provided as a blended learning course for the members, supported by coaching when appropriate.  This may include books, articles, on-line lessons, presentations, webinars, forums, discussions, events, visits, and speakers.   The participants may work in teams and form useful business relationships that can be leveraged as they pursue their aspirations.

The program topics are self-paced where you can start and stop at anytime depending on your needs and progress.  On occasion we may schedule webinars, using an interview dialog to cover topics of specific interest to the members.

Duration

The books, online course, and webinars are self-directed therefore participants may set their own pace leading up to activities in NYC.  We expect this phase to be 8 weeks in duration but we will allow for more time based on the needs of the individual entrepreneur.  The participants will be in contact with the coaches as needed throughout the program.  Time for discussion and interaction may be provided.

Preferred Language

Buoyant Capital is supporting the BCAP.biz, Business Competence Accelerator Program.

BCAP SEED was created by practicing entrepreneurs to support high potential entrepreneurs.  We aim to find and nurture the best international talent and invest our experience in enabling that talent to succeed in high growth businesses by focusing on their aspirations and by establishing the best foundation for growing an innovative business venture.

Contact us to refer someone to our coaching and mentoring program on entrepreneurship and innovation. The program is appropriate for new businesses, existing companies seeking to expand to new markets, or high-growth tech start-up ventures. Gain valuable competencies needed to succeed in your venture and avoid the typical challenges of most businesses so you can chart out a course to succeed in business. The program is suitable for innovators (intrapreneurs) who need to understand how to go from concept to market reality for their ideas on developing new product and services for their company.

We provide a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs and innovators – aspiring or practicing – to gain the business competencies that are needed to be competitive internationally.  We work within the context of the experiences that the entrepreneur brings to the program.  The program is suited to everyone who needs to acquire business skills in a short time frame for use within their own ventures.  BCAP SEED may also be suitable for those who are considering going through an MBA program and who will benefit by exploring and preparing, prior to making the commitment of time and money by connecting to other aspiring entrepreneurs.

The BCAP SEED Program is by invitation only and offers a range of experiences that are not found in standard educational courses. We coach, not teach: our approach allows for the individual to set their own goals and we serve as coaches to help them discover the means of achieving their aspirations: therefore we are not like a school or academic course.  Participants in the BCAP SEED program gain access to senior business consultants who use this coaching and mentoring approach to achieve business effectiveness.

Benefits:

Focus on developing or growing an innovative business

Structured self-study program which goes into detail of what you need to know

Coaches and mentors who have successfully started, funded, grown and sold successful businesses

Knowledge of how to finance the business through bootstrapping and funding

Access to services and a network of support to help you along the journey

The program has three optional complementary components:

Structured self-paced guided content to acquire a core foundation in entrepreneurship

An event in New York City of their choosing, in which the member consolidates their experience, develops key skills by taking part in presentations and seminars, and builds a network of business relationships

This is a college level book on entrepreneurship that is suitable for self study.  It is primarily US focused but many of the concepts apply to any new business.  It will cover the basics of starting and operating a business including the business plan and financials.  It includes business planning software that will guide the entrepreneur through the initial process of constructing a business plan.  The software includes many samples business plans.

At BCAP SEED our goal is to promote and foster entrepreneurship internationally therefore we will highlight a few programs that we think you might find interesting and contrast them with our approach. These programs are not all the same and focus on different needs and audiences. Therefore by listing them below we are not implying that they are similar to our BCAP SEED coaching program or that we endorse them.  We are just recognizing that entrepreneurs have varying preferences and may want to review the other options before making a decision as to whether the BCAP SEED accelerator coaching  is best suited to their needs. We are very open about our program and therefore encourage you to contact us with questions you may have including whether another program might be better for you. While we want people in our program we would redirect someone to one of these alternatives if we do not believe they would succeed in the BCAP SEED program or their needs were different from what we focus our support and coaching on.

Trump University -  this course leverages the personality of the real estate tycoon Donald Trump as a brand and his US TV show “The Apprentice”. We put this in the category of the popular self-help dream chasers who appeal to people who wanting a short inspirational DVD and book that leads them to think they will be a billionaire just like Donald Trump. We call these “charismatic personality programs” for people who want to get rich quick by trying one of the schemes in real estate. You will find many of these types of courses on the Internet. If you like the show, and think that is what business is really like, then BCAP SEED is not for you.

Startup Business Boot Camp – this is a course that tries to teach you how to start a business in 3 days over a weekend. If you need to get motivated to start your own business and have no clue where to start and think you can learn everything you need in 3 days then this is the program for you. We call these “motivational programs” for people who have no idea or experience whatsoever of working in a company and think that if they only knew the one secret everything would just magically fall into place. My guess is that these programs are probably fine for people who are not sure whether they really want to start a business, don’t want to read a book and try to think through it themselves. They may need a social group environment to get motivated, and want to get through it all in a few days. If this fits your need then you should give it a try. Once you’ve decided that you really do want to be in business and are motivated enough to be persistent to do the work needed to make it happen, then contact us since you might be ready for the BCAP SEED program. In other words, we dedicate our coaching to people who are serious and have a real need.

Tech Stars – this program helps fund tech startups and provides mentoring to help them get launched. This is what we call a “VC pitch and mentoring program” where the focus is on polishing up people who have a solid concept and have the competencies to technically execute it but may lack business experience. They accept only a small percentage of applicants based on the merits of the business and don’t help people who are trying to learn how to get to the point where they can be ready to seriously take on the challenges of starting and growing a business. At BCAP we really appreciate what Tech Stars is doing and taking our program would be a precursor to applying to the Tech Stars programs since we focus on the reality of business formation and execution. People who have gone through BCAP SEED are likely to be much better prepared to attract funding since they would have gone through many of the foundational considerations that an investor would require. Tech Stars is focused on the North East region of the US and on technology companies only, therefore it would not be appropriate for the broader international entrepreneur that the BCAP SEED program is servicing.

Startup Boot Camp Denmark – this program is similar to Tech Stars except they are in Denmark.  With Tech Stars this is one of the best programs we have evaluated.  We really like what they are doing and how they go about training people.   It is technology-focused and VC-pitch biased but the people involved seem to be solid.  We would like to see similar programs in every country.  We hope that our BCAP SEED program might inspire and prepare the next generation of successful entrepreneurs who, once they have the experience, will dedicate some time to helping others and possibly forming similar programs to BCAP SEED, Tech Stars or Startup Boot Camp Denmark.

Founders Institute – this program is one part Angel investing and partly focused on preparing a company to launch. We think this is one of the best programs around for the technology-oriented startup. We see a few challenges that might not work for everyone: they take an ownership stake in the company and yet still charge for the program; also, they have a different person to teach each module so it is unlikely that they are going to be able to help with all the challenges that you face during the entire process of forming a business. At BCAP SEED we focus on coaching you with consistency throughout the process and go through the program material with you, understanding your context. We don’t provide funding but neither do we require an ownership in your company before accepting you onto the BCAP SEED coaching program.

Palo Alto Business Planning Course – this program is taught at a university by Tim Berry, one of the co-founders of Borland Software. It complements the business planning software they sell. A book by Tim Berry is also available. We like the approach they take with the exception that the course and book are really meant as complementary marketing material for the software. It is a smart business strategy for them to pursue but it doesn’t put the entrepreneur at the center of the focus. We think this is a good option for some highly motivated people but even they need guidance and peers to work with to create a real business. Forming and growing a business is not a solitary act, it requires a lot of social knowledge to be constructed during the process in order to be in a position to scale. At BCAP SEED we include Palo Alto Business Planning software to help people get started and our program materials use it as a complement. We are different in that we coach, in a consultative manner, the members to accomplish their goals. We are not interested in the mass adoption of the material or the sale of software products and are exclusively focused on the effective quality outcomes of the members pursuing their business goals. The materials we provide are only guides and not prescriptions for how to start and grow a business, so we allow for and expect the members to be resourceful in finding additional content that is particular to their business goals..

MIT Executive Education Entrepreneurship Development Program and similar – these types of programs are 5 days, cost $8,800 and consist mostly of lectures that span a very broad list of general topics. They are for people ranging from Corporate Intrapreneurs to Venture Capitalists or Regional Economic Development officers. They are taught by leading academics in each topic and are very much like traditional educational programs. We are sure that a lot can be learned in these programs. Many are available from leading Universities. They are not suited to people who want to solve the real business problems of entrepreneurs and learn to start and grow a business but they might work for intrapreneurs within a corporation. The support you get lasts for the 5 day period: once you leave and are faced with real problems to solve, you are on your own. At BCAP SEED we encourage people to get as much education as they can afford but we make a clear distinction between learning in order to broaden your exposure and learning that is pragmatic and action oriented. We think entrepreneurs need both but our prime focus is on enabling and empowering the Entrepreneur in the context of their unique business and its problems and we provide continuity of involvement through our membership coaching for a duration that lets the business emerge.

At BCAP SEED we can appreciate the value of each of the programs above for particular audiences and encourage people to consider them carefully to make sure that the selection fits their needs.   The BCAP SEED accelerator program, which builds real competence while executing the business, complements many of the programs above.  In several cases the BCAP SEED program may prepare you to better access the value of another program, such as Tech Stars or the Founders Institute. In other cases we would pick up after the initial inspiration and motivation is established after taking a course with Trump Institute, Sloan, or the Startup Boot Camp.