Venture Strategy Bikes

The Venture Strategy Bikes simulation provides your students with a safe virtual environment where they can experience what it takes to be an entrepreneur as they start-up a new business. Just like in the real business world, your students will analyze the market and evaluate various business opportunities. They will develop the initial business strategy and launch their new firm.

The students will design and test market their innovative new consumer product, study customer feedback and competitive data and make adjustments to their strategy and tactics. Midway through the exercise, they will be able to pitch their plan to outside investors in order to attract additional funding for their new firm. Your students will manage their strategy in a fast-paced market where innovation is essential, customers demanding and competition fierce, with the goal to build a profitable new company.

Content

This business game exposes your students to all the aspects of entrepreneurship including:

• Strategic Planning and Management
• Brand Design
• Pricing
• Ad design & Media Placement
• Internet Marketing
• Sales Force Management
• Human Resources
• Production
• Distribution
• Cash Flow
• Pitching to Investors
• Learning to pivot in response to market surprises

Storyline

In the Venture Strategy Bikes simulation, your students provide the seed capital to start-up an innovative new product line. Your class will be tasked to develop a new, niche market - 3D printed, carbon fiber bikes. These bikes are light, strong, and very affordable. And, they can be customized to each customer’s physical and performance requirements.
Another game changer is that 3D printers enable made-to-order production. Therefore, there is no need to hold inventory anywhere in the supply chain, and the costs to finance and store it are eliminated. Your students will have limited financial resources and complete accounting responsibility. They will design brands, as well as advertising and internet marketing campaigns. They will open up distribution channels and build a production facility. They hire workers and decide on the compensation packages, deal with demand projections and the basic concepts of production scheduling. After a test marketing phase, your students can pitch to outside investor for additional funding. They can invest this money in new R&D to bring out improved products and expand their distribution and production capacity in order to maximize their business performance.

Target courses

• New ventures
• Entrepreneurship
• Business Policy
• Capstone business courses.

Time frame

6 rounds, with each round taking about 2 hours per student.

Grading

Grading is based on the balanced scorecard that measures profitability, customer satisfaction, market share in the targeted market segments, human resource management, asset management, financial risk, preparedness for the future and wealth.

Play options

Your students can compete against their peers or against the computer.

Languages

English and French. More languages available in the Personal Computers edition

Further reading

Read Dr. Ernest R. Cadotte's chapter from the Annals of Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy.

The use of simulations in entrepreneurship education