Developing Business
Product Development
Custom Consulting
Affiliated Programs
The Developing Business programs are designed to cultivate new business ideas by bringing the fresh perspective and invigorating energy of our top business school talent in contact with wisdom and experience provided by representatives of the business community. Whether you are an entrepreneur looking to guide a team in writing a formal business plan, or an intrapreneur responsible for new product development within an established company, our developing business programs provide services which help make your vision a reality.
Product Development Services
Product Viability
Commercializing innovation requires understanding where the innovation brings value, to whom, and in what form. Student teams can work with you to investigate the viability of new concepts or technologies, identifying potential market opportunities. Based on in-depth research, student teams will deliver a product offering as outlined in the initial idea, complete with product characteristics, form, price point and target application - in essence a product offering ready for a business plan.
Business Plans
Even if you have a great idea, writing a formal, comprehensive business plan is a labor-intensive process that benefits from the complementary skills of diverse teams. Whether you are looking for industry analyses, financial models, or strategic marketing plans, our graduate student talent is equipped to help you develop full-length business plans, ready for presentation.
New Product Development
At our annual "Venture Idea Open House," both entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs are given an opportunity to present their business concepts and meet with prospective student teams. If selected, a student team will work with you to characterize the target market, determine a final design capable of being manufactured, analyze costs and select required productive resources, establish distribution channels, and locate potential capital resources, resulting in a product ready for funding and production.
New Venture Investment Opportunities
Over the course of several weeks, graduate student teams are challenged to develop comprehensive business plans which demonstrate the viability, consideration of relevant financial, organizational, operational, marketing, information technology, and strategic issues. The experience is significantly enhanced through the real-time coaching and feedback the student teams receive on their work. In past years, some projects have been the launching pad for successful businesses.
Case Study: Russ Weinzimmer & Associates
Intellectual Property Protection: Russ Weinzimmer & Associates helps a wide range of clients protect their intellectual property rights by developing an intellectual property strategy, including identifying patentable technology. In 2005, Russ Weinzimmer & Associates provided Boston College MBA students in the Business Plan Project with a case study involving patentable technology. After identifying patentable subject matter, the firm files patent applications in the United States Patent Office. They work with corporations, law firms, entrepreneurial start-ups, and independent inventors who recognize the increasing importance of patent rights in today's competitive business climate. Their clients are using patents to protect their key technology for competitive advantage. In addition, both newer and established businesses are looking to patents and intellectual property strategies to increase investor interest and stock value, and to establish intellectual property assets for licensing to create additional revenue streams. Visit: www.StrategicPatentLaw.com for more information
For more information on any of these ventures, please visit our contact page.
The Harmony Approach
Harmony Salons, Inc. will be a full-service chain of hair salons that will redefine the hair care services available to African-Americans. This approach combines a complete range of hair styling and hair care services, superior customer service, conveniently located salons, retention of talented and experienced stylists, and competitive pricing.
The Harmony Goal
Harmony will provide the public with a brand that sells the types of hair services that African-Americans need. Harmony's target customer would be African-American, but the salon would also provide chemical based services, hair augmentation, and waxing/hair removal for all ethnic groups. In addition, Harmony will reduce the amount of time typically spent in salons, while improving customer service.
Sidebar Software is one example of a Business Plan idea that became a reality. The company was founded by JD/MBA student Greg Boesel in 1998, after presenting the concept in the very first year of the Business Plan course. The company, located in Boston, focuses on providing software solutions to fit the needs of the legal profession.
Outstanding business plan teams are encouraged to enter their ideas in outside competitions. In 2001, a team of BC students made the semi-finals of the MBA Jungle Plan Business Competition, an international business plan competition which attracts the interest of venture capital firms and attracts entrepreneurial talent from top business schools .
Welcome to CinemaDeco
CinemaDeco will provide our audiences with beloved films from the past in an upscale environment featuring the amenities they have come to expect from premium first-run theatres.More than simply providing a profitable link to the past, CinemaDeco believes that we will fill a greater need: the desire expressed among our potential audiences for a means to simply get together and enjoy themselves. Similar to a book club, the familiarity of movies shown at CinemaDeco will provide the basis for discussion with a café located inside our theatre.
CinemaDeco.com
Content-based interaction with other customers and the opportunity to help determine which movies are shown at CinemaDeco will encourage users to register on our website. Once a user is registered, CinemaDeco will provide targeted email notices of movie showings related to a user’s tastes. CinemaDeco will promote our community while simultaneously promoting our films. [ back to top ]
Custom Consulting Services
Custom Consulting
Clients can employ graduate talent for custom consulting work at any time. Quality assurance, on behalf of both the client and the student, requires a faculty supervisor for every project. Client benefits include a devoted consulting resource with the guidance of a seasoned faculty member. Student benefits include engaging in real-world learning for credit and the potential for continued work beyond the boundaries of the classroom. One recent project compared best practices in Accounting systems between the United States and France.[ back to top ]
Affiliated Programs
International Entrepreneurship
The process of launching a venture, or working for an early-stage company is exciting and often overwhelming. Operating that same business on an international level brings with it an added level of complexity, exhilaration and, at times, frustration. If you are looking for assistance in launching an entrepreneurial venture, our graduate MBAs and graduate law students are here to help.
We help entrepreneurs with issues such as market entry; pros and cons of forming alliances; negotiations; managing growth; cross-border financing; gaining local government support; legal and human resource issues.
The Concept:
Canadian native Sam Goodman started Beijing Sammies in 1997. Modeled after Goodman’s version of a New York deli, Beijing Sammies’ staple was the “sammie.” Customers could order from a menu of standard sammies or could create their own. Aside from producing food for the everyday, walk-in customer, Beijing Sammies provided food for company meetings, presentations, picnics, and gifts.
The Beijing Sammies Goal:
To continue raising money and successfully funding the growth and expansion of a chain of Western sandwich shops in Beijing, China.
Financing Your New Venture
Regardless of which business path you choose, a comprehensive understanding of finance is an essential ingredient in the "recipe" for business success. No longer can the assumptions underlying financial projections be treated as "black boxes." In many cases, the answer is less important than the analytical process used to calculate it. Our students can help you identify the financial requirements to identify, evaluate, start and manage new ventures.
The Concept:
"Had I been on a normal schedule I probably would have sent him to the emergency room the minute I suspected the diagnosis, and this whole thing would have played out there where an intern or resident would have given him the diagnosis. Instead I called a friend who is on staff at Dana Farber Cancer Institute and we discussed what the various hospitals in the area had to offer in terms of specialists and facilities. Eventually we decided on a certain hematologist at a particular hospital. So I called the hematologist and explained the situation. She advised me to bring my patient into the hospital that night where he would stay until she could see him in the morning. I asked her if she could do things differently: could she meet my patient and me at nine-thirty the following morning? "
The Personal Physicians Goal:
To continue moving towards profitability and successfully expanding the practice to include four physicians while delivering the same quality care to each and every patient.[ back to top ]