Entrepreneurship Research Project

B&E Entrepreneurship Research Project

Although we focus on a different entrepreneur each class, it is important to understand how each of these individuals made their own unique impact in the world. In order to further your understanding of entrepreneurship, you will each embark on your own research, investigating an entrepreneur of your choice.

There are two components to this project: 1) Written Research Report and; 2) In-Class Presentation. As a reminder, these two components are worth 25% of your grade, so please give it the appropriate attention.

Timeline:

Monday, 25 February	Students pick entrepreneurs (no duplicate entrepreneurs)
Wednesday, 13 February	Rough Drafts Due (Optional)
Friday, 22 March	Written Assignment Due
Monday 18 March – 23 April	In-Class Presentations

Research Project (Written):

           I.     Entrepreneur’s Life: What is important or unique about this person?

·      Entrepreneur’s name

·      Date of birth and death (if applicable)

·      Hometown

·      Current residence (if applicable)

·      Education/experience

         II.     Entrepreneurship: How did this person become an entrepreneur?

·      Rationale//experience that sparked entrepreneurial spirit

·      Sequence of events in creation of idea, product, or company

        III.     Product/Company/Idea: What is this person’s contribution to the world? Why does it matter?

·      Overview of product, company, or idea

·      How/why is this product, company, or idea special? What does it contribute to society (or consumers)?

·      Why did you choose to research this person?

       IV.     Works Cited

·      List of sources, in MLA format (for help, use http://www.bibme.org)

Formatting & Reminders:

·      Your report should be no less than 3 pages

·      12 point, double spaced, stapled

·      MLA Format (in-text citations and no need for a cover page)

·      You are welcome to use section headings, but do not list information, it must be in paragraph form.

In-Class Presentation: The benefit of individual research is being able to share your discoveries with your peers. You will be asked to give a 5-7 minute presentation on your entrepreneur and his/her impact on society. The presentations will take place the last 10-14 minutes of each class period from18 March – 23 April. Dates for presentations will be chosen at a later date. You will be given the opportunity to pick the day of your presentation (and in some cases, it may be decided for you).

Format:

·      Your presentation should mimic your research paper, however, you are not to read your paper. Rather, you can divide your time according to each section of you paper and highlight (and expand) upon the important information.

·      You are expected to make a PowerPoint, a poster, a handout or any other type of visual for your presentation (keep in mind the time restrictions).

·      There will be time for Q & A after the presentation, but it is not included in your time allotment.

Entrepreneur List: You are welcome to choose an entrepreneur not on this list, but please ask Mr. Fry

·      Henry Ford – Ford Motor Company

·      Bill Gates – Microsoft

·      Wendy Kopp – Teach for America (Social)

·      Oprah Winfrey – Harpo Productions

·      Walt Disney – Walt Disney Company

·      John Rockfeller – Standard Oil

·      Sam Walton – Wal-Mart

·      Michael Dell – Dell Computer

·      Philip H. Knight – Nike

·      Enzo Ferrari - Ferrari

·      Russell Simmons – Rush Communications

·      Richard Branson – Virgin Group

·      Andrew Carnegie – Carnegie Steel/Philanthropy

·      Simon Cowell – American Idol

·      Coco Chanel - Fashion

·      Ray Kroc – McDonalds

·      Jamie Oliver – Food (Social)

·      Carlos Slim - Telecommunications

·      Ben Cohen & Jerry Greenfield – Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream

·      Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw – Biotechnology (Social)

·      Sergey Brin & Larry Page – Google

·      Anita Roddick – The Body Shop

·      Howard Schultz – Starbucks

·      JP Morgan – US Steel

·      Muhammad Yunas – Microcredit (Social)

·      Martha Stewart – MLSO

·      Mary Kay Ash – Mary Kay Cosmetics

·      Calvin Klein – Calvin Klein

·      Fred Smith - FedEx

·      Nikola Tesla – AC Electricity

Report and Presentation Point Breakdown and Rubric

Report	Points Possible	Points Earned
Entrepreneur’s Life	7
Entrepreneurship	7
Product/Company/Idea	7
Style/Formatting (including works cited)	4
Total	25

6-7 = thorough description

4-5 = covered most of the information

2-3 = lacks detail

0-1 = little to no information provided

Presentation	Points Possible	Points Earned
Included all elements the from the research project (I. – IV.)	5
Professionalism/Communication (gum, posture, preparedness)	5
Visual	5
Total Presentation Points	20

4-5 = thorough description

3 = covered most of the information

2 = lacks detail

0-1 = little to no information provided