Week 5 Reading Reflection

After completing the reading for Week 5 I was most surprised by the fact that 89% of entrepreneurs attribute the failure of a new-venture to internal factors, instead of external factors. Previously I believed that external factors, such as market conditions and a lack of an active customer base were the most prevalent factors in causing a new venture to fail. However, after completing this weeks reading I came to realize that many of these "external" problems are simply caused by inadequate research/preparation done by the entrepreneur.

One part of the reading that I found confusing was the breakdown of financial factors that contribute to the failure of a new-venture. This is mostly due to my limited background in the finance field, having only taken an Intro to Accounting class next semester. Hopefully my understanding of this field will increase as it is definitely important to avoid the pitfalls discussed in the reading.

If I had the opportunity to ask the author two questions I would ask how much importance should be placed on marketing when starting a new business and how early legal considerations should be made in the venture process. The first question comes from the fact that while I acknowledge that marketing is necessary for many businesses to succeed, I also believe that many start-ups spend too much money on the early years of the business. The second question rises from legal considerations that I find myself thinking about when looking for business opportunities. For example, if someone were to create a short-term leasing/property management business (like Airbnb) and wanted customers to have the option to sign their leases online, what legal precautions would have to be taken? Additionally, how early do these legal measures have to be implemented.

I did not find myself disagreeing with any points the author brought up. While this may be due to my lack of knowledge in starting a business, I think all the information the author presented was well supported with other sources.