CISSE Foundation Level

Entrepreneurship and Innovation cheat sheet

Every chapter's key points, formulas and definitions on one page, for the last week before the exam. Each heading links to the chapter that explains it.

Introduction to entrepreneurship

An entrepreneur identifies an opportunity, assembles the resources needed and takes on the risk of starting and running a new venture to exploit it; entrepreneurship is the process of identifying, evaluating and exploiting that opportunity.
The chapter names four types of entrepreneur: innovative, imitative or adoptive, social, and the technopreneur.
An entrepreneur differs from a small business owner by orientation, not size: the entrepreneur actively pursues growth, innovation and scale.
Entrepreneurs commonly show risk tolerance, opportunity recognition, self-motivation and persistence, and resourcefulness.
The common challenges are limited access to finance, market uncertainty, regulatory burden and a high risk of failure.

Key terms

Entrepreneur: An individual who identifies an opportunity, assembles the resources needed, and takes on the risk of starting and running a new venture to exploit it.
Entrepreneurship: The process of identifying, evaluating and exploiting a business opportunity, combining innovation (see the chapter on innovation), risk-taking and resource organisation to create value.
Risk tolerance: Willingness to commit resources to an uncertain outcome.
Opportunity recognition: Ability to spot a gap or unmet need before others do.
Self-motivation and persistence: Sustained drive through setbacks, since most ventures fail more than once before succeeding.
Resourcefulness: Ability to achieve goals despite limited resources.

The rest of the sheet covers

The entrepreneur and the entrepreneurial process
Creativity
Innovation
Assessing entrepreneurial opportunities
The business plan
Sources of entrepreneurial finance
Business entry options
Entrepreneurial marketing
Business ethics
Current issues
Exam technique and revision
Glossary