Chapter 13: Acquiring and Organizing Resources

To tap required resources, entrepreneurs need to build credibility and legitimacy in the marketplace of resources and talent. Influence and persuasion can help entrepreneurs build their case for securing scarce resources.

Both choosing a physical location and operating as a virtual organization are viable options for a firm today. We examine the benefits of joining a cluster of interconnected enterprises operating within a geographic region. Entrepreneurs need to create a plan for which functions to outsource and which functions to keep within the venture. As they strive to be innovative and competitive, costs can be controlled by outsourcing functions to others who can do them better and cheaper. However, those ventures are challenged to retain the cohesion and coordination required to effectively manage these supplier partners. Seeking financial resources will be discussed in Chapter 18.

1. “Being Small Inside of Big” with Teresa Briggs, Deloitte

2. “Outsourcing” with Jeff Hawkins, Numenta

3. “Leaders Must Be Honest” with John Hennessy, Stanford University

Continue to Chapter 14

Tom Byers, Stanford University

Tom Byers is a Professor in the Department of Management Science & Engineering at Stanford University and a faculty director of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP).

Andrew Nelson, University of Oregon

Andrew Nelson is Associate Vice President for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and an Associate Professor of Management at the University of Oregon.

Richard Dorf, University of California, Davis

Richard C. Dorf is a Professor Emeritus of Management and Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of California, Davis.