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ENT 301 · Unit 3 of 6

Business Models and MVPs

Entrepreneurship and New Venture Formation

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Learning objectives

After completing this unit, you will be able to:

  • Apply frameworks from \
  • Apply the frameworks in "Business Models and MVPs" to a real management decision
  • Make progress on your Entrepreneurship and New Venture Formation portfolio artifact applied project

Why this matters

Business Models and MVPs is essential to Entrepreneurship and New Venture Formation. Lessons build fluency with anchor-company examples, worked problems, and assessments on the unit page.

Lesson

Unit overview

Complete all 5 lessons in order. Each lesson follows the program authoring standard: conceptual prose, worked examples, practice problems, and managerial judgment prompts. Finish unit exercises and the knowledge check before marking the unit complete.

Connection to applied work

This unit feeds directly into Entrepreneurship and New Venture Formation portfolio artifact. As you read, capture notes, examples, and data you can reuse in that deliverable. Strong students finish each unit with a draft section of their project, not just highlights.

Practice

  1. Write a one-page summary of this unit in your own words without looking at the lesson.
  2. Find a real company example (public filing, news article, or personal experience) that illustrates the main concept.
  3. Draft one paragraph recommending an action a manager should take based on this unit.
  4. Add at least three terms from this unit to your course glossary.

Knowledge check

Answer these without notes before marking the unit complete:

  1. What is the central idea of "Business Models and MVPs"?
  2. What mistake do beginners most often make when applying this material?
  3. How does this unit help you complete Entrepreneurship and New Venture Formation portfolio artifact?
  4. What is one decision you face this month where this unit applies?

Key takeaways

  • Apply frameworks from \
  • Business concepts only matter when they change a decision.
  • Your ENT 301 assessment (Opportunity discovery, validation, business models, GTM, startup finance, and scaling.) rewards applied understanding, not memorization.

Unit assessment

Complete each section below. Score 80%+ on the quiz to finish this unit's assessment.

40% applied project35% knowledge checks25% reflections

Exercises

Apply what you learned in this unit with structured practice.

ExerciseApplied practice: Business Models and MVPs45 min
Complete a focused practice exercise on **Business Models and MVPs**. 1. Choose a real company, product, or situation you know. 2. Apply one core framework from this unit to analyze it. 3. Write your analysis in 300–500 words with a clear recommendation. 4. Cite at least one credible source.

Deliverable

300–500 word analysis document saved to your portfolio under ENT 301.

Rubric

  • • Framework applied correctly (not just named)
  • • Specific evidence from a real example
  • • Clear recommendation with tradeoffs acknowledged
  • • Professional writing with source citation
ExerciseDrill: Business Models and MVPs30 min
Work through the practice problems in the unit lesson without looking at notes. Then check your work against the lesson and write a short reflection: - What you got right - One mistake you caught - One concept to review before the next unit

Deliverable

Problem solutions + 150-word reflection in your ENT 301 workbook.

Rubric

  • • Attempted all practice items before checking answers
  • • Honest reflection on errors
  • • Identifies a specific review action

Case analysis

Analyze a case using frameworks from this unit.

CaseCase analysis: Business Models and MVPs60 min
Analyze a real business case through the lens of **Business Models and MVPs**. Choose a public company event, HBR-style case, or documented decision. **Deliverable structure:** 1. Situation summary (150 words) 2. Analysis using this unit's frameworks (400 words) 3. Recommendation (150 words) 4. Risks and what would change your mind

Deliverable

2-page case write-up in your portfolio.

Rubric

  • • Case facts are accurate and sourced
  • • Analysis uses unit frameworks explicitly
  • • Recommendation is justified with tradeoffs
  • • Risks are specific, not generic

Knowledge quiz

Check your understanding before marking the unit complete.

1. RelayOps prices per active technician at $99/month. A 100-technician logo at 80% gross margin yields what monthly gross profit and approximate payback at $18,000 CAC?

2. Which RelayOps MVP scope choice best matches low scope, high reliability on the chosen job?

3. RelayOps has $400,000 runway and estimates $90,000 for MVP build plus pilot support over two months. What share of runway does the test consume?

4. SunLine week 3 shows 52% emergency jobs in system. Jordan proposes AI routing; Maya proposes shadowing plus champion clinic (ICE 576 vs 72). What experiment design rule applies?

5. RelayOps surveys 25 active dispatch managers: 11 say they would be very disappointed if RelayOps disappeared. What is the very disappointed percentage?

6. Three Phoenix pilots: Desert Cool renews at full price (76% usage, 44% very disappointed); SunLine renews with 10% discount; Valley Pro churns at 41% usage. Best PMF read?

7. SunLine week 8: 71% usage (above kill) but median dispatch 7.4 minutes (above 7-minute gate). Best disciplined response?

8. Valley Pro churns (commercial mix). Desert Cool and SunLine renew. Dallas waitlist has 6 firms; 2 resemble Valley Pro. Runway 7 months at $45,000 burn. Best pivot/persevere call on Dallas?

Next unit: Go-to-Market →