Introduction to Entrepreneurship

Reviewed by Larry Clay, Assistant Professor, Marymount University on 2/12/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This book is a sufficient option for my 201: Principles of Entrepreneurship course. It is aligned with my course objectives, and includes the basic of business venturing and modeling, but also offers the fundamental terms and definitions for learners outside of business can connect and understand how to start and maintain a viable business venture.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

This book details an accurate account of what is entrepreneurship, what are some of the qualities, attributes, and traits needed to be an entrepreneur, and practical suggestions to how to approach an entrepreneurship endeavor. The statistics of failure and success in this sector is key for students to understand that they are going against the grain starting a business, and it takes commitment, self motivation, and smart hustling to move towards a trajectory of profit.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

This book has the basic information that is relevant to understanding the fundamental processes of designing products and services, and build capacity of an organizational system.

Clarity rating: 4

The book is consistent with clarity of information and injects case scenarios that help students understand entrepreneurship.

Consistency rating: 4

This book is consistent with other textbooks as it relates to content around entrepreneurship. Some of the basic constructs, structures, and processes in entrepreneurship have not change much, but there are new strategic and analytical tools available to entrepreneurs now that students can employ in experiential learning exercises that will also be complementaries to this book.

Modularity rating: 5

This book is easily digestible and separated in a logical flow.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The content is in a logical and clear flow that I believe students can read and absorb the information.

Interface rating: 4

The different formats offerings make this book a good fit as a learning interface for students. I noticed students in this generation prefer digital interfaces, so the PDF and digital version of the OER textbook with interactive tools embedded is a positive, and I foresee no interface issues between the content and students.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not recognize any grammatical errors in my review.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

This book was not found to have any offensive or derogatory content that might be viewed as insensitive to a particular group or culture.

Comments

When teaching entrepreneurship, I find the biggest cognitive struggle students have is approaching the business and financial modeling. I usually look for books that include an excel or spreadsheet template so students can practice dash boarding and managing their financials and non financial resources.

Reviewed by Mary Hill, Lecturer II, University of New Mexico on 5/12/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

no index or glossary found. as indicated by the title - this is an early introduction to the subject.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

very accurate from my perspective as a person who has taught entrepreneurship for health care professions students for 10 years.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

very relevant. Able to be updated without difficulty.

Clarity rating: 5

very clear.

Consistency rating: 5

very consistant .

Modularity rating: 5

easily broken into small pieces.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

well organized. It is 67 pages and gives a very early introduction to the subject.

Interface rating: 4

Modules 1 and 2 are masterfully designed and easy to navigate with clear paths. Likely, course instructors would wish to have other specific course assignments as the assignments within the book do not relate to concrete/crystalized knowledge, but on reflection (which may be less productive for some learners).
If the book is downloaded as a .pdf, then the phrase "One or more interactive elements has been excluded..." appear 2-3 times per page on the .pdf. Effectively, the .pdf is not a full text of the course. When the course is viewed through the pressbooks interface, then interactive questions, well shot video transcripts and attractive visuals improve the material. Some aspects of the pressbooks interface are less intuitive to navigate. For example, the interactive business design in unit 3 focuses on sustainable development goals (SDGs). I like the connection of SDGs to entrepreneurship, but the entry level questions are difficult to navigate and are not geared to a novice learner (as the name "introduction to entrepreneurship" would indicate.
The entrepreneurship plan in chapter 4 has many components bout entrepreneurship philosophy that will help learners consider what they need in order to create their endeavor. Absent, however, are the government permits / supports / business license logistics that sometimes are the reasons that businesses fail.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

optimal

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

No cultural offense observed (from my perspective of a person of priveledge). Authors made effort to not to highlight any gender or any cultural accomplishments over others.

Comments

I will incorporate components in the chapter 4 entrepreneurial plan into my course on health care private practice entrepreneurship.

Reviewed by Christina Wooten, Business Technology Faculty, Rogue Community College on 3/30/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

The text is a good introduction and covers several high-level topics that pertain to entrepreneurship.
There are many more topics that could be added to this text.
It may not be sufficient to support an entire course.

There is not a glossary or index available.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The text appears accurate and unbiased.
I did note a few writing errors in the text (missing period, additional period, etc.)

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

There are some references in the transcripts, text, and videos that could make the text obsolete. These references could also be confusing or non-inclusive to some students.
"...someone who goes on Dragon's Den"
These type references are limited to the introductory section of the text.

Clarity rating: 4

Overall, the text/transcripts/videos are clear.
The final sections (3 and 4) do have sections that are not as clear.
In 3.1 and 3.2 (The Entrepreneurial Process) there are some areas that could benefit from careful revision.
These sections (3.1 and 3.2) also lack substantial videos that could help the learner connect the ideas.

Consistency rating: 5

The book is consistent in terms of framework and terminology.

Modularity rating: 5

The text/transcripts/videos are easily divisible into sections. The creator did a nice job segmenting the material.
The material is organized in a way that engages the reader visually.
There are quizzes embedded in the material that do not cause disruption to the reader/viewer.
The overall work is segmented into clearly defined and numbered sections.
There is a particularly helpful activity throughout the text called: "Read/Watch/Listen – Reflect" where the learner has an opportunity to read articles, watch videos, listen to podcasts and then reflect (journal) their thoughts in a writing activity. The resources linked in this activity throughout the text are splendid!

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The topics are presented in a logical, clear fashion .
The final project is also clearly defined and well-presented.

Interface rating: 5

This material appears free of interface issues on a PC.
There are no distortions of images or text.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

Text/transcripts free of grammatical errors.
There are, as previously referenced, a few writing errors that could be addressed in a revision.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I found no evidence of insensitive or offensive information in my review.

Comments

While I do not feel that this book would be enough material to support a quarter-long class, I do feel it has ample information in it to be a part of a class.
The layout and delivery of the material is user-friendly.
There are multiple modes of delivery used (video, written lecture, and transcript of videos) available to the learner.
This text is one I will use to supplement the Entrepreneurship course I teach.