Entrepreneurship is not an art nor is it a specific science. Entrepreneurship is a knowledge-based practice that is used to solve problems across various disciplines. The connections between disciplines addressing entrepreneurship at Old Dominion University lie in the interdisciplinary nature of entrepreneurship in and of itself. The field of entrepreneurship is interdisciplinary in that it draws knowledge and skills from various different disciplines in order to solve problems. Entrepreneurship, especially those working in cybersecurity, will require a strong understanding of technology, business, marketing, finances, management, ethics, among various other knowledge and skills in order to effectively address entrepreneurial challenges.

Some ethical issues that might arise from what I am working on in ensuring that any data collected from users is being stored safely and that the data collection policies are transparently understood to all users. It is the responsibility of the company’s cybersecurity department to ensure that all cybersecurity measures are operational and secure to prevent unauthorized third-party access to confidential, personal private information. Cybersecurity is a constant cat and mouse game between cybersecurity professionals and cyber-criminals, so it is important that cybersecurity professionals take steps to test their security measures to ensure there are no vulnerabilities for cyber-criminals to exploit. In the inevitable event of a cybersecurity attack or data breach, there exists an opportunity for growth and improvement to cybersecurity policies and practices. By analyzing the point of failure, cybersecurity entrepreneurs will be able to modify the existing cybersecurity venture to be more resilient and secure.

Entrepreneurs usually pitch in order to earn money from investors to start their business. In order for entrepreneurs to successfully pitch an idea, a problem and solution must be identified, the solution should have a detailed explanation, identify and address the consumer group, and showcase the team of experts. The idea behind pitching is to seek agreement from the audience regarding your business solution. Guy Kawasaki suggests that the ideal number of PowerPoint slides for a presentation is ten. 

1. Title
2. Problem
3. Solution
4. Business model
5. Underlying Magic
6. Marketing and sales
7. Competition
8. Team
9. Projections
10. Status and timeline

These 10 slides should be covered within the first 20 minutes of the presentation. The rest of the allotted time should be devoted to answering questions from the audience. The presentation should also use a minimum 30-point font, so that the audience can clearly see the information. It is important that entrepreneurs reflect on their ability to pitch an idea to get an understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. Some common mistakes that are made include using too much technical language, overestimating revenue projections, boring the audience, and failing to listen to advice.

Psychological research suggests that humans are not always rational when it comes to decision making. According to prospect theory, “a behavioral model that shows how people decide between alternatives that involve risk and uncertainty, people think in terms of expected utility relative to a reference point rather than absolute outcomes.” The framing of how the information is presented in terms of gains and losses plays an important role in human decision making. However, entrepreneurs can get into trouble with the law even if they are very careful in their daily operations. A customer may sue an entrepreneur if an advertisement for a product contains misleading information. I believe that marketing strategies such as B2C (Business to Consumer), personalized marketing, PR (public relations) marketing, word of mouth marketing, and social media marketing can be effective strategies for swaying decisions about a product or service. The more that people hear about a product and the more it is adopted by their peers, the more likely that they will decide to try it as well.

Design Thinking is a process developed by David Kelly and Tim Brown that will help entrepreneurs create better solutions for any kind of problem. Design Thinking encourages entrepreneurs to explore new alternatives and create solutions that had not existed previously. Design Thinking is focused around the needs of the end-user, as well as understanding the context and culture of the stakeholders. This allows for entrepreneurs to create empathetic solutions using direct observations and qualitative data. This allows entrepreneurs to be better equipped to define the problem and ideate new solutions. New solutions are developed into simple prototypes to test possible outcomes. The process of creating ideas, developing prototypes, and testing possible outcomes early on allows for mistakes to be found quickly without wasting funding.

Entrepreneurs can see how the process of design thinking has influenced products that people use in their everyday lives. These products will be designed for a specific audience and understand how that target audience would use the product in order to solve a problem. By empathizing with the target audience and understanding the problem that they want to solve, entrepreneurs can come up with new, innovative ideas to make the lives of the user easier. The connection between opportunity and planning lies in the interdependence between them. Planning allows entrepreneurs to identify problems with greater accuracy and come up with successful solutions, this in turn leads to more opportunities and resources being available to entrepreneurs to develop and bring new products to market. Failing in the planning stage will cause entrepreneurs to lose out on possible opportunities as a result of not truly understanding the underlying problem that needs to be addressed in their solution. Creative solutions should also be tested for potential unintended ethical concerns such as with the cases of Google Street View and new emerging generative AI tools.

ODU views entrepreneurship as “a way of problem solving and generating solutions” that is accessible to everyone. Entrepreneurship and innovation are viewed as an interdisciplinary and diverse way of solving problems and bringing new products to the market. An entrepreneur is a person who introduces new products and services, usually in order to make a profit.

Entrepreneurs are able to identify problems in any topic, field, or organization and present ideas to create better solutions that meet the needs of the consumer. Entrepreneurs play a crucial role in the entrepreneurial ecosystem in that they create new job opportunities and push for innovation.
Through problem solving and seeking to improve upon underdeveloped areas of the market, entrepreneurs are able to create better products and services for consumers, while increasing competition and economic growth. While I would not consider myself to be an entrepreneur at this time, I do believe that I am capable of identifying problems and finding or creating solutions.

A self-starter is someone who can begin working on a project on their own without needing regular instruction on what to do. Self-starters should be able to accept a project, ask for any necessary additional information, pitch ideas and collaborate with others at their own discretion. Commitment is a large factor involved in entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs should be able to commit to the development of a project they have started on, but they should also know when to cut their losses and take another approach. I am capable of taking the initiative to work on a project and follow through on my commitments to the development of that project. It is important for entrepreneurs to be able to work independently without direct supervision and to be able to collaborate with others on tasks. I consider entrepreneurial success to be meeting the goals that I set for myself and providing a satisfactory solution to the identified problem. The solution should be long lasting in the state in which it is presented, and it should also provide a framework for future solutions to build off.