Saturday, March 2, 2019
Crisis Presentation
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1otI0dtKuC7spHYHcZzIelBfOH8upqMGjKiJYcMTqcsE/edit?usp=sharing
Finance Micro-Lecture Presentation Link
Finance Micro-Lecture Presentation:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oxYMmdjojTSOhCcjWzml6YFiDmDbwghiiMdJ_ggkLGQ/edit?usp=sharing
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oxYMmdjojTSOhCcjWzml6YFiDmDbwghiiMdJ_ggkLGQ/edit?usp=sharing
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
Venture Capital: An Investors Perspective
Hello BVC Delegates,
As conference approaches and in light of some of the position papers that we have received so far, now serves as an opportune time to delve deeper into the more obtuse yet incredibly important details of entrepreneurship and venture capital, albeit it this time from the investors point of view, and the considerations and factors that they might value when comparing pitches and business proposals.
While our main goal is to facilitate the processes of innovation and enterprise in regards to sustainable development, the performance or potential of your business is of utmost importance; and while judging the effectiveness or inventiveness of new products and services is somewhat subjective, one can objectively compare a businesses' profitability by comparing key financial ratios and metrics on their balance sheet.
Obviously, as our committee is a simulation, there will not be explicit balance sheet numbers (We won't make you do all that math), but the principles behind the performance indicators are there, and may serve as useful guidance and insight in adjusting your plans.
We'll start with Return on Assets (ROA), which is the net income (The amount a company makes after the amount it took to make that money has been subtracted: Revenue - Expenses) divided by total assets. While you might not be able to explicitly know your total assets, one can extrapolate by factoring in the amount of capital one needs to conduct their operation (Is your offering a good? What kind of capital - factories, machines, etc. will you need to produce it?). Higher ROA is better than a lower ratio, as it means that one's company is profitable despite not having a lot of money in the first place, indicating great potential for future growth.
As conference approaches and in light of some of the position papers that we have received so far, now serves as an opportune time to delve deeper into the more obtuse yet incredibly important details of entrepreneurship and venture capital, albeit it this time from the investors point of view, and the considerations and factors that they might value when comparing pitches and business proposals.
While our main goal is to facilitate the processes of innovation and enterprise in regards to sustainable development, the performance or potential of your business is of utmost importance; and while judging the effectiveness or inventiveness of new products and services is somewhat subjective, one can objectively compare a businesses' profitability by comparing key financial ratios and metrics on their balance sheet.
Obviously, as our committee is a simulation, there will not be explicit balance sheet numbers (We won't make you do all that math), but the principles behind the performance indicators are there, and may serve as useful guidance and insight in adjusting your plans.
We'll start with Return on Assets (ROA), which is the net income (The amount a company makes after the amount it took to make that money has been subtracted: Revenue - Expenses) divided by total assets. While you might not be able to explicitly know your total assets, one can extrapolate by factoring in the amount of capital one needs to conduct their operation (Is your offering a good? What kind of capital - factories, machines, etc. will you need to produce it?). Higher ROA is better than a lower ratio, as it means that one's company is profitable despite not having a lot of money in the first place, indicating great potential for future growth.
Sustainable Development Goals
Dear delegates,
This week I am going to share with you a little bit about Sustainable Development Goals, and why you should take them into account as you develop your product. The Sustainable Development Goals, also abbreviated to SDGs, were made as successors to the Millenium Development Goals, which were meant to combat poverty. As can be inferred from the name, Sustainable Development Goals were made in order to target issues such as climate change, innovation, and sustainable consumptions. Seeing that our topic is directly related to environmental sustainability in developing countries, it could be helpful to have these goals in mind when creating or modifying your product. A good way to integrate these goals is to find the ones that you believe relate to our committee (hint: goals 3, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 are all relevant to our topic), and ask yourself “how does my product contribute positively or help solve this goal?”. By doing so, not only can you ensure that your product is relevant enough to solve a problem, but you can also use this as an assessment to see if you are on the right track for committee.
Good luck!
-Melika
(Sources: http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals.html, http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/background.html)
Brainstorming Tips
BVC asks a lot of its delegates -- it's hard to come up with an entirely new idea or concept related to environmental sustainability.
Below are three core tips for ideation that may help you think of an idea:
1: Figure out the best way that you think and run with it
- Personally, I like to talk things out. Sometimes my ideas flow better through words than writing
- Other people prefer word mapping, drawing, or researching as much as possible
- Sometimes, talking to other people (friends, parents, siblings) is another way to come up with good ideas
- What is something that you know is a problem around the world
- How could you fix it?
- Why is it not getting fixed?
3: Write out EVERYTHING you are thinking
- At this point, quantity over quality. It's better to have a lot of ideas to narrow down and combine than just two ideas which may not work out
- Encourage weird ideas.
- Write everything down, no matter how outlandish it may seem
As always, email me at ndubey@bmun.org or bmunlxvii@bmun.org if you have any questions!
-- Neha
Wednesday, February 6, 2019
Pitch Decks
Instead of collaborating with other delegates to write a resolution, you're going to be creating a pitch deck for your products.
A lot of the work is going to be done in committee (hence the full tech policy), and the work that you are doing for your position paper is going to be the bare fundamentals of your pitch deck.
This is an example pitch deck of Airbnb, one of the first ones that they made.
Pitch decks are used by entrepreneurs and founders to demonstrate why people should invest in their company. If you want to check out some more, try this link.
-- Neha
What is Venture Capital?
Dear delegates,
This week I am going to be explaining what exactly venture capital is, which is especially important considering our committee name is Berkeley Venture Capital. Seeing that this committee is about the formation of products, it is safe to assume that venture capital pertains to outside investment in companies that are in their earliest stages. In actuality, the investment known as venture capital can be structured in two ways: equity or convertible debt. The concept of equity is when the investor gets a stake in your company in exchange for giving you money. For example, if an investor were to give you $100,000 in exchange for 10% equity, then they would be valuing your company at a million dollars at the time of the investment. It is important to note that an investor’s equity in your company is calculated with its value at the moment that this exchange is taking place; it is not based on the future potential of your company. The second kind of venture capital, known as convertible debt, is money that needs to be repaid to the investor at a certain point in the future. However, more often than not, an investor will turn the money they are owed into equity in the company rather than asking for it back.
It is important to note that venture capitals are extremely risky. Considering that your companies are at their earliest stages, there is no solid indicator that there is a bright future ahead. To explain this numerically, the odds of a company becoming successful is one in ten, tipping the odds away from the investor. While there are many other aspects and factors that play a role in venture capital, this is a basic explanation of what venture capital is, and how it plays a role in the growth of your company. Good luck preparing!
-Melika
(Source:https://www.forbes.com/sites/georgedeeb/2016/07/18/what-exactly-is-venture-capital/#4a592ddd2501)
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