ME-273L Engineering Entrepreneurship Open Ended Lab Assignment

Department of Mechanical Engineering
Program: BSc Mechanical Engineering
Assignment: Open Ended Lab
Maximum Marks: 20
Time Allowed:
Course: ME- 273L, Engineering Entrepreneurship
Session:
2024
Year:
2026, Spring Semester
Submission Date: On the day of presentation
CEP Attribute
Contextual Definition
WP1: Depth of
Knowledge Required
Cannot be resolved without in-depth engineering knowledge at the level
of one or more of WK3, WK4, WK5, WK6 or WK8 which allows a
fundamentals-based, first principles analytical approach
Involve wide-ranging and/or conflicting technical, non-technical issues
(such as ethical, sustainability, legal, political, economic, societal) and
consideration of future requirements
Have no obvious solution and require abstract thinking, creativity and
originality in analysis to formulate suitable models
Involve infrequently encountered issues or novel problems
WP2: Range of
conflicting
requirements
WP3: Depth of analysis
required
WP4: Familiarity of
issues
WP5: Extent of
applicable codes
WP6: Extent of
stakeholder
involvement and
conflicting
requirements
WP7: Interdependence
PLOs: PL10
CLOs: CLO2
Attribute
Mapped




Address problems not encompassed by standards and codes of practice
for professional engineering
Involve collaboration across engineering disciplines, other fields, and/or
diverse groups of stakeholders with widely varying needs
Address high-level problems with many components or sub-problems
that may require a systems approach

An ability to communicate effectively, orally as well as in writing, on complex engineering
activities with the engineering community and with society on large scale, such as being able
to comprehend and write effective reports and design documentation, make effective
presentation, and give and receive clear instructions.
Develop and deliver coordinated presentations and marketing content, articulating quantitative
analytics with convincing flow and impact.
 You can do the assignments in group of maximum three students. The group
members must be from the same section
 If you cannot find a group you would have to submit the assignment
individually
 The title page of your report must have the name and registration number of
the group members
 The submission is in hard copy and you must bring your report on the day of
your presentation
 The business ideas discussed in the class as example cannot be used as your
project assignment
Problem Brief
Assume that your project group is a team of entrepreneurs who is passionate to build
a successful and financially sustainable startup engineering business. Your team is
supposed to achieve success in all the four stages of entrepreneurial activity as
discusses in the class, i.e., (1) conceive a legitimate business idea, (2) develop a
viable product or service based on the business idea, (3) develop a business based
on that product or service and (4) convert that business into a financially sustainable
business.
Keeping these four stages in mind; you are expected to develop an effective
business pitch presentation to a venture capitalist. The focus of the effort must
be on convincing the funder/funding agency to (a) clearly see the potential in your
business pitch based on the point of difference, (b) conveniently assess the industrial
sector your idea belongs to and whether is makes sense to enter that industrial sector
or not, (c) agree to the marketing strategy you propose and (d) agree to the fund the
startup amount you are asking through clear and concise communication.
Key Deliverables
a. Identify the direct and indirect competitors of your product or service and
conduct a competitive analysis on market accepted key performance
indicators. Reference the techniques and information you deploy to
perform the analysis. Decide on how to most effectively present it to an
critical audience.
b. Workout overall attractiveness of the industrial sector and establish the
viability of introducing a new product in that particular industry. Reference
the techniques you deploy to perform the analysis. Decide on how to most
effectively present it to an critical audience.
c. Based on the four Ps of marketing present a marketing strategy tailored for
your specific product, your point of difference and the makeup of your target
market. Produce an effective advertisement by deploying a standard
advertisement development technique (graphical or media). Reference the
techniques you deploy to develop advertisement
d. Workout the most suitable sequence of these elements of financial
information to coerce the funder/funding agency to sign the check:





Workup of the total startup cash
Sales Projection
Cost projections
Gross profit projections
Breakeven point
NOTE: These deliverables (a-d) involve some independent study topics for
which you are welcome to seek general guidance. There is no teacher
recommended table of contents for your presentation. Based on your
feasibility analysis and business plan develop a table of content and flow of
information to ensure that you get funded.
Reporting format for report and presentation
NOTE:
 While doing items (a-d), ensure that all the relevant referencing of the
books, research papers and standard online forums is made available in
the report
 Also, the 20-25 slides presentation must conclude in 15 minutes
 Referencing should follow Chicago format available at
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/chicago_manual_17
th_edition/cmos_formatting_and_style_guide/chicago_manual_of_sty
le_17th_edition.html
References must be added in the slide the information is in
GRADING RUBRIC
Competitive
Analysis
Against
Direct and
Indirect
Competitors
(2 points)
Worked out
correct direct
and indirect
competitors
from market
Conducted
grid analysis
based
on
market
accepted key
performance
indicators
Industry
Viability and
Profitability
Analysis
Marketing
Strategy and
Advertisement
Financial
Communication
skills
(2 points)
(2 points)
(4 points)
Industrial sector Five Ps analysis Workup of
and
its
size conducted
for total startup
accurately
market strategy
cash realistic
researched
(10 points)
Power
point
prowess
demonstrated in
text and graphics
Conducted five
force
model
analysis
to
establish potential
for profitability
Workup of
sales
projections
on
solid
seeding
information
Careful
consideration
and
wellreviewed flow of
information is
evident
Workup of
COGS and
gross profit
projections is
correct
Effective
and
convincing
delivery
of
content as a team
to elicit funding
check
Produced
effective
advertisement
based on distinct
point
of
difference
Workup of
accurate
breakeven
point