How to breed gazelles

How to breed Gazelles is a practical guide on how fast growing businesses can be created. 

Entering the universe of fast growth requires careful preparation from the early stages of idea generation until the business reaches maturity. Hence, this book follows an entrepreneurial process perspective, commonly described in four stages:

(i) opportunity identification and evaluation,

(ii) business plan development,

(iii) access generation to required resources, and

(iv) venture acceleration and management.

To address the challenges involved, the book offers a variety of practical tools while, at the same time, it discusses the fundamentals for developing a fast growing activity. Key concepts discussed in this book are:

• Positive obsession refers to entrepreneurs’ passion, curiosity, persistence, determination and dedication to their business, and ultimately to their customers.
• The underlying trends of any business require a careful identification and analysis since they have an impact on the daily life of your potential customers, while fast growth is ultimately based upon customer satisfaction.
• Business model testing, we argue, should take place in the very early stages of a business instead of making lengthy plans before showing a prototype or a proof of concept to customers.
  
   
• Gazelle competencies – among all entrepreneurial competencies – are arguably a precondition for creating a fast growing business, and we assert that these include opportunity recognition, networking, and communication.
  
  
• Risk management is discussed as a tool for strengthening the quality of fast growing business models, with the ambition of continuous improvement.
  
  
• Non-financial resource attraction is arguably of greater importance for Gazelles than funding, since money cannot buy everything, especially not the intangible drivers of collaboration. Yet, fast growth is the result of a joint, collaborative effort.
  
  

This book could be helpful to anyone with fast growing business ambitions, i.e. a student, a scientist, an entrepreneur, or a manager in an established company.

Good luck, and enjoy breeding your Gazelle!

About the authors:

Nikolay A. Dentchev is Professor of Entrepreneurship and Corporate Social Responsibility at Vrije Universiteit Brussel and HUBrussel, Belgium. He has over six years of professional experience in banking, where he coached and assessed entrepreneurial business plans. Nikolay has also over six years of experience in coaching undergraduate students in developing business plans. Currently, his research interests are related to fast growing companies, sustainable business models, sustainable innovations, instrumental stakeholder management theory and the implementation of CSR strategies. Nikolay has (co)authored more than 30 publications, among them in refereed academic journals such as Business & Society, Journal of Business Ethics and Journal of Public Affairs.

Kris Vander Velpen is executive professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at different business schools in Belgium and the Netherlands (Flanders Business School, Vlerick Management School, Thomas More, Erasmus Rotterdam). He has extensive professional experience in building innovative business concepts within different industries esp. banking, insurance, healthcare, materials and services and is senior advisor to several companies and organizations as well as board member of entrepreneurial ventures. He (co)authored publications and business cases regarding innovation and entrepreneurial topics. His research interests include sustainable business modeling, entrepreneurial competence development and business model innovation through corporate venturing.

Edgar E. Izquierdo is professor of Entrepreneurship at the Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty of ESPOL for undergraduates. He teaches Entrepreneurship, Management and Business Planning at ESPAE Graduate School of Management. He was the former Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship Development at ESPOL and Director of Training at the Science and Technology Foundation in Ecuador. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Molemotor Inc. in Guayaquil, Ecuador. His research interests include competency development, building innovative business models, entrepreneurship and innovation education. Edgar has (co)authored more than 11 publications, two of them in refereed academic journals, including: International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business; and Accountancy and Business Administration Journal. He is (co) author of the Handbook of Research in Entrepreneurship Education, Vol. 3 and the Entrepreneurship Special on Training and Education book, HAN Business Publications International.