Author(s): Vasu Keerativutisest and Triyuth Promsiri
Teaching entrepreneurial finance is a challenge, especially for new ventures. New ventures are facing many uncertainties during the process of business venturing, which leads to difficulties in estimating assumptions and projections to conduct feasibility analysis. Although there are many theories to explain that entrepreneurs always make a decision through bias and self-decision making, Feasibility analysis is still essentially important because it guides entrepreneurs make a decision through data and critical thinking. In this study, we seek to develop an alternative method to help nascent entrepreneurs have a better understanding to be able to conduct the financial feasibility analysis. Therefore, we deploy the existing tool in entrepreneurship, which is business model canvas, as a framework. Business model canvas was selected because it is a visual tool that allows entrepreneurs to see the connection among different components of the business, and it is the main theory which has been used widely in entrepreneurship classrooms; however, the connection between business model canvas and financial feasibility study is still limited. This study filled the gap of financial aspects of the business model canvas by proposing the 6-step analysis through the “Financial Feasibility Canvas (FFC)”. Those six steps including investment rationale, capital investment, assumptions, cashflow, financial returns, and decision, will guide learners and entrepreneurs to follow logical financial consequence until financial return calculation to assist entrepreneur’s decision-making process. The researchers then implemented this teaching method in entrepreneurial finance class. 33 entrepreneurship students participated in a series of 3-week workshop. The researchers further guided them through 6-step analysis, assign team project to come up with their own business idea and verify the possibility of their business idea through FFC. Learners agreed on the effectiveness of this teaching method in comparison with traditional methods. This study fills the void of academic linkage, promote class participation and environment, and raise the awareness of entrepreneurship students focusing on the financial aspects of business in completing the Business Model Canvas.