| Course | ENP-7320 Entrepreneurship |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 1 |
| Paper type | Final project part 1: opportunity and target market |
| Length | About 737 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Thomas Edison State University |
| Program | Master of Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for ENP 7320 Module 1
Fresh Within a Day: The Opportunity and Target Market for an Indoor Gourmet Mushroom Farm in Trenton
Student Name
Master of Business Administration, Thomas Edison State University
ENP-7320: Entrepreneurship
Mentor Name
Month Day, Year
Fresh Within a Day: The Opportunity and Target Market for an Indoor Gourmet Mushroom Farm in Trenton
The Idea
Most gourmet mushrooms sold to New Jersey and Philadelphia restaurants are grown elsewhere and reach kitchens three to six days after harvest, by which point delicate varieties such as oyster and lion's mane have lost moisture and shelf life. Mill Hill will grow them year-round in climate-controlled rooms in a 4,000-square-foot warehouse, harvest daily and deliver within 24 hours to restaurants within about 40 miles, from Princeton to Philadelphia. The founder, who has managed produce purchasing for a regional restaurant group for six years and has grown mushrooms at small scale for three, has seen chefs reject cases that arrived bruised and dry.
Screening the Opportunity
Timmons et al. (2015) argue that an idea is not an opportunity unless customers will pay for it, it can earn attractive returns and the founder can seize it within a window of time. Their criteria fall into industry and market, economics, harvest and competitive issues.
The weakest criterion is defensibility: the method is not secret, and a competitor could build similar rooms within a year. The plan's answer is speed and relationships, signing the first 40 restaurant accounts before a rival appears.
| Criterion | Evidence for Mill Hill | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Customer need and willingness to pay | 24 of 31 chefs interviewed named freshness as their main complaint; 19 would pay at least $1 a pound more for next-day delivery | Strong |
| Market size and growth | Gourmet varieties on area menus rose, by the founder's count of 120 menus, from 22 to 37 percent of restaurants over three years | Moderate |
| Gross margin | Projected 74 to 76 percent, because substrate is cheap and the product sells fresh at a premium | Strong |
| Capital required | About $250,000, modest for a production business | Moderate |
| Competitive advantage | Freshness and reliability within a delivery radius larger growers cannot serve daily | Moderate |
| Window | Two small local growers sell mainly at markets; no grower supplies restaurants daily | Open, but copyable |
The Target Market
Primary market: independent restaurants
The first customers are chef-owned and independent restaurants within 40 miles that cook seasonal menus and pay for quality. A count of restaurant listings and menus found about 310 such restaurants in Mercer, Bucks, Burlington and Middlesex counties and central Philadelphia, of which about 115 already list gourmet mushrooms. Interviews suggest a typical restaurant in this group uses 15 to 30 pounds a week. If Mill Hill wins 40 accounts averaging 20 pounds, it sells 800 pounds a week, close to its second-year capacity.
Secondary market: farmers markets
Two year-round farmers markets, one in Lambertville and one in Philadelphia, allow direct sales at retail prices, about $14 a pound against $9 wholesale. They also introduce the brand to cooks who ask for it at specialty grocers, a later channel.
Customer profile
The core buyer is a chef or kitchen manager who orders twice a week, values consistency over price, and judges a supplier in the first month. Shane and Venkataraman (2000) describe entrepreneurship as the discovery and exploitation of opportunities that others have not yet acted on; here the opportunity lies in a gap between what chefs want, harvest-day freshness, and what distribution delivers.
Market Research Methods and Limits
The evidence comes from three sources: 31 structured interviews with chefs and kitchen managers, a count of 120 restaurant menus from the founder's purchasing records and public listings in two periods three years apart, and price checks at four distributors and two markets. The sample is not random; chefs who agreed to talk may be more interested in fresh produce than average. The plan therefore assumes only half of the interested chefs will become regular buyers. Before signing a full lease, the founder will test the riskiest assumption, that chefs will reorder weekly, by selling a small trial harvest grown in a rented room; Ries (2011) recommends exactly this kind of minimum viable test so that learning comes before large commitments.
Risks to the Opportunity
Three risks could close the window. A large grower could add a regional distribution hub with next-day delivery, removing the freshness gap. Restaurant demand falls in recessions, when diners trade down. And contamination of a grow room could interrupt supply for weeks, damaging trust. The plan addresses these through early account contracts, a farmers market channel that diversifies demand and two separate fruiting rooms so one failure does not stop all supply.
References
Ries, E. (2011). The lean startup: How today's entrepreneurs use continuous innovation to create radically successful businesses. Crown Business.
Shane, S., & Venkataraman, S. (2000). The promise of entrepreneurship as a field of research. Academy of Management Review, 25(1), 217-226. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2000.2791611
Timmons, J. A., Spinelli, S., Jr., & Adams, R. J. (2015). New venture creation: Entrepreneurship for the 21st century (10th ed.). McGraw-Hill.
ENP 7320 Module 1 instructions, in plain terms
The ENP-7320 final project is a business plan for a venture you plan to launch, about 20 to 25 pages, following the framework in Chapter 7 of New Venture Creation. It is built in seven parts: the opportunity and target market, the marketing plan, the financial and financing plans, organization and harvest, the executive summary, the integrated plan and a live presentation. The four section parts together count 10 percent of the grade. Part 1, due early in the course alongside Module 1 on creating a business from an opportunity, asks you to describe the opportunity and the target market. The venture and research figures on this page are a composite built for the sample. Because later parts are revised and joined into one plan, write this section so it can be dropped into the final document with only light editing.
Inside the ENP 7320 Module 1 example
The section opens with the idea in two paragraphs: the problem chefs face, how the farm solves it and why the founder is placed to do it. A table screens the opportunity against Timmons's criteria, each row tied to evidence and rated, and the weakest criterion is named with the plan's response. The target market is defined in layers, a primary restaurant market sized from a menu count and interviews and a secondary farmers market channel, followed by a customer profile. The research methods are stated with their limits, and the section closes with three risks and the measures that address them.
ENP 7320 Module 1 rubric: what earns full marks
The final project is worth 50 percent of the ENP-7320 grade, and the four graded plan sections make up 10 percent of it. Mentors look for an opportunity distinguished from an idea, a target market defined precisely and sized with evidence, and research whose methods and limits are clear. Applying Timmons's screening criteria honestly, including the criteria the venture meets only weakly, shows judgment. Because the section will be revised and folded into the integrated plan, clarity and a structure that fits the Chapter 7 framework count as well. Mentors also credit a section that names the evidence behind each claim and admits what the research cannot show, since that honesty makes the later financial assumptions more believable. A plan that tests its riskiest assumption before committing money shows the experimental thinking modern entrepreneurship research recommends.
ENP 7320 Module 1 help: mistakes that cost marks
Part 1 sections often fall short by describing a product instead of an opportunity, by defining the market as "everyone who eats" and by citing national industry figures that say nothing about the first customers. State the customer's problem and why it is not being solved. Name the first buyers precisely and count them. Use your own research, interviews, counts or price checks, and say how far it can be trusted. Score the idea on the textbook's screening criteria, weak spots included. A free first sample of your own ENP-7320 business plan Part 1 is available on request. Size the market from the bottom up, starting with buyers you can name, rather than from a national figure.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Thomas Edison State University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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ENP 7320 Module 1 questions, answered
Where can I find a free ENP 7320 Module 1 sample paper?
The mushroom farm business plan Part 1 above screens the opportunity with Timmons's criteria and sizes its restaurant and farmers market customers from interviews and a menu count.
What is the difference between an idea and an opportunity?
An opportunity is an idea that customers will pay for, that can earn attractive returns and that the founder can act on within a window of time.
How long is the ENP-7320 business plan?
About 20 to 25 pages, built in seven parts and integrated into one document near the end of the course.
What textbook does ENP-7320 use?
Timmons, Spinelli and Adams's New Venture Creation: Entrepreneurship for the 21st Century, tenth edition.
How do you size a target market for a small venture?
Count the specific first customers, estimate how much each buys and check the total against what the venture can supply.