| Course | MAN-2300 Introduction to Entrepreneurship |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 6 |
| Paper type | Module 6 written assignment: managing an entrepreneurial firm |
| Length | About 569 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Thomas Edison State University |
| Program | B.S. in Entrepreneurship |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MAN 2300 Module 6
From Founder to Manager: Building the Team Behind a Seasonal Paddle Company
Student Name
B.S. in Entrepreneurship, Thomas Edison State University
MAN-2300: Introduction to Entrepreneurship
Mentor Name
Month Day, Year
From Founder to Manager: Building the Team Behind a Seasonal Paddle Company
The Problem
By its third season the paddle company employs nine people from May to September: four guides, four rental attendants and a part-time bookkeeper. Last summer three guides left in July for better-paying jobs, and the founder covered their tours herself while still managing everything else. The business has outgrown the way it was started.
Building the New Venture Team
Barringer and Ireland (2025) describe the new venture team as the founders and key employees who help a business through its early years, supported by a board of advisers and professionals such as lawyers and accountants. Klotz et al. (2014) reviewed research on new venture teams and found that team composition and the processes by which members work together, such as how they share information and resolve conflict, are related to venture performance. The paddle company needs a team, not only staff. The founder will promote Marco, a third-season guide with a commercial captain's license, to operations lead with year-round part-time pay. She will also form an informal board of advisers: the marina owner, a retired accountant and the education director of the local nature center.
Hiring and Keeping Seasonal Guides
Guides are the business's most important employees, because the tours depend on their knowledge and safety judgment. Three changes address last summer's losses. First, pay: guides will earn a base hourly rate competitive with lifeguarding plus a per-guest bonus, and a completion bonus paid in September to those who stay the whole season. Second, recruitment: the company will hire college students in environmental science and education majors, through two nearby universities, who value the experience for their careers. Third, training: a two-week paid training program in May will cover ecology content, rescue skills and customer service, which also builds the team before the rush.
Protecting the Company's Name and Know-How
The company's name and its tour content are valuable. Barringer and Ireland explain that trademarks protect names and logos, copyrights protect original works such as written materials, and trade secrets protect valuable information kept confidential. The company will register its name and logo as a state trademark and consider federal registration if it expands, mark its written tour guides and species lists with copyright notices and ask guides to sign agreements not to use the company's tour scripts for a competing business. It cannot stop a competitor from offering ecology tours, but it can protect its name and materials.
The Founder's Changing Role
The founder's hardest change is personal. In the first season she guided, booked, cleaned boats and kept the books. Now her role must shift to setting direction, developing guides and building relationships with schools and partners. She will stop guiding weekend tours except for a monthly signature tour, delegate daily operations to Marco and meet with her advisers twice a year. The same effectual habit that served her at the start, committing only what she can afford to lose (Sarasvathy, 2001), should guide decisions about how much of her own time and money the business takes as it grows.
Conclusion
The paddle company's next challenge is management, not demand. A small venture team with an operations lead, a board of advisers, a retention plan for guides, protection for its name and materials and a founder willing to step back from daily work will let the business keep its quality as it grows.
References
Barringer, B. R., & Ireland, R. D. (2025). Entrepreneurship: Successfully launching new ventures (7th ed.). Pearson.
Klotz, A. C., Hmieleski, K. M., Bradley, B. H., & Busenitz, L. W. (2014). New venture teams: A review of the literature and roadmap for future research. Journal of Management, 40(1), 226-255. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206313493325
Sarasvathy, S. D. (2001). Causation and effectuation: Toward a theoretical shift from economic inevitability to entrepreneurial contingency. Academy of Management Review, 26(2), 243-263. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2001.4378020
Reading the MAN 2300 Module 6 assignment instructions
The sixth written assignment covers managing an entrepreneurial firm. Expect questions on building a new venture team and board of advisers, hiring and managing employees, protecting intellectual property and the founder's role as the firm matures. Apply the concepts to a specific problem your venture faces, such as turnover or the founder's workload. Use the textbook's distinctions, such as those among trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets, accurately. End with what the founder will do differently, since that is often the hardest change. Choose a concrete management problem your venture faces, such as turnover, workload or a missing skill, and build your answer around solving it. Name specific roles, pay arrangements and agreements rather than general principles.
Inside the MAN 2300 Module 6 example
The paper opens with a specific management problem in the venture's third season. A section builds a new venture team and advisory board, supported by a research review on new venture teams. A section designs hiring, pay and training for seasonal guides around the problem of mid-season departures. A section applies the textbook's forms of intellectual property to the company's name and materials. A section describes how the founder's role must change, and the conclusion summarizes. Each section answers part of the turnover and workload problem, and the intellectual property section applies the textbook's distinctions to the company's actual name and materials. The final section addresses the founder herself, which is where many growing businesses struggle most.
Where the marks sit in the MAN 2300 Module 6 rubric
For the management assignment, mentors want management and intellectual property ideas used correctly, practical solutions to a specific problem and clear writing with citations. Papers that design hiring and retention around evidence, such as when and why employees left, show applied thinking. Distinguishing correctly among forms of intellectual property demonstrates accuracy. Addressing the founder's changing role shows understanding of how entrepreneurial firms mature and why so many founders struggle with it. Mentors also value realistic pay and retention measures that a small business could afford, rather than benefits only a large firm could offer. Clear organization and accurate citations complete the assignment. Practical, affordable measures earn most.
Common MAN 2300 Module 6 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Students lose points by describing team-building in general terms, by confusing trademarks with copyrights or by ignoring the founder's own role. Others propose perks without addressing the cause of turnover. List each team member with the role they will play. Tie retention measures to the reasons employees leave. Use each form of intellectual property correctly. Say what the founder will stop doing. Check what kinds of intellectual property your business actually has before deciding how to protect it. Consider which agreements you need employees to sign, and have them reviewed by a lawyer. A free first sample on your own MAN-2300 Module 6 assignment is available on request.
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More MAN 2300 and B.S. in Entrepreneurship sample papers
- MAN 2300 Module 1: Written Assignment: Should a Teacher Start a Paddle Tour Business?
- MAN 2300 Module 2: Written Assignment: A Feasibility Analysis for Ecology Paddle Tours
- MAN 2300 Module 3: Written Assignment: A Business Model and Legal Form for the Paddle Company
- MAN 2300 Module 4: Written Assignment: Startup Costs, Break-Even and How to Fund the Fleet
- MAN 2300 Module 5: Written Assignment: Growth Options After Two Good Seasons
MAN 2300 Module 6 questions, answered
Where can I find a free MAN 2300 Module 6 sample paper?
Guide turnover, a venture team, IP protection and a founder stepping back are covered in the assignment above.
What is a new venture team?
The founders and key employees who help a business through its early years, supported by advisers and professionals.
What is the difference between a trademark and a copyright?
A trademark protects names and logos used in commerce; a copyright protects original works such as written materials.
What is a board of advisers?
An informal group of experienced people who advise a firm's managers without the legal duties of a board of directors.
Why must a founder's role change as a firm grows?
Because the founder cannot do every job, and must shift to setting direction and developing others.