Play On! Building the Entrepreneurial Opportunity (A) Case Solution

Hill should have known that the internet at that time was a raging phenomenon and should have been used to advertise and conduct research. Sponsorships should have been secured before the launch and without securing sponsorship to last at least three seasons, the venture should not have been launched. Another failure on the part of Hill was to convince potential major sponsors such as NHL that the venture is looking to move towards an international scale given the support of NHL and make inroads into the United States. Hill also had limited knowledge of the NBA Hook-It-Up model and should have studied it in detail and prepared feasibility by that. Lastly, Hill had limited knowledge of media also and was played a fool by TSN given the time slots of running commercials. He should not have agreed to those terms and made it clear that he wanted slots during prime-time as well.

2. What could have been done differently to have made the venture a success?

A new venture is a risk for any entrepreneur, but risks are worth taking once an individual does his/her homework regarding the business opportunity. The first step that Hill should have taken should have been to conduct a thorough market research through surveys and other forms of in-depth research to gauge the receptivity amongst not only teams or players but also potential sponsors. The product in itself was great as street hockey was a very popular sport in Canada; however marketing it appropriately was necessary for the venture to be successful. The pricing for the events for e.g. team registration fee should have been low, details of which were not provided in the case. Extensive promotion is also crucial to startup success. Hill had failed to tap the online advertising sphere and lost out regarding television advertising. Flyers were placed at sports equipment stores only.