OPPORTUNITY SCREENING: THE 12RS

Opportunity Screening

The process of evaluating multiple business opportunities before transforming an idea into reality.

Importance of Screening Business Opportunities

Businesses often fail due to:

• Lack of product or market fit

• Weak team associations

• Underestimating competition

• Lack of capital

Proper opportunity screening helps entrepreneurs avoid these challenges.

Two-Stage Approach in Screening Opportunities

1. Qualitative Assessment – Gathering information, insights, and recommendations from other entrepreneurs in the industry.

2. Quantitative Assessment – Evaluating opportunities based on four key categories:

   • Industry/Market

   • Profitability

   • Financials

   • Management Team

The 12Rs of Opportunity Screening

1. Relevance to One’s Vision, Mission, and Objective – The opportunity must align with the entrepreneur’s personal goals and vision.

2. Resonance with One’s Values – The opportunity should reflect the values the entrepreneur wants to promote.

3. Reinforcement of Existing Enterprise Strategies – The opportunity should match the entrepreneur’s skills and talents to ensure efficient execution.

4. Revenues – The opportunity must attract a significant portion of the target market.

5. Responsiveness to Customer Needs and Wants – It should address existing gaps in the market and solve consumer problems.

6. Reach – The opportunity should have the potential to expand across multiple distribution channels.

7. Range – It should allow for multiple product or service lines catering to different customer segments.

8. Revolutionary Impact – The opportunity should offer something unique and innovative.

9. Returns – It should provide high returns on investment, particularly if it can be produced at a low cost.

10. Risks – The opportunity should have manageable legal, financial, and technological risks.

11. Relative Ease of Implementation – The business should not require excessive effort to execute successfully.

12. Resources Required – The opportunity should require minimal resources to reduce potential losses.