‘Research’

Darden professor Saras Sarasvarthy’s research on entrepreneurship serves as the topic for Inc. Magazine’s cover story this month.

“Sarasvathy likes to compare expert entrepreneurs to Iron Chefs: at their best when presented with an assortment of motley ingredients and challenged to whip up whatever dish expediency and imagination suggest. Corporate leaders, by contrast, decide they are going to make Swedish meatballs. They then proceed to shop, measure, mix, and cook Swedish meatballs in the most efficient, cost-effective manner possible.”

Read the article here: http://www.inc.com/magazine/20110201/how-great-entrepreneurs-think.html

Greetings Foodies & Entrepreneurs!

As some of you know JABA is using USDA FMPP grant funds to conduct a study to determine the feasibility of a flash-freezing operation that uses local food.  There are two areas of research for which we will be hiring: (1) analysis of supply and demand, which will involve research of farmers and facilities supplying product as well as interviews and surveys of potential customers including public and private agencies; and (2) financial analysis, analysis of comparable facilities, and identifying potential funding sources.  A business plan will be developed from these findings.

Each area will involve approximately 100-150 hours of research over the months of December, January and February.  If you have a strong business education or background and a passion for expanding a sustainable local food system, please contact me!

Previous grad students of UVA’s Darden School and UVA’s Sustainability studies through the Architect School are strongly encouraged to apply!  Please send me an email.

Judy Berger

JABA Community Nutrition Manager

674 Hillsdale Drive, Ste. 9

Charlottesville, VA  22901

Office: 434-817-5234

Fax: 434-817-5230

jberger@jabacares.org

JABA’S MISSION: To promote, establish and preserve sustainable communities for healthy aging that benefit individuals and families of all ages.

We would like to inform you that Darden faculty is conducting online survey to understand the process of business plan evaluation, and is requesting your help for the same.

Business Plan Evaluation

In recent years, a number of Peer to peer  lending and investing networks have utilized online media to expand the base of investment capital, especially to low-income and developing communities that might otherwise fail to attract risk or loan capital (e.g., Prosper.com;  Kiva.com; LendingClub.com). Although these sites have received considerable attention in the popular press, the use of online media as a way to expand the base of capital is not well understood.

This study aims to deepen our understanding of factors external to the firm that contribute to the evaluation of business plans.

Request

Your participation in the study would be of tremendous help in understanding the process of business plan evaluation. In addition, not only will you be getting exposed to reading plans, evaluating them, but you will also be helping the faculty conduct research.  As a token of thanks, we are offering students Amazon gift card worth $10 or we will donate $10 to local charity organization of your choice.

This is an anonymous online survey

Participants are not providing information on their identity. They will provide other information through online media, none of which can be used to link a survey to an individual.

Debriefing

We will hold a session to debrief the students on results and statistical findings, and answer any questions. However, all individual information will remain anonymous.

Survey

It’s fun: evaluate business-plans and choose where to invest, and complete timed response tests. The survey will take about 30 uninterrupted minutes of your time, and posted at http://web3.darden.virginia.edu/businessplans/participateExp.html . Please note that the survey may not work on Mac.