Overview
You’ve just pitched your amazing marketing plan to a group of investors on Shark Tank. One of the Sharks loves the idea but challenges you with this: “Your plan looks good on paper, but that’s the easy part. Prove to me you understand what it actually takes to turn this plan into a real, profitable business.”
You have to answer—not just as a marketer, but as someone who understands what it takes to bring a business to life.
PROMPT:
Write a post that outlines how you would turn your marketing plan into a real, profitable business by addressing the four essential resources.
Start with a short 2-3 sentence overview of your company and what it does, then answer these four prompts:
- Money
- Where would you get funding? What would your biggest startup costs be?
- How would you spend your first $50,000?
- Information
- What data or research do you still need?
- How would you use information to make better decisions (pricing, targeting, product features, etc.)?
- People
- Who would you need on your team to make this business work (identify the roles you need)?
- What kind of skills would be most valuable at launch?
- Production/Operations
- How would you actually deliver your product or service?
- Would you manufacture, outsource, use tech platforms, or something else?
INSTRUCTIONS:
Your initial post should be about 350–450 words, written in your voice. Again, use your own personal experience and learning. Be creative and specific—you can invent your own business idea for this post or refer back to one from earlier in the semester. Focus on practical, real-world reasoning—this isn’t about right or wrong answers, it’s about your ability to think like a marketer who’s also a business builder. Once you've completed your post, be sure to respond to at least two classmates and make sure your responses are at least 150 words long and go beyond validation and agreement. You're in the Shark Tank. Challenge them! Ask good questions. Be the shark.