For introductory/advanced courses in Entrepreneurship. Threshold Entrepreneur is a Windows-based simulation which allows students to launch, manage, and operate their own small business enterprise, while facing computer-initiated situations. This version allows students to compete as a team against other classmates (TEAM). The program provides students with an opportunity to apply their knowledge of entrepreneurship to the process of managing a start-up business in a safe (simulated) environment. It allows them to learn from their mistakes without having to suffer a real financial loss, and improves their odds for success when they begin their business enterprise. The user-friendliness of the product allows instructors to use it to introduce all students to the concepts of entrepreneurship. The programs flexibility allows instructors to incorporate the simulation into advanced courses, with increased challenges for students and a higher set of expectations regarding the students skills. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: -A personal computer with Windows 3.1, Windows 95, 98, or Windows NT. -4 Megs of memory with Windows 3.1 (8 Megs preferred if using Windows 95, 98 or NT). -3 Megs of hard disk space. -At least 1 disk drive. -Monochrome or color monitor. -Printer (optional, but strongly recommended).* Managerial skills for managing a start-up enterprise. * Helps students develop skills in planning, organizing, and controlling and organization. * A broad range of decisions-Requires students to make decisions in Marketing (promotion, market research, and sales forecasting); Operations (sub-contracting vs. in-house production of finished product, inventory control, scheduling, staffing, and human resource investment); Finance (managing cash flow through the use of short-term loans, mortgages, and venture capital investments). * Allows students to see the interrelationships between the areas of marketing, operations, and finance in the management of their company. * Meaningful financial statements. * Introduces students to the problems of managing their cash flow in circumstances of uneven receipts of cash from prior sales. * Managerial dilemmas-Integrated into the software. * Requires students to confront the behavioral dimensions of managing an enterprise. * 'What if' questions. * Allows students to enter sales estimates and see the results of the decisions if that sales level is reached. * Managing an enterprise in the face of a rapidly changing competitive environment. * Requires students to formulate creative pricing, development, and advertising strategies in order to gain marketshare. * Windows-based software. * Makes the program user-friendly and operational in a format similar to other windows-based programs students have experienced. * The team version-In the team version, students are part of a group that manages their company. The company competes with other companies in the same marketplace that are managed by other groups in the class. * The administrator processes the decisions made by the teams-When the operating decisions for the quarter are final, the administrator collects the data disks from all the competing teams. The administrator then processes the decisions, using the Threshold Team Competitor Administrator program. The Threshold Team Competitor program determines the number of products each company sold and also produces a series of operations, marketing, and financial reports for each company. The program also rates the teams and ranks them according to criteria determined by the administrator. After processing, the teams make a new set of decisions based on the results of those just processed. Each decision-round represents three months of operations (i.e., one quarter of a year). The administrator determines how many decision rounds students play. The maximum number is 20.

Table of Contents:
1. Overview. 2. Review of Management Functions. 3. The Threshold Team Entrepreneur Business Environment. 4. Loading Threshold Team Entrepreneur Software. 5. Working with the Threshold Team Entrepreneur Program. 6. Making Decisions. 7. Threshold Entrepreneur Reports. Appendix A. Quarter 0 (4) Decisions. Appendix B. Quarter 0 (4) Reports. Appendix C. Sample Market Research Report. Appendix D. Initial Cost Parameters. Appendix E. Limits and Time Lags. Appendix F. Threshold Entrepreneur “Hot” Keys. Appendix G. Management Dilemmas. Appendix H. Threshold Entrepreneur Sample Industry Performance Report. Appendix I. Threshold Entrepreneur Flow Chart. Appendix J. A Step-By-Step Walk-Through. Index.