Week 4 Reading Reflection

The most surprising part of the reading, in my opinion, came from the "Entrepreneurship in Practice" box titled "Terrorism Ignites Innovation." While a terrorist attack is an extreme instance for opportunity identification, what surprised me was that the government solicited ideas from its citizens. Moreover, in the wake of the attack, they received 12,500 proposals in one month which is 1389% higher than the average volume of proposals received in a year. I was slightly confused by the explanation of process needs as a source of innovative ideas. I would ask Kuratko what differentiates process needs from the general term, since no context clues allude to a difference. Also, expanding on my first question, I would ask what role venture capitalists play in addressing those needs as opposed to entrepreneurs. This textbook might be slightly old, but I don't necessarily agree that, as an economic trend, people have more disposable income. Although peoples' gross incomes have risen, the shrinking middle class and the increased cost of living are trends that offset this increase in disposable income.