What is the Central Driving Forces Model?

The central driving forces model is an approach to analyzing the strategic position of an entrepreneurial venture. The model assesses founders, opportunities, and resources. It assesses whether there are consistent elements (fits) or inconsistent or incongruous element (gaps) in the company's strategic position. Necessarily, these elements are evaluated in the context of the current competitive market or industry.

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Assessing the Elements: 

• Founders, 
• Opportunities, and 
• Resources

Founders 

Assessing the founders means looking at the skills, experience, and connections of each. Ultimately, you are looking for for scenarios where founders have unique skills that potentially add value to the venture. Further, you are looking for complimentary (rather than duplicative) skills. Prior experience in the given field or industry is a positive in terms of understanding the market, customers, value proposition, and operational model. Connections allow the founders to add value through external channels. 

Opportunities

This broad field assesses the existing market for the company's value proposition. Who are the customers/clients/end users? What do they need or want the company's value proposition? What is the strength of demand? Who are the competitors in the field? What is the opportunity or competitive position of the business venture that allows it to compete in this market. The source or genesis of the company's opportunities can be broad and varied based upon the unique conditions of the market and the nature of the value proposition. 

Resources

What resources are need to fully commercialize the value proposition to its potential? What resources does the business bring to bear when entering the market? This can be an assessment of actual or potential resources, including cash, influence, manpower, knowledge, intellectual property, equipment, brand recognition, etc. Taken together, these elements will provide a holistic view of the business venture and its potential to achieve its objectives. There is no hard-and fast metric for whether the venture should be successful or no. This model simply provides a vantage point from which to appropriately evaluate the business opportunity or potential.