📚 Part 1: Multiple Choice & Matching

1. An entrepreneur is testing a prototype and writing a business plan. Which life cycle stage is this?

Seed

Startup

Growth

Maturity

2. Which challenge is most typical during the Startup stage?

Market saturation and slow sales growth

Securing initial funding and managing cash flow

Rebranding after decades of trading

Liquidating assets and closing business

3. Check all strategies that could be used by a business aiming to renew in Post-Maturity.

Innovate product or service offerings

Reduce staff wages indefinitely

Enter new markets or segments

Improve customer experience and marketing

4. Match each life cycle stage (left) with the most appropriate description (right). Draw lines between matching items.

1. Seed

2. Startup

3. Growth

4. Maturity

5. Post-Maturity

A. Stable sales; focus on efficiency and defending market share

B. Idea development, market research and planning

C. Business reinvents itself or faces decline/exit

D. Rapid sales increase; expansion and hiring

E. Launching operations and securing customers/funding

✏️ Part 2: Short Answers & Case Analysis

5. Case: "A suburban café has steady customers but sales have plateaued. The owners are considering adding a new menu and online ordering." Identify the current stage and explain your choice in 2–3 sentences.

6. For the café above: List two strategies to move back into growth and briefly state the expected effect of each (one sentence each).

7. Financial planning: A startup has $18,000 in seed funding and a monthly cash burn of $3,000. How many months of runway remain? Show your calculation.

8. Ethical consideration: Explain one ethical issue a mature business should consider when deciding to downsize (one short paragraph).