Entrepreneurship refers to creating, starting, and running a new business, and a person who does this is called an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs must be innovative and willing to take risks. Money is necessary for starting a new business, and there are several ways to get the initial capital. That's money that will be used to invest in the business and generate more money. Many entrepreneurs spend their early days bootstrapping, which means they use their own money and the revenue from a few initial customers to invest in the business. Another possibility is getting a loan from a bank. You could also ask other people for money. Entrepreneurs can pitch their ideas to investors who can contribute money to the venture. The venture means the business effort. In return, the investors get equity, meaning they own a piece of the company and will profit later when it is sold. Two main types of investors are angel investors, rich people who enjoy investing their own money into new businesses, and venture capitalists, companies that are investing other people's money into new businesses. Angel investors typically invest smaller amounts earlier in the new business development, whereas venture capital firms often prefer to help a more established business grow faster and can invest larger amounts.

A new way of getting money to start a business is crowdfunding, in which a company sets up a web page asking for contributions from the public, usually in exchange for receiving a product the company will develop. One of the first things an entrepreneur must do is create a minimum viable product. That's the smallest, most basic version of the product that can be sold. Its function is to validate, confirm the fact that customers want this product and are willing to pay for it. It's also a good idea to come up with a business plan, a statement of the company's goals and value proposition, how it will meet the needs of its customers in a way that is different from other companies. The business plan should also describe the customer's segment, the type of people the company will sell to. For example, will it try to reach the mass market, a very large number of people, almost everyone, or a niche market, a small specialized group of people? Will it sell B2B, a business selling products to other businesses, or B2C, a business selling products to individual consumers? It's also important to consider the financial aspects, such as the company's revenue streams, the various ways it receives money, and costs. There are fixed costs, expenses that are the same every month, such as rent, and variable costs, expenses that change based on quantity produced, such as amount of raw materials.

After a new business has achieved product market fit, meaning it is providing the right product at the right price to satisfy the demand of the market, it's time to scale up, meaning grow the company. Some startups, new companies, join business incubators or accelerators. These are special programs that can provide resources, support, and education to small businesses as they grow. Unfortunately, not every new business succeeds. Some have problems with cash flow, the movement of money through the business, and end up going bankrupt. Other businesses, however, become large and successful companies. Sometimes they decide to go public, meaning to begin selling shares of the company on the public stock market. The event when the shares are sold on the stock market for the first time is called IPO, which stands for initial public offering. The advantages of going public include getting more investors easily and increasing the prestige, the reputation, and level of respect of the company. One disadvantage is that the company is required to disclose, reveal, financial, and business information that was not previously public. Alternatively, the founder may decide to sell the company to another company. This event is often called an exit. The overall valuation of the company, how much money it is worth, depends on a lot of factors, including cash flow, assets, and liabilities.

Let's talk a little more about acquisitions. When one company buys another, it is called an acquisition or takeover. Before finalizing the purchase, the buying company must perform due diligence. That means a careful investigation of the situation, checking all the details in order to make an informed decision. There are several reasons one company may want to buy another. There might be synergy between the two companies. That means their activities complement and enhance each other. For example, a company that produces cell phones, buying a company that produces cell phone cases. A company may buy another company in a different area in order to diversify, meaning it becomes more varied. This way, if one area of business begins to decline, the other area may not be affected. When two companies combine, it is called a merger. The two companies may combine to form a new company. This is called consolidation. Or the purchased company may become a subsidiary, meaning it is owned and controlled by, of the parent company.

A horizontal merger is when a company buys another company in the same area. For example, a beer company buying another beer company. This is done to expand the company and to eliminate competition, thus increasing the company's market share. A vertical merger is when a company buys another company that is part of its supply chain. For example, a camera company buying the factory that produces the electronics inside the cameras. This helps cut costs. Sometimes the buying company is interested not so much in the other company itself, but instead in the team of talented people working there. It may buy the other company just to get the employees. This is called an acquihire. During a merger, there will be some restructuring, changing of the organization's structure, as the company works to integrate the other company's departments, products and staff. It may be necessary to downsize, to lay off some employees in order to make the new company's operations more efficient.

In conclusion, this listening material was collected by Xiao Wu from qicai.com, focusing on business English courses, speeches, meetings, negotiations, and phone conversations. Hopefully, you will gain some insights after listening!