BUS357 Starting and Managing a Business End-of-Course Assessment 2026 | SUSS, Singapore

BUS357 End-of-Course Assessment

Section A (65 marks)

Answer all questions in this section.

Question 1

Singapore’s workforce has seen a significant shift towards hybrid and remote working arrangements in recent years. Knowledge workers, freelancers and small business owners increasingly seek flexible workspaces that provide not only a desk, but also a supportive community and professional services. Traditional co-working spaces often cater to larger start-ups or corporate teams, and may not always meet the needs of solo founders, freelancers and very small teams who require a more personalised and affordable environment.

You identify a business opportunity to start an independent hybrid co-working and entrepreneurial hub that targets:

• freelancers and remote workers,
• solo entrepreneurs and micro-business owners (1–3 staff), and
• early-stage founders who require a professional space to meet clients, run small workshops and access basic business support.

Your concept, “LaunchPad Studio”, combines:

• hot-desking and dedicated desk plans,
• small meeting rooms and a cosy event space for up to 20 participants,
• add-on services such as basic business clinics (e.g., accounting, branding, digital marketing workshops) in partnership with external professionals, and
• a small pantry area with complimentary beverages to encourage informal networking.

To ensure accessibility and visibility, you intend to locate the business within walking distance of an MRT station in a mixed commercial–residential area.

However, starting and operating such a hub requires significant initial investment in renovation, furniture, IT infrastructure (Wi-Fi, printers, access control system), and working capital for rent and staff salaries. You do not have sufficient capital to start the business on your own. You have therefore approached a potential investor who is open to the concept and is prepared to provide funding through a mix of equity and an interest-bearing personal loan. You will need to prepare a business proposal, and a short presentation to the investor to formally seek funding and offer some equity in return.

Required

You are to construct a Business Model Canvas to analyse the opportunity for launching

“LaunchPad Studio”, an independent co-working and entrepreneurial hub, in the Singapore market. In your report, you should appraise in detail each component of the business model canvas.

The report should also include a detailed 3-year financial analysis to demonstrate the financial viability of the venture to the investor.

Guidelines and Assumptions

1. The primary revenue-generating activity of the proposed business must be an independent co-working and entrepreneurial hub. Operating as a franchised unit or under a global co-working brand is not allowed.
2. The proposed location will be a 2nd-floor commercial unit at PLQ Mall (Paya Lebar Quarter, 409051). There is one unit available: 1,400 square feet at a monthly rental cost of $10,500. The unit is unfurnished bare but in ready-torenovate condition. There is a minimum lease period of three (3) years.
3. Rental deposit required is equivalent to two (2) months’ rental, to be paid together with the first month’s rental upon commencement of the lease. Subletting is not allowed.
4. The first month of operations is the gestation period of the new business (renovation, furnishing, staff recruitment and training, marketing launch, etc.). The first revenue can only be received from the second month onwards.
5. The depreciation for any capital expenditure (e.g., renovation, furniture, equipment) is based on straight line over three (3) years.
6. You will invest $70,000 of the Total Investment Required (TIR) as your Equity Capital, with the balance of the TIR to be funded by the potential investor in a combination of equity capital and an interest-bearing personal loan. The investor stated that he is only willing to invest between 40% to 60% of the Balance of the TIR as his Equity Capital. Therefore, you will need to propose the amount and subsequently determine the corresponding shareholding offered to the investor. The remaining shortfall in the Balance of the TIR will be extended as a loan from the investor to the business at the start, with only interest payable each month (see further for Cost of Debt) and the full repayment of the principal on the 36th month.
7. The following Cost of Capital (Weighted Average Cost of Capital, WACC) formula must be used (no marks will be awarded if any other WACC formula is used):                                                                        E                                      D
                                  WACC         =        x  R_e          +        x  R_d           x   (1 – T_c)
   V                                     V
   ➢ R_e = Cost of Equity
   ➢ R_d = Cost of Debt
   ➢ E = Funding from Equity
   ➢ D = Funding from Debt / Loans
   ➢ V = E + D (i.e., total funding)
   ➢ E/V = Percentage of Financing that is Equity
   ➢ D/V = Percentage of Financing that is Debt
   ➢ T_c = Corporate Tax Rate at 17%
8. Specific Tax Exemptions, Credits and Reliefs (e.g., Tax Exemption Scheme for New Start-Up Companies), Concessions, Rebates, Loss-Carrying Forward and similar Schemes are to be ignored in computations.
9. The financial statements, together with the key major assumptions made (e.g., membership and desk occupancy forecast, pricing plans, workshop/event revenue, major capital expenditure items, etc.), must be included in the main report. Other supporting details and evidence may be placed in the Appendix.
10. The financial statements must be inserted and properly resized as embedded objects clearly displayed in MS Word (use “INSERT > OBJECT” function) and NOT as a picture, image, link to an external document or as an attachment. The embedded Excel object must show the monthly figures with a total for the year. In addition, the same Excel file with the financial statements and assumptions should be attached as an icon to the document in the main report.
11. The report should be formatted with 2.54cm (1-inch) margin all around, typed in Times New Roman 12-point with 1.5 line spacing for the paragraphs. All graphs, tables and images must be numbered and titled.
12. You must follow the report format provided below with answers for each section clearly demarcated by its respective sub-header numbering and title.
13. In addition to the course materials provided, you are free to conduct library and field research.
14. Any assumptions made must be supported by appropriate references shown in the appendices. All sources must be properly cited in the text and included in the reference list.
15. The main report, including the Executive Summary, must not exceed 3,000 words – excluding cover page, Table of Contents, Appendices and reference list. Marks will be deducted for excessive length.

ECA Report Format

[Name of Company]

[Date]

Table of Contents

1. Executive Summary (Maximum 500 words)

(indicate word count)

8 marks

2. The Business Model  

2.1 The Business Model Canvas

2.2  Analysis of Each of the Business Model Canvas Components based on Research Data

30 marks

3. Financial Analysis

3.1 Key Assumptions Made and Excel File Attachment (as icon)

3.2 3-Year Pro-forma Income Statement (1^st to 3^rd year displayed on a columnar monthly basis)

3.3  3-Year Pro-forma Cash Flow Statement (1^st to 3^rd year displayed on a columnar monthly basis)

18 marks

4. Investment Proposal

4.1   Total Investment Required, Proportion and Justification for Equity-Debt Ratio required from Investor

4.2   Expected Financial Returns:

• Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC)*
• Valuation (based on the discounted cash flow method)
• Net Present Value (NPV)
• Internal Rate of Return (IRR)*

*correct to 2 decimal places

You must use the following rates in your calculations:

• Cost of Equity (R_e) at 12%
• Cost of Debt (R_d) at 7%
• Corporate Tax Rate (T_c) at 17%

4.3  Percentage Shareholding Offered to Investor

9 marks

ECA Written Report – Total  = 65 marks

Section B (25 marks)

Answer all questions in this section.

Question 2

Practise making a pitch presentation by preparing a video recording of the presentation of at least 3 minutes but not exceeding 6 minutes. Refer to Canvas T/TG/RESIT course site > Assignments > ECA_VIDEO for the step-by-step guide on how to submit the video.

(25 marks)

Section C (10 marks)

Answer all questions in this section.

Question 3

Develop a set of PowerPoint presentation slides upon which the video presentation is based. Please note that the PowerPoint must be converted to PDF before submission to Canvas.

(10 marks)

—– END OF ECA PAPER —–