PROTON-CANCER THERAPY CENTER: AN ENTREPRENEUR'S-DILEMMA Note to Instructors John Styles, founder of the Styles Company, was-afforded an opportunity-by-the-CFO-of-M.-D.- Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, to partner with Anderson-in-financing, constructing,- and managing-a-proton cancer therapy-center-in-that-city. The primary reasons for considering- the construction of the center were that Anderson could not-handle the high demand for radiation- therapy that they were experiencing in the early years of the twenty-first- century, and- additionally, proton-therapy-was-a-much-more-refined and effective method of treating-some- types of cancer than other traditional radiation therapies. The site-plan-for-the-proton cancer therapy-center-estimated that approximately-92,000-square- feet-would-be-needed for the facility-to-house-state-of-the-art-equipment that had not yet been- approved by the Federal Drug Administration. The cost of the project was estimated-to-be-$100- million, and the primary constraint in raising money-was the fact that it would take several years. to complete the deal and build the center. Therefore, payback-on-the-investment would not begin- until patients were treated in the facility which would be as long as five or more years. The focus of the case is the decision-that-John-Styles had to make on whether or not-he-and-his- company should enter-into-a-partnership-with-M. D. Anderson Cancer Center-to-build-a-Proton- Cancer-Therapy Center-in-Houston, Texas. In assessing the wisdom of undertaking this project, Styles-had-to-consider many of the risks-identified in the research of Monroy-and-Folger-(1993).- The key issues and discussion points of this case include the following. 1. → Identifying the factors that influence entrepreneurial decision making. 2. → Comparing-the-typology of risks encountered by entrepreneurs-in-participating-in-a-new- venture with those-encountered-by-Styles. 3. Assessing the pros and cons of entering into the proton cancer therapy center-deal. 4 → Analyzing the sources of funding available for new-yentures and their applicability for the proton cancer therapy-center.