87356 - ENTREPRENEURSHIP & NEW VENTURE IMPLEMENTATION

Conoscenze e abilità da conseguire

The student explores the many dimensions of new venture creation & growth and acquires the capability to foster innovation and new business formations in independent and corporate settings. He is concerned with content and process questions as well as with formulation and implementation issues that relate to conceptualizing, developing and managing successful new ventures. As part of this learning journey the student acquires tools and methdologies required to design a solid business plan around an original idea that she/he is asked to develop, articulate and present in collaboration with her/his team members.

Contenuti

The emphasis in this course is on applying and synthesizing concepts and techniques from different functional areas in the context of new venture development. The class sessions are designed to familiarize you with the many dimensions of entrepreneurship and new venture development.

Core topics include:

- entrepreneur

- business idea

- entrepreneurial strategy

- business model

- venturing mindset

-customer development

Important pedagogical objectives of the course are:

- “Experience the process”: identify and pursue a business opportunity in either an independent or corporate setting with a team of motivated peers;

- To acquire the knowledge and spirit for venturing;

- To think creatively and to solve problems in highly unstructured situations;

- To examine the totality of a business proposal rather than concentrate on single aspects such as the marketing issues, or the financial feasibility.

While most of the examples in class will be drawn from new venture formation, the principles also apply to entrepreneurship in corporate settings and to non-profit entrepreneurship.

Testi/Bibliografia

Entrepreneurship (module 1)

Attending students: Reading package; Case study package

Non attending students: Above material plus text book: "New Venture Creation", by Timmons & Spinelli , McGraw-Hill - Any edition from the 8th on.

New Venture Implementation (module 2)

Attending students: Slides; Readings package; Case study package

Non attending students: Non-attending students will have to prepare selected chapters (1-2-5-6-7-8-9-10-16-18-19) from the book "Successful business plan. Secrets and strategies" by Rhonda Abrams, Planning shop (6th edition onwards), as well as the slides, readings and case study package uploaded on Virtuale. These students will be evaluated on the basis of a written exam.

Metodi didattici

The most effective way to understand the entrepreneurial process is to take a hands-on approach. In this course students are expected to interact with the business community, be able to work effectively in teams, and be active participants in classroom discussions. Attending students will be working in teams, to be formed during module 1, during both modules. For module 2, teams will be asked to develop a new venture plan based on new venture ideas selected during session 2 of module 2.

Strong written and oral skills greatly facilitate success in starting a new venture. Those individuals that can effectively communicate their ideas will have an advantage over those that cannot. As such, the assignments in the course center on written and oral presentations.

We will often break class into two sections, with outside speakers for at least one of the sections, or time for team meetings. Several classes will have “stand up” sessions where team members will present a portion of their plan.

Modalità di verifica e valutazione dell'apprendimento

Entrepreneurship (module 1)

Attending students

A final written exam plus assessment of team-based assignments. The final output of the team effort will be a startup case study. Team and individual performance will be measured along with the written report in determining the final grade of each student.

Typical breakdown of the final score:

40% case report

40% written exam

20% final presentation

Non attending students

A written exam based on all the material covered during the course (lecture slides, readings, case studies) plus the text book: "New Venture Creation", by Timmons & Spinelli , McGraw-Hill - Any edition from the 8th on.

New Venture Implementation (module 2)

Attending students will be evaluated on the basis of a group work (i.e., the new venture plan). For this assignment, students working in teams will submit a written document to the instructor before the end of the course (deadlines to be announced in class). The plan will be presented by each team at the end of the course. At the individual level, students will be evaluated on the basis of an individual written test. Non-attending students will be evaluated on the basis of a written exam.

Attending students: new venture plan (70% of final mark), individual written test (30% of final mark)

Non attending students: written exam (100% of final mark)

The final grading (grading scale 0-30) will follow the criteria indicated below:

• <18 insufficient
• 18-23 sufficient
• 24-27 good
• 28-30 very good
• 30 e lode excellent

Strumenti a supporto della didattica

The learning experience will be aided through the employment of a variety of teaching tools, including:

a) videos

b) simulations

c) live case studies

Students are expected to synthesize and integrate knowledge acquired in other courses and put it into practice. They will be challenged to shift from being a receiver of ideas, facts, concepts and techniques, to a style of generating ideas, identifying problems, analyzing and evaluating alternatives, and formulating workable action plans.

Because the course will make significant use of online simulations it is expected that 20 to 30% of lecture will be delivered fully onlin

Teaching assistant:TBD

Orario di ricevimento

Consulta il sito web di Simone Ferriani

Consulta il sito web di Leonardo Corbo