IBES2410 Venture Lab (5 cr)
Description
Students will work in teams to analyze an opportunity and create a business model to solve a market based problem. The core goal is to gain increased understanding of how emergent innovations translate into commercial reality and might transform society. We survey case examples of both successful and failed businesses and generally grapple with the difficulties of deploying and diffusing products. We simulate the entrepreneurial, startup journey. The class will include live case studies of established and emerging businesses through talks by invited business speakers. We explore a range of business models and opportunities. Students will work on a project originating from their own business idea, or solve a problem provided by a partner firm. The project will develop throughout the term, with multiple reviews, and culminating in a final presentation and Scratch Book.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- understand the new venture creation process from opportunity recognition to a launch of a sustainable business
- know several tools to analyze business
- critically analyze business opportunities
- write a business model description
- develop their entrepreneurial and creative thinking and problem solving skills
- improve their communication and presentation skills
Description of prerequisites
Majority of obligatory IBE courses completed
Study materials
Collection of journal articles
Literature
- Ries Eric (2011) The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses. Crown Publishing.
- Osterwalder Alexander and Pigneur Yves (2010). Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers. Wiley.
- Allen, Kathleen (2011). Launching new ventures: An entrepreneurial approach. South-Western Cengage Learning.