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Faculty
Morris Samit, Elmira College

Course Coordinator
ISUP Secretariat

Prerequisite/progression of the course

Students should, through prior coursework, have had some formal exposure to any of the following: Strategy, marketing, finance, general business, international business or economics.

Course content, structure and teaching

Entrepreneurship is an integrative discipline which requires students to be immersed in subject areas such as marketing, operations, finance, production, management, etc., all the skills, concepts, information, and requisites necessary for the creation, growth, management, and harvest of the venture. Through lectures, class discussion, and case studies of exciting new ventures, students will gain knowledge of the process of converting one of their ideas into an opportunity to build a new, and sustainable, venture. Students will learn how to:

Understand the nature of the entrepreneurial function and personality

• How to recognize a good idea and turn it into an opportunity
• Research an industry, market, and competition

Learn the importance of real differentiation

• Develop a pricing strategy and economic model
• Assess the risks and develop contingency plans
• Understand the many options in financing a new business
• Learn how to interest potential investors, employees, and customers
• Read, analyze, and discuss cases exploring the issues faced by other successful entrepreneurs
• Be able to lay out a framework for a successful venture
• Realize that they can be successful

Learning Objectives

Because of the structure of the course, and the required work of the students, each student should leave the course with the knowledge and methodology for identifying, analyzing, and implementing entrepreneurial opportunities. The student will be able to produce a business plan that will convince investors, employees, etc. of the viability of the new venture. The knowledge gained will qualify a student to successfully start and build his or her own venture.

The student needs to demonstrate, in the business plan, a grasp of the issues in differentiating and explaining his/her business, and presenting a feasible economic business model.

Teaching methods

Central to the course is an interactive exchange among the students and the instructor, reviewing, discussing, and debating relevant material in the text, articles, and cases of actual new businesses relating to the problems and situations involved in entrepreneurship. Students will be exposed to key issues that other entrepreneurs have encountered in starting and building a new enterprise. For maximum results, each student must come to each class session fully prepared to discuss all of the assigned readings, and provide both questions and answers to the class discussions.

Examination

Final exam: Individual Business Plan in the form of a project/home assignment (individually written, 10 A4 pages).

Re-take exam: Individual Business Plan in the form of a project/home assignment (individually written, 10 A4 pages).

Recommended literature

Selected chapters from the following text:

• Timmons, Jeffry. Business Plans That Work, Irwin/McGraw Hill ISBN 13-9780071412872

Supplemental articles (from Academy of Management Journal, Harvard Business Review, etc.) and cases (from Harvard, Stanford, Babson, etc.)

• 12 Sure-Fire Secrets to Entrepreneurial Success, Mid-Atlantic Venture Group
• Bhide, The Questions Every Entrepreneur Must Answer
• 3-hour Business Plan, Blue Rock Capital
• Bhide, Bootstrap Finance
• Sahlman, The Basic Venture Capital Formula

Cases:

• Olive Oil
• Statements Media
• Malincho
• GolfLogix
• LijjatPapad

Sidst opdateret af ISUP Secretariat 29.01.2010