Fin­an­cing In­nov­a­tion and Entrepreneur­ship

Course content

Course Description:

Innovation and entrepreneurship are engines of economic growth and job creation. They are also key driver of firms’ future competitiveness and productivity. Financing R&D projects differs from financing other types of projects such as capital investments. This is mostly due to high uncertainty associated with R & D projects and outcome of them.  In addition, well-functioning financial markets can nurture technological innovation through two channels. First financial markets can allocate capital to the most promising projects or firms with the greatest potential to develop and commercialize new technologies. Second, financial markets can influence the direction of innovation and shape the nature of R&D that is undertaken by firms. This course will focus on relationship between financing and innovation in both established firms and innovative entrepreneurial ventures.

Course Contents:

The course will be delivered in two parts.

1. In the first part, we will focus on large established firms. In this part, we discuss:
   1.  Different types of innovation investments (internal R & D, Corporate venture capital, joint venture, etc.).
   2. The interaction between financial markets (e.g. analysts, shareholders, etc.) and firm investment in innovation.
   3. Some tools to evaluate and compare investment opportunities in innovation projects.
2. In the second part, we will focus on innovative entrepreneurial ventures. This section aims to provide an overview of:
   1.  Funding sources for new ventures (e.g. venture capital, Angels, Crowdfunding, Initial coin offering) and implications of different types of investors.
   2. Methods of financial valuation of a start-up firm,
   3.  The structure of financial contracts between entrepreneurs and external investors
   4. Biases in entrepreneurial finance market.

The course is relevant for students planning to become entrepreneurs, or working in high tech sector, investment firms, private equity firms, public institutions supporting innovation and entrepreneurship, and consulting.