Subject: Business – Management
Course: EBGN 566
Section: A
TITLE: TECHNOLOGY ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Semester/Year: Spring 2015
Instructor: Mark B. Mondry
Contact information:
Office: Engineering Hall, Room 319
Phone: 303.384.2359
E-mail: mmondry@mines.edu
Office hours: Mon. & Wed. 2:00pm-3:30pm, Tues. & Thur. 10:00am-11:30am, or by appointment.
Class meeting days/times: Mon. & Wed. 4:00pm – 5:15pm
Class meeting location: Engineering Hall, 211
Web Page/Blackboard link: https://blackboard.mines.edu/ (registered students will have this course in their
Blackboard course list)
Teaching Assistant: TBD
Instructional activity: 3.0 hours lecture
___ hours lab
3.0 semester hours
Course designation: ___ Common Core ___ Distributed Science or Engineering
___ Major requirement
X Elective ___ Other (please describe ___________)
Course description from Bulletin:
Introduces concepts related to starting and expanding a technological-based corporation. Presents ideas such
as developing a business and financing plan, role of intellectual property, and the importance of a good R&D
program. Prerequisite: Permission of Instructor.
Textbook and/or other required materials:
There is one required texts for this course:
th
Byers, Technology Ventures, 4 edition. (2014), McGraw-Hill. ISBN 978-0073523422 (also
available as an ebook)
EB 566 Syllabus – spring 2015
1
Other required supplemental information:
Students will require frequent access to the Mines Blackboard site for this course. The Blackboard site
will be updated weekly by the instructor and will contain supplemental reading materials, links to videos,
weekly blogs, collaboration tools, and links to other Internet based resources.
Student learning outcomes: At the conclusion of the class students will…
1. Identify the critical differences between technology based “ideas” and true commercial business
opportunities.
2. Have exercised collaborative team leadership skills and the concepts of entrepreneurial thinking.
3. Know how to apply the Lean Canvas methodology to capture, test and validate a startup business
model hypothesis.
4. Identify the types and sources of startup financial capital and obtain a working knowledge of
bootstrapping and crowdsourcing.
5. Demonstrate the process of startup business model creation and validation.
6. Experience the dynamics of successful early stage company formation and the importance of talent
acquisition, retention and organization.
7. Apply leadership and change management skills required of successful technology startups.
8. Demonstrate the use of potential user interviews to acquire feedback form business model
hypothesis.
10. Build a business plan designed to attract financial backing for a startup.
Brief list of topics covered:
1. Venture Opportunity Identification and Strategy
2. Tools for Developing Creativity
3. The Lean Canvas methodology for establishing and reiterating business model hypothesis
4. Concept Development and Venture Formation
5. The components and creation of a business plan.
6. Intellectual Property Creation and Protection
7. New Enterprise organization and structures
8. Startup operations, recruitment and HR
9. Financing the startup enterprise
10. Leadership considerations in emerging organizations
Policy on academic integrity/misconduct: The Colorado School of Mines affirms the principle that all
individuals associated with the Mines academic community have a responsibility for establishing, maintaining an
fostering an understanding and appreciation for academic integrity. In broad terms, this implies protecting the
environment of mutual trust within which scholarly exchange occurs, supporting the ability of the faculty to fairly
and effectively evaluate every student’s academic achievements, and giving credence to the university’s
educational mission, its scholarly objectives and the substance of the degrees it awards. The protection of
academic integrity requires there to be clear and consistent standards, as well as confrontation and sanctions
when individuals violate those standards. The Colorado School of Mines desires an environment free of any and
all forms of academic misconduct and expects students to act with integrity at all times.
Academic misconduct is the intentional act of fraud, in which an individual seeks to claim credit for the work and
efforts of another without authorization, or uses unauthorized materials or fabricated information in any
academic exercise. Student Academic Misconduct arises when a student violates the principle of academic
integrity. Such behavior erodes mutual trust, distorts the fair evaluation of academic achievements, violates the
ethical code of behavior upon which education and scholarship rest, and undermines the credibility of the
university. Because of the serious institutional and individual ramifications, student misconduct arising from
violations of academic integrity is not tolerated at Mines. If a student is found to have engaged in such
misconduct sanctions such as change of a grade, loss of institutional privileges, or academic suspension or
dismissal may be imposed.
The complete policy is available online.
EB 566 Syllabus – spring 2015
2
Grading Procedures:
Each student’s course grade will be based on the following criteria and weighting:
Description:
Grade Component:
(a) Startup Opportunity Team Project
60%
i. Lean Canvas (10%)
ii. Hypothesis Testing/Questioning (10%)
iii. Team Presentation/Pitch (10%)
iv. Participation Grade From Team (10%)
v. Written Business Plan (20%)
(b) Class Sessions Participation
20%
i. Interactions and Discussions in class (10%)
ii. In-class team assessments (10%)
(c) BB Blog Entries
10%
(d) Chapter Exercises (Technology Ventures book)
10%
Total:
100%
Coursework Return Policy: Coursework submitted by a student in this course that is part of the course grade
(i.e., subject to graded evaluation by the instructor and considered as a component of the overall course grade)
will be graded by the instructor and returned to the student promptly, usually within two (2) class sessions from
the date of submission, to allow students to learn from the evaluation and apply that learning to the remaining
coursework expectations for the semester. If a submission is at the end of the semester (i.e., part of a final
exam, final project or deliverable submitted on or near finals week), a student will receive a grade evaluation
only as part of the overall course grade and will not receive a return of the tangible coursework submission
(paper, exam, etc.) before the completion of the semester.
Absence Policy: Generally, students are expected to attend each class. Your participation in each class
benefits every student as we all learn from each other’s contributions, experiences and ideas. Your class
participation grade component will reflect negatively on absences. In the event that you anticipate not being able
to attend a class session due to illness or a work related or personal obligation, you are expected to contact the
instructor in advance by email or phone notifying of your expected absence. In the event of an unexpected
absence, please contact the instructor as soon as reasonably possible to communicate the nature of the
absence.
Homework and Class Assignments:
•
The Class Schedule and Assignments is attached as Version 1.0. It is anticipated that this
document will be subject to changes and modifications as the semester progresses. Changes will
be posted on our BB site and all students will be contacted when changes are made.
•
Homework/Assignments must be completed and ready to be turned in on or before the due date –
plan ahead. Homework that must be turned-in to the instructor will be identified as “deliverables” in
the Class Schedule and Assignments table.
•
Each class will have assigned reading materials. It is essential that the assigned reading be
completed before the class session – a significant portion of each student’s grade will be based on
class participation and interaction deploying concepts from the assigned reading.
EB 566 Syllabus – spring 2015
3
•
The team startup project will require initiative and time to meet with your team outside of class. It is
the responsibility of team members to coordinate schedules and collaborate via skype or other
means to accomplish team goals.
•
Assigned Reading: Each class session will have assigned reading as part of the homework. You
are expected to have completed the reading before the class session in order to constructively
participate in the class discussions and activities. You will get far more out of the class sessions if
you have read the assigned materials before the class. Our class time does not provide adequate
time to cover all the assigned materials – we will cover a great deal of material over the semester.
•
Exams & Quizzes: If you anticipate you will be absent during a scheduled exam or quiz, you should
schedule a make-up time before your absence. In the event of an unexpected absence, contact the
instructor before the next class session to schedule an appropriate make up arrangement.
Class Schedule and Assignments
The Class Schedule and Assignments, version 1.0, is attached. This document is subject to revision as
the semester progresses.
EB 566 Syllabus – spring 2015
4
Technology Entrepreneurship
EBGN 566 – Spring 2015
Class Schedule and Assignments*
Version 1.0 (1.25.2015)
*Subject to change/modification during the semester by notice by the instructor.
Abbreviation for Assignments:
BB = Blackboard EBGN 566 course site weekly content folder (each week will have a collection
of articles, videos and links)
th
TV = Byers, Technology Ventures, 4 edition. (2014), McGraw-Hill.
EC = Stanford University’s eCorner website (ecorner.stanford.edu).
TV Videos = Videos available on the textbook companion website at
http://techventures.stanford.edu
Week
#
Class
#
#1
Date:
Wed. 1/7
#2
Mon. 1/12
#3
Wed. 1/14
#4
Week
3
None.
Mon. 1/19
Startup Team Formation – Part I
- The Startup Team Project
- Team Composition
- Deliverables
#5
Wed. 1/21
Vision and the Business Model
- The Lean Canvas
- The Business Model Canvas
- Value Propositions
- Vision/Mission
-Customer Acquisition
#6
Mon. 1/26
Building a Competitive Strategy
Startup Team Formation Part II
- Picking co-founders
- Core competencies
- Defining your startup culture
#7
Wed. 1/28
Innovation Strategies
Startup Team Formation Part III
- Innovation vs. imitation
- The MIT Disciplined
Read: BB Week 3 Folder
Prep: Be prepared to pitch an idea to the class
that could form the basis of a startup.
Video: EC “Great Entrepreneurs Go Out and
Do” (Brad Feld).
Blog: Post your week 3 Blog entry.
Read: TV chap. 3; BB week 3 folder
Videos: 3 TV Videos: “Don’t Write a Mission
Statement, Write a Mantra” (Guy Kawasaki);
“Innovate in Technology and Business: The
Founding of Google” Larry Page & Eric
Schmidt); and ”Business Models Matter’ (Ann
Miura Ko).
Blog: Post a comment to another student’s week
3 blog entry.
Read: TV chap. 4, BB week 4 folder
Videos: 2 TV Videos: “Neutralizing
Competition is a Speed Game” (Geoffrey
Moore); Facing Competition: Creating a
Barrier to Entry” (Tien Tzuo).
Blog: Post your week 4 blog entry.
Read: TV chap. 5, BB week 4 folder.
Videos: Watch the three short TE videos listed
on p.116 in our TE book under “video
resources”, and the longer EC video
EB 566 Syllabus – spring 2015
Week
4
Assignments Due:
Course Introduction.
Course Syllabus, Expectations
and Outcomes.
- The Startup Team Project
Business Plans vs. Business
Models
The Lean Startup
- technology push vs. solving
problems
Identifying Opportunities
- Design thinking
- Sources of innovation
Week
1
Week
2
Topics:
Read: TV inside cover – 20 Principles; TV
chap. 1. BB week 1 folder.
Video: EC “From Stanford to Startup” (55 min).
Blog: Post your week 2 blog entry.
Read: TV chap. 2; BB week 2 folder.
Blog: Post a comment to another student’s week
2 blog entry.
5
Week
#
Class
#
Date:
Topics:
Entrepreneurship Path
Week
5
#8
Mon. 2/2
The Business Story
The Business Plan
- Concept, Pitch & Plan
- Presentation skills
#9
Wed. 2/4
Risk & Return
- Network Effects
- Scaling a Startup
#10
Mon. 2/9
#11
Wed. 2/11
Creativity and New Product
Development
- Rapid Prototyping
- Rapid Iterations
- Design Thinking
Marketing and Sales for Startups
- Customer Acquisition process
Week
6
Week
7
Mon. 2/16
PRESIDENT’S DAY - No
Classes
Wed. 2/18
Types of Ventures
- Legal Entity Creation
- LLCs vs. Corps
- Equity Structures
Intellectual Property (IP) for
Startups
- IP Legal Processes
- IP as a Currency
- IP Litigation
- Patent Trolls
New Enterprise Organization
- Recruiting and Retention
- Organizational Culture
#12
Mon. 2/23
#13
Wed. 2/25
#14
Mon. 3/2
#15
Wed. 3/4
Week
8
Week
9
Acquiring and Organizing
Resources
- Cluster Dynamics
- Virtual Teams
- Development Stacks
Management and Operations
- The Value Chain
- Heathcare and other
regulated industries
Mon. 3/9
SPRING BREAK – No Classes
Wed. 3/11
SPRING BREAK – No Classes
Assignments Due:
“Delivering Innovation for the Enterprise
[Entire talk]” (59 mins) by box CEO Aaron
Levie.
Blog: Post a comment to another student’s week
4 blog entry.
Read: TV chap. 6; BB week 5 folder
Videos: Watch the 3 short TE videos listed on
p.136 under “Video Resources”
Blog: Post a comment to another student’s week
5 blog entry.
Read: TV chap. 7; BB week 5 folder
Prep: Business Plan element (see folder)
Video: See folder contents
Blog: Post a comment to another student’s week
5 blog entry.
Read: TV chap. 8, BB week 6 folder.
Prep: Your Startup Team Update
Video: See folder contents
Blog: Post your week 6 blog entry.
Read: TV chap. 9, BB week 6 folder.
Prep: Your Team Update, Business Plan
element (see folder)
Blog: Post a comment to another student’s week
6 blog entry.
None
Read: TV chap. 10 BB week 7 folder.
Blog: No blog this week.
Read: TV chap. 11, BB week 8 folder.
Prep: Your Team Update, Business Plan
element (see folder)
Video: See folder
Blog: Post your week 8 blog entry.
Read: TV chap. 12, BB week 8 folder.
Prep: Your Team Update
Video: See folder
Blog: Post a comment to another student’s week
8 blog entry.
Read: TV chap. 13; BB week 9 folder
Prep: Your Startup Team Update, Business
Plan element (see folder)
Video: See folder
Blog: Post your week 9 blog entry.
Read: TV chap. 14; BB week 9 folder
Prep: Your Team Update
Video: See folder
Blog: Post a comment to another student’s week
9 blog entry.
Enjoy!
Week
10
EB 566 Syllabus – spring 2015
6
Week
#
Week
11
Week
12
Class
#
Date:
Topics:
#16
Mon. 3/16
Acquisitions and Global
Expansion for Young
Companies
#17
Wed. 3/18
#18
Mon. 3/23
#19
Wed. 3/25
#20
Mon. 3/30
#21
Wed. 4/1
Profit and Harvest
- Revenue & Growth
-Exit Plans
- Cost Models
- Profit Models
The Financial Plan
- Sales Forecasts
- The Income Statement
- Other financial tools
Sources of Capital
- Bootstrapping
- Angel Investors and VC’s
- Crowd Sourcing
- Valuations and the “Unicorn”
Deal Presentations and
Negotiations
- The Pitch
- Pitch Slides
- Negotiations (who, what,
when)
Leading Ventures to Success
- The Adaptive Enterprise
- Business Ethics
- What about exit strategies?
#22
Mon. 4/6
#23
Wed. 4/8
#24
Mon. 4/13
TBD – Buffer Class Session
#25
Wed. 4/15
TBD – Buffer Class Session
#26
Mon. 4/20
Startup Team Presentations I
#27
Wed. 4/22
Startup Team Presentations II
Deliverable: Presenting Teams must turn in a
copy of their pitch slides
#28
Mon. 4/27
Lessons Learned - I
Read: Week 17 folder.
Prep: Your personal lessons learned.
#29
Wed. 4/29
Lessons Learned - II
Prep: Your personal lessons learned
EB 566 Syllabus – spring 2015
Week
13
Business Plans Part I
-Practice pitches
Business Plans Part II
- Practice pitches
Week
14
Week
15
Week
16
Week
17
Assignments Due:
Read: TV chap. 15, BB week 11 folder.
Prep: Your Team Update
Video: See folder
Blog: Post your week 11 blog entry.
Read: TV chap. 16, BB week 11 folder.
Prep: Your Team Update
Video: See folder
Blog: Post a comment to another student’s week
11 blog entry.
Read: TV chap. 17; BB week 12 folder
Prep: Your Team Update
Video:
Blog: Post your week 12 blog entry.
Read: TV chap. 318BB week 12 folder
Prep: Your Team Update
Video: See folder
Blog: Post a comment to another student’s week
12 blog entry.
Read: TV chap. 19, BB week 13 folder.
Prep: Your Team Update
Video: See folder
Blog: Post your week 13 blog entry.
Read: TV chap. 20, BB week 13 folder.
Prep: Your Team Update
Video: See folder
Blog: Post a comment to another student’s week
13 blog entry.
Read: TV chap. 3; BB week 3 folder
Blog: Post your week 14 blog entry.
Read: TV chap. 3; BB week 3 folder
Blog: Post a comment to another student’s week
14 blog entry.
Read: BB week 15 folder.
Prep: TBD
Video: TBD
Blog: Post your week 15 blog entry.
Read: BB week 15 folder.
Prep: TBD
Video: TBD
Blog: Post a comment to another student’s week
15 blog entry.
Deliverable: ALL teams must upload a copy of
their business Plans by midnight Friday 4/17.
Deliverable: Presenting Teams must turn in a
copy of their pitch slides
7
Week
#
Week
18
Class
#
Date:
Topics:
FINALS WEEK
Assignments Due:
There is NO final for this class.
You are DONE!
EB 566 Syllabus – spring 2015
8