MODULE DESCRIPTOR
MSING002 – Mastering Entrepreneurship
Code:
Alt. Codes(s)
Title:
Level:
UCL credits/ECTS
Start:
End:
Taught by:
MSING002
None
Mastering Entrepreneurship
M
15/6
September or January
June
Gillian Lacey-Solymar (module co-ordinator)
Mila Striukova
Prerequisites
Course has no prereqs, but students are expected to be familiar with the following:
•
Some understanding of management principles including basic accounting
•
Basic knowledge of the roles of different professions within organisations (e.g., marketing,
manufacturing, finance)
Course Aims and Objectives
Aims
This course will be of interest to those who are considering forming their own business or who envisage
having a role promoting new initiatives within existing organisations.
The aim of the course is to give an understanding of:
•
the criteria for success of a new business (personal, market & technical),
•
business planning and securing the necessary resources (including finance) for the new
business.
The course will draw for illustration and illumination on a range of case studies.
Objectives
By the end of the course students should:
•
have a clearer view of how to judge the potential of a high-potential business concept
•
understand the difference between a true opportunity and just another idea
•
recognise the effort and dedication needed to make a business succeed
•
be aware of the different marketing challenges faced by ‘breakthrough’ products and ‘me-too’
products.
•
recognise the importance of direct experience in an industry and of reputation and existing
relationships with others in the industry
•
have an understanding of the various sources of finance (conventional and unconventional) and
to know how to make a case to financial investors
Method of Instruction
Lectures, case discussions and guest lectures and seminars.
Assessment
A written examination based on a case study (2-hour, 70%)
This examination contains an unseen case study, which must be collected from the Management Science
& Innovation student office when advised (this is usually within the last two weeks of Term 2).
Two Individual Coursework Assignments (15% each,30% overall)
To pass this course, students must:
• submit work for ALL components and obtain an overall pass mark of 50% for all sections
combined.
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Resources
Required (essential) reading
Technology Ventures by Richard Dorf and Thomas Byers, published by McGraw-Hill
Higher Education (2007)
0071259236
Recommended reading
Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey Moore, published by HarperCollins Publishers
(2002) 0 333 42096 9
Monk and the Riddle by Randy Komisar, published by HBS Publishing (2001)
The Inmates are Running the Asylum by Alan Cooper, Published by Que (2004)
0 060 51712 3
1 578 51644 7
0 672 32614 0
Background reading
Entrepreneurs Are Made, Not Born by Lloyd E Shefsky, published by McGraw-Hill
(1996)
Entrepreneurship by Hisrich, Peters and Shepherd, published by Irwin-McGraw-Hill
(2007) 0 07 115323 3
Entrepreneurship and Small Firms by David Deakins and Mark Freel, published by
McGraw-Hill (2005)
Founders at Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days by Livingston published by
APress (2007)
How I Made It: 40 Successful Entrepreneurs Reveal All by Bridge pub Kogan Page
0 070 57723 4
007125952X
0 077 10826 4
1590597141
0749443111
Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Practice and Principles by Peter F. Drucker published
by Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd (1999)
0 863 41490 7
Intellectual Property Rights by Vivien Irish, pub Institute of Electrical Engineers (2005)
0 58283287 X
Mastering Enterpreneurship, Sue Birley, pub. Financial Times Prentice Hall (2003)
0 470 02757 6
Raising Venture Capital by Rupert Pearce published by John Wiley and Sons (2006)
0333914740
Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Paul Burns, pub. Palgrave MacMillan (2007)
1 580 53700 6
Successful Marketing Strategy for High-tech Firms by Eric Viardot pub Artech
House (2004)
0 749 44346 4
The Business Plan Workbook by Paul Barrow, Paul Barrow & Robert Brown,
published by Kogan Page (2005) 0 7494 0893 6
0 762 31230 0
University Entrepreneurship and Technology Transfer: Process, Design, and
Intellectual Property by Gary Libecap published by JAI Press (2005)
CONTENT
1 INTRODUCTION AND THE ‘ENTREPRENEUR
• Overview of the course including teaching team introductions and expectations,
• Goals and objectives for the course.
• What exactly is entrepreneurship?
• Examine the process of creating and growing high-potential ventures using several frameworks
and conceptual models.
• Introduce the case method of teaching and learning.
2 CREATIVITY
• Creative thinking
• Managing creativity
3 OPPORTUNITY IDENTIFICATION
• The pursuit of opportunity - turning ideas into business
• Adding value and sustaining competitive advantage
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•
•
•
•
It is a great idea, but…..?
What do customers need - compelling reasons to buy
Opportunity assessment - markets, industry attractiveness, is it „doable ?
Risk and reward
4 - BUILDING A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
• Discussion of the differences between an idea and an opportunity.
• Focus on strategies that help to determine whether a good idea satisfies some unmet or
underserved user need.
5 THE NEW PRODUCT: MARKETING STRATEGY/OPERATIONAL
• Technology - Adoption, Lifecycle
• Dynamics of early and mainstream markets - Market segmentation
• Pricing (the value to the customer) and positioning
• Promotion: positioning product as news item, identifying and targeting lead users or user groups
(using the Internet)
• Pros and Cons of working with key users
• Partnerships and alliances with customers
6 PLOTTING THE FUTURE - THE BUSINESS PLAN
• The functions of a business plan
• What investors wish to know
• Business Plan Musts - Content, structure and style, references and milestones. (Competitor and
SWOT Analysis)
• Start-up Issues
• Dealing with Risk
• Fixed and variable costs, margins and contribution to overhead
• Cash Flow - most important factor in any small business
• Distinction between cash surplus and profit
• The Balance Sheet - net worth, liquidity
7 ASSESSING THE FINANCIAL NEEDS: SOURCES OF CAPITAL
• What do you need funding for? How much do you need?
• Options available. Equity, loan, overdraft, leasing, mortgages -pros and cons
• Sources of Finance : Bootstrapping, banks etc. family, customers, suppliers, business angels,
government
• What investors need: return, risk, liquidity. Profile of different investors
• Structuring investment to retain maximum equity. Milestones
• Importance of exit routes
• What is the true value of venture capital?
8 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
• Overview of IPRs
• Rationales for IPRs
• IPR from the investor’s viewpoint
• IPR strategies
9 TEAMS, REWARDS, & CULTURE
Entrepreneurship is a team sport. What are the critical human resource issues for new ventures? The
NanoGene case examines the big three: building team, developing a compensation policy, and creating
an innovative culture.
10 INTERNATIONALIZATION AND GROWTH MODELS
• Categories of Innovating firms
• Internationalization
• Franchising
Revision
A 2 hour revision session is scheduled in the first few weeks of term 3.
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Learning Outcomes for MSING002 Mastering Entrepreneurship
General Learning Outcomes
Ability to develop, monitor & update a plan, to reflect a changing operating environment
The students are expected to be able to produce a business plan for a new company and understand
what the key elements of such a document are.
Ability to monitor and adjust a personal program of work on an on-going basis, and to learn
independently
Students are expected to manage their program of study and learn independently towards
submission of written coursework assignments with fixed deadlines.
The ability to exercise initiative and personal responsibility, which may be as a team member or
leader
Students are expected to meet regularly and discuss case studies as a team.
The ability to learn new theories, concepts and methods etc and apply these in unfamiliar
situations
Normal learning situation common to all degree programs
Specific Learning Outcomes
Underpinning science & Mathematics
A comprehensive understanding of the relevant scientific principles of the specialisation
The module provides an opportunity to students to develop an understanding of the theoretical
framework of innovation and entrepreneurship.
A critical awareness of current problems and/or new insights much of which is at, or informed by,
the forefront of the specialisation.
Students will be exposed to a range of current trends in innovation and entrepreneurship through the
use of selected case studies and guest seminars by successful entrepreneurs.
An understanding of concepts relevant to the discipline, some from outside engineering, and the
ability to critically evaluate and apply them effectively.
Students are expected to develop an understanding of a range of concepts such as creativity,
opportunity identification, intellectual property, marketing strategy, venture capital etc. and learn how
to apply them effectively through illustrative case studies and assignments.
Engineering Analysis
Ability to use fundamental knowledge to investigate new and emerging technologies
N/A
Ability to apply appropriate models for solving problems in engineering and the ability to assess
the limitations of particular cases;
N/A
The ability to collect and analyse research data and use appropriate engineering tools to tackle
unfamiliar problems, such as those with uncertain or incomplete data or specifications, by the
appropriate innovation, use or adaptation of engineering analytical methods.
N/A
1
EAB website http://www.engab.org.uk/documentation document Accreditation Of Masters Degrees Other Than MEng last
accessed 10 Aril 2012
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Design
The ability to apply original thought to the development of practical solutions for products,
systems, components or processes
N/A
Economic, Social and Environmental Context
Knowledge and understanding of management and business practices, and their limitations, and
how these may be applied appropriately, in the context of the particular specialisation
The students are expected to develop an appreciation of high potential business opportunities and an
understanding of the practises involved in setting up new ventures.
The ability to make general evaluations of risks through some understanding of the basis of such
risks
The students are expected to develop an understanding of the financial risk involved in starting up a
new business and how to deal with it when producing a business plan.
Engineering Practice
A thorough understanding of current practice and its limitations, and some appreciation of likely
new developments
N/A
Advanced level knowledge and understanding of a wide range of engineering materials and
components
N/A
The ability to apply engineering techniques taking account of a range of commercial and industrial
constraints
N/A
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