Entrepreneurship and
Innovation:
Concepts and Tools
Session 1: Course Introduction
Fall 2023 Session
1
Gameplan for Session 1
1.
2.
3.
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5.
6.
Group introduction
Course introduction
Let’s talk entrepreneurship and innovation
Semester project 1st step: Selecting a project theme
HEC Montréal start-ups
Start-up phases and support ecosystem
We have two primary goals for today’s session:
1) to help you to understand what entrepreneurship and innovation is
all about, and how this class works.
2) to put you with a group of people who are interested in the same
things, the first step towards forming project teams.
2
Gameplan for Session 1
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Group introduction
Course introduction
Let’s talk entrepreneurship and innovation
Semester project 1st step: Selecting a project theme
HEC Montréal start-ups
Start-up phases and support ecosystem
There is more lecturing today than in any other session!
(I appreciate your patience today).
3
Let’s get to know our group
Go to this Wooclap Link
Personal Introduction
Course Introduction
Global perspective on the course
• Welcome to Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Concepts and
Tools. This course keeps a balance between:
• Concepts, verified by a midterm and a final exam.
• Tools, deployed in an entrepreneurial project in teams of three
or four people, where the quality of their process is evaluated –
and not the final result of the project itself.
• There’s important interplay between the concepts and tools as
part of entrepreneurial and innovation processes. Knowing one
helps you to better understand the other – and vice-versa.
7
Global perspective: Enterprise Types
In this course, we are mainly interested in three types of enterprises:
• Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), at the heart of Quebec's
industry;
• Social Enterprises, which go beyond charities and have operations that
have an impact on our society.
• High-Growth Technology Enterprises, which are currently transforming
our society by changing the way we do things.
Even if we do not explicitly address large enterprises, the entrepreneurial and
innovation concepts and tools you are learning also apply in this context.
And these three types of enterprises all have the potential to become, in the
long term, big companies too!
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Macro perspective: Your project
Your challenge in this course will be to identify a problem and propose to solve
by means of a start-up enterprise.
Your start-up should be one that could evolve into an SME, Social Enterprise,
or high-growth Technology Company.
The course will enable you to develop your idea to the point where you can
present your business model to an incubator, which could help you continue to
pursue your project after the course is finished.
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Why is a project at the at the heart of the course?
(speak up, via voice or chat, if that is an option)
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Why is a project at the at the heart of the course?
(speak up, via voice or chat, if that is an option)
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Our perspective: to better understand entrepreneurship and
innovation, you must know ‘what it is’ and how to do it’.
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Sailing analogy: “know how” and "know what”
“know what”
AND
“know how”
Types of sailboats
Pilot the craft
c
c
c
Predict the weather
c
c
The captains
Where sailboats travel
c
c
Plot the course
Play your role
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Our goal: by the end of the course
You will develop, for
entrepreneurship and innovation,
a clear idea of :
What is it? / “know what’’
AND
How to do it / “know how’’
In doing so, you will learn:
(1) What distinguishes entrepreneurial
and innovative processes from
traditional management and project
management processes; and
(2) your appreciation for these
processes and contexts.
c
Because some prefer the
certainty of jet-skis to the
intensity of kitesurfing!
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Climbing analogy : « know how » & « know what »
« know what »
AND
« know how »
Types of knots
c
c
c
How to place your hand
Types of plugs
c
c
Adapting to weather
c
Where to climb?
Balancing your body
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Our goal : by the end of the course
You will develop, for
entrepreneurship and innovation,
a clear idea of :
What is it? / “know what’’
AND
How to do it / “know how’’
In doing so, you will learn:
(1) What distinguishes entrepreneurial
and innovative processes from
traditional management and project
management processes; and
(2) your appreciation for these
processes and contexts.
c
Because there are some who prefer the
certainty of the indoor gym versus the
intensity of mountaineering!
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Balancing “what is it’’ and “how to do it’’
To build an understanding of entrepreneurship and innovation, it is
important to understanding “what is it’’ AND “how to do it’’.
concepts
Tools
Key ideas and
testable contexts
application of
key concepts
“know what”
Applied to
Applied to
cases
project
(+guests)
Illustrate
+ inspire
“know how”
Implement and
develop skills
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Balancing “what is it’’ and “how to do it’’
Tools are the concepts applied to the real world.
15% midterm
33% exam
concepts
Tools
Key ideas and
testable contexts
Eases the
application of
concepts
Applied to
Applied to
cases
project
(+guests)
Ilustrates
+ inspires
12% individual
assignments
40% team
assignments
Implement,
develop skills
The project is a case study where students are at the centre.
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The Course Project
and Key Deliverables
The course has 12 sessions designed to help you develop your project
Project & deliverables
The course has 12 sessions designed to help you develop your project
Project & deliverables
plus a midterm
and final exam
MIDTERM EXAM
FINAL EXAM
The course has 12 sessions designed to help you develop your project
Project & deliverables
6 SLIDE DECK
plus a midterm
and final exam
introduction
The final
assignment
is a slide
deck
problematic
value prop.
BMC
Validation
Next?
Conclusion
MIDTERM EXAM
Due after S12
FINAL EXAM
The course has 12 sessions designed to help you develop your project
plus a midterm
and final exam
1 interviews
The final
assignment
is a slide
deck
2 problematic
There are 5
assignments
between S4
and S9
Project & deliverables
6 SLIDE DECK
introduction
problematic
value prop.
3 value proposition
BMC
Validation
4 business model
Next?
Conclusion
MIDTERM EXAM
5 video pitch
Due after S12
FINAL EXAM
The course has 12 sessions designed to help you develop your project
plus a midterm
and final exam
1 interviews
The final
assignment
is a slide
deck
2 problematic
There are 5
assignments
between S4
and S9
Three receive
feedback
from your
classmates
2 from yr prof
1F feedback
Project & deliverables
and which help you
develop your pitch and
your final slide deck.
6 SLIDE DECK
introduction
problematic
2F feedback
value prop.
Prof feedback
3 value proposition
BMC
Validation
4 business model
Next?
4F feedback
3F
Conclusion
Due after S12
MIDTERM EXAM
5 video pitch
Prof feedback
FINAL EXAM
The course has 12 sessions designed to help you develop your project
plus a midterm
and final exam
1 interviews
The final
assignment
is a slide
deck
2 problematic
There are 5
assignments
between S4
and S9
three receive
feedback
from your
classmates,
2 from yr prof
Project & deliverables
6 SLIDE DECK
1F feedback
introduction
problematic
2F feedback
value prop.
Prof feedback
3 value proposition
BMC
Validation
4 business model
Next?
3F feedback
Conclusion
Due after S12
MIDTERM EXAM
5 video pitch
which help you develop your pitch
and your final slide deck.
Prof feedback
FINAL EXAM
The course has 12 sessions designed to help you develop your project
plus a midterm
and final exam
1 interviews
The final
assignment
is a slide
deck
2 problematic
There are 5
assignments
between S4
and S9
three receive
feedback
from your
classmates,
2 from yr prof
Project & deliverables
6 SLIDE DECK
1F feedback
introduction
problematic
2F feedback
value prop.
Prof feedback
3 value proposition
BMC
Validation
4 business model
Next?
3F feedback
Conclusion
Due after S12
MIDTERM EXAM
5 video pitch
which help you develop your pitch
and your final slide deck.
Prof feedback
FINAL EXAM
Distinctive element
of this course:
extensive peer feedback
The importance of peer feedback
In most of your courses
until now,
The prof gives you all the
feedback because they
have all the answers.
In this course,
much of the feedback on
your project will come from
your peers.
Why?
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Feedback Matrix: feedback tool
+
What worked
?
Questions?
△
!
What can be improved
Ideas!
ZoneCours
Let’s take a look at ZoneCours
We will go through:
• Course presentation
• Objectives
• Entrepreneurial Project
• Grading
• Team (tools and presentation)
• Individual (feedback workshops; intra ; final exam…)
• Peer feedback (How it will work)
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Course Project:
Themes, Issues, Target
Population, Problematics
and Teams
Key points for the project
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The philosophy of the team project is to experience an entrepreneurial
and innovation process while proposing a solution to a real problem.
Teams must be of 3 or 4 students (never 2 nor 5)
The project will require that you explore a problem, to then propose a
solution to be validated with potential clients.
During the course, you will learn innovation and entrepreneurial processes
that will help you to develop innovative solutions to complex problems.
You must avoid starting with a solution. If this is your goal, you are better off
taking a project management course.
“Fall in love with the problem,
not with the solution”
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Creating your project teams at Session 3
Session
Subject
Before the session
In Class
1
Introduction to
entrepreneurship
and innovation
No assignment
Choice of theme
2
Structuring
entrepreneurial
innovation with
business models
No assignment
Define issues per theme
3
Adopting a creative
approach centered
on humans
No assignment
Defining target audience per
issue & create teams, work on
Assignment 1 Interviews
4
Identifying problems
before solutions
Assignment 1:
Interviews
Peer review of Assignment 1,
Work on Assignment 2, How
Might We.
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Time for a break
Back together @ ______
Introduction :
What is
Entrepreneurship
& Innovation ?
Team challenge: Create definitions for...
We’ll now create random teams of 7 people to work together on
defining the following words:
• Entrepreneurship
• Innovation
• Entrepreneuring
NO COMPUTERS – YOU WILL WRITE THE DEFINITIONS ON A
PIECE OF PAPER!
ONE GROUP MEMBER WILL PRESENT THEIR DEFINITION
Take _____ minutes, we’ll get back together at: ______
(written on the board or
pasted from zoom chat)
Innovation : Your Definitions
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Innovation: Several possible definitions
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Entrepreneurship: your Definitions
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(from the board, zoom
chat or Google Sheet)
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Entrepreneuring: your Definitions
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(from the board, zoom
chat or Google Sheet)
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45
Time for a break
Back together @ ______
Selecting potential
themes for projects
3-step process to form teams
Session 1: divide the class into
discussion groups of 6 – 9 students,
according to their theme of interest.
themes
Session 2: Group identify promising
issues within that theme.
issues
Session 3: These same groups then identify a
target audience for each issue. Teams of 3-4 will
be formed.
audience
Session 4: Project begins
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Pitfalls to avoid to make your project a success
Here are some pitfalls that have caused difficulties for their teams.
1. Starting with a solution, not a problem. For
example: "we will buy used Honda Civics, convert
them to electric and resell them."
2. Tackling a challenge that is too simple. If you find
the solution to your problem in less than 5 seconds,
you probably need to rethink it.
3. Defining a problem that is far too broad for a
semester project. For example: the housing crisis,
too much carbon in the atmosphere, fast fashion...
4. Choosing a vulnerable or inaccessible population is
detrimental to the process. For example: homeless
people and sick children are too vulnerable and
professional athletes are inaccessible.
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Approaches that have generated memorable projects
1. Take an interest in the problems of others. Yes, you can
tackle the challenges of university students in their early
twenties... just interview by looking in the mirror! But there
are also your parents, your ex-boss, the manager of the
arena near you and many other people in your network who
have problems to solve. Seek them out!
2. Take a hyper-local perspective. There are certainly
challenges in your neighbourhood, and it's easy to find
people to interview!
3. Define the problem so it has at least 3 possible solutions.
This allows you flexibility and it’s fun to be creative.
4. Find a challenge that will interest and involve the whole
team. The best projects show results that go beyond just
dividing up tasks, but rather show a strong collective effort.
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Where do we start?
Identifying
potential
themes
Forming
groups of 6
to 9 per
theme
Identifying 2
to 3 issues
per theme
Identifying a
target
audience per
issue
Students form teams
based on a
theme – issue – target
For today, we begin simply by identifying some themes and by
asking you to choose the theme you are most interested in.
What we will do today
1)
2)
3)
Together, we will identify 10 to 12 themes that students will choose from
in order to create discussion groups.
a) The professor proposes 5 themes (food and drink, social
connections, fitness, news and information, privacy)
b) Students are asked to come up with other themes of interest.
Random groups of 7 will propose 2 themes each.
c) The professor will combine redundant themes.
Students will indicate their preferences among the remaining themes.
Those that don’t interest at least 5 students will be dropped.
The professor will organise discussion groups for Session 2 based on
student preferences. If there are more than 9 students interested in a
theme, more than one group will be organised.
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1st Step: Proposing Themes
• You will be in in your same random groups as earlier.
• Please come up with two themes, following the guidelines below.
• Write your themes in the Google Sheet beside your group number.
Offer complementary
themes to to those
suggested by the prof:
1. Food and Drink
2. Social connections
3. Fitness
4. News & information
5. Privacy
Themes should be macro
enough to provide flexibility,
it should encompass multiple
issues and target audiences
Themes should also avoid
solutions, such as “mobile
bike repair store” or “vegan
food truck”.
Avoid concepts that are
too broad, such as goal
statements that can
apply to any theme.
Examples include:
• Make profits
• Save the environment
• COVID 19
• Ending hunger
You have _____ minutes, we’ll get back together at: ______
2nd step: Work together on the Google Sheet
1) Prof will combine themes that are similar or overlap.
2) Students will indicate their preferences in the columns on the right.
3) We will iterate until we have themes that interest groups of 6 to 9
people.
4) These groups of 6 to 9 will start working together at Session 2.
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Example HEC Montréal : Potloc 1/5
A business started at
HEC Montréal:
Potloc
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Example HEC Montréal : Potloc 2/5
A business started at HEC Montréal
“Social media-based survey platform
Potloc has closed a Series A funding
round worth CA$20m and is opening an
office in the US.”
Read the full article
Louis and Rodolphe, Potloc cofounders
Example HEC Montréal : Potloc 3/5
A business started at HEC Montréal
OPTION A: Advertisement
Example HEC Montréal : Potloc 3/5
A business started at HEC Montréal
OPTION B: Series B Fundraising
What did you think of the Potloc video?
Example HEC Montréal : Potloc 4/5
Again, work with your random teams.
Give feedback on the Potloc video. To do so, please use the
feedback matrix (next slide).
Please give your group a code name, and enter your ideas on the
Google Example Sheet
This feedback process will be an important part of the course.
You have 10 minutes, we’ll get back together at: ______
Example HEC Montréal : Potloc 5/5
Feedback matrix: your take on the Potloc video?
+
?
What worked
Questions?
△
!
What can be improved
Ideas!
What attracts you
to entrepreneurship?
(Speak up, or comment in the chat
if that’s an option)
To Go Further
For your personal
development only.
Not part of the exams.
The YEP is the largest student entrepreneurial
association in Quebec. Its mission is to propel the
initiatives of student-entrepreneurs who decide to
start a business, at HEC and in Montreal. The
organization brings together 30 student volunteers
who organize events welcoming many participants
each year. For more information, go to
facebook.com/yephec
HEC’s Student Entrepreneurship Association
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Wrapping up for today
On the horizon
Session
Subject
Before the session
In Class
1
Introduction to
entrepreneurship
and innovation
No assignment
Choice of theme
2
Structuring
entrepreneurial
innovation with
business models
Prepare readings
(No assignment)
Define issues per theme
3
Adopting a creative
approach centered
on humans
Prepare readings
(No assignment)
Defining target audience per
issue & create teams, work
on Assignment 1 Interviews
4
Identifying problems
before solutions
Prepare readings
Assignment 1:
Interviews
Peer review of A1 Interviews,
Work on A2 How Might We.
64
To prepare for next week
• Prepare the readings and capsules listed on ZoneCours
65