Welcome!
Lecture 1
Business, Law and Innovation
Prof. Dell
My Background
Grew up in Houston
President of the computer club at MHS
Tulane, Political Economy
UT Law School, J.D.
Winstead Sechrest & Minick
Enterprise Partners
Crosspoint Venture Partners
Impact Venture Partners
Austin Ventures
Columbia Business School
UT Law School
Founder: Buzzsaw.com (ADSK), MesssageOne (DELL), SharedEarth.com
Investor: OpenTable (OPEN), HotJobs (YHOO), Connectify (KANA),
Civitas Learning….and far many more that completely failed!
Don’t Freak Out
This class is different from any other you’ve taken at UT.
That is a good thing.
We will not study black letter law per se, ipso facto, res ipsa loquiter.
We are here to:
1) Peer into practitioner’s view of how technology startups get built
2) Think about why businesses use technology
3) Understand why business and life are so interconnected
4) Learn from the wisdom & experience of others
5) Gain a basic practical understanding of business, finance,
negotiation and intellectual property
6) Find a meaningful path in life
7) Have a good time (as mush as is possible in a classroom)
Ok?
Specifically, We’ll Cover:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)
k)
l)
m)
Section I Section II Section III Section IV Section V Section VI Section VII Section VIII Section IX Section X Section XI Section XII Section XIII -
What We Hope to Accomplish
March of Innovation
Technology and Business
Business Basics
Start-ups (a/k/a What I’m Working on)
Venture Capital
Intellectual Property
Entrepreneurial Finance
System Theory and Network Dynamics
Network Dynamics in Business
Decision Making
Negotiation
Seeking a Meaningful Life
Goal of the Class
I want you to commit yourself right now to one thing:
Be Passionate About Something.
“I solemnly swear that I will endeavor to find or pursue something I am
obsessively passionate about during the course of this semester. I will
commit myself to studying this topic through the lens of the ideas discussed
in this class. In doing so, I will seek to gain a set of skills that will enable
me to effectively face all the challenges I will encounter in my life. I
promise to do this for myself and no other purpose, especially not my grade,
so help me [fill in the name of your deity of choice].”
Grades (Remember Your Solemn Oath)
3) Grades (20% class participation; 30% midterm; 50% final)
a) Class participation is based on attendance and the quality of your comments made during class. You
are expected to come to every class. At the end of the semester I will ask you to submit a record of how
many classes you attended during the semester. If you are going to be absent, please do not send me an
email about it. You are permitted to miss two classes before your attendance will negatively impact your
grade.
b) There will be a midterm during the semester. It will consist of a real world startup presenting their
business to the class. You will be asked to write a two page analysis of the startup. Your grade will be based
on: i) your ability to adequately analyze the various elements of the startup, and ii) the quality of your
thinking.
d) There is no final exam, instead there is a final project. Students may work individually or in small
groups no greater than four. The project shall consist of an in-class presentation. The topic of the final
project is up to you. You may analyze an industry, an established company, a startup, a business concept, a
new technology, anything you like. The only parameter is that analysis must incorporate the principles
covered in class. Examples of exemplary final projects that were awarded the high grades are available
here: http://www.adamdell.com/sample-final-projects. If you have any additional questions regarding the
final, don’t hesitate to ask!
Syllabus – How the Class Works
You’ll see on the syllabus each class is broken down.
We will have somewhat of flipped classroom model,
where a lot of instruction is meant to happen outside the
class room.
You’ll be asked to review presentations and reading
materials beforehand and we’ll discuss them and engage
in class exercises often.
The more you prepare the more interesting the class
discussions will be.
Administrative
All class material can be found at: www.adamdell.com
My email is:
adell@austinventures.com
My assistant Catherine’s is email: CDiederich@austinventures.com
The TA’s name is:
The TA’s email is:
My office hours are right before this class.
If you wish to make an appointment for office hours, please email:
(the TA).
I’m happy to meet with you for any reason during the course of the
semester. Again, welcome!
Questions?