ENTRE 370 A

Introduction to Entrepreneurship

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON

School of Business Administration

Autumn 2006

T/Th 1:30 - 3:20 p.m.

Balmer Hall 307

Instructor Ralph Heidl

Office Lewis Hall 211

Office Hours Fr 8:00 a.m – 10:00 p.m

E-mail heidlr@u.washington.edu

(You must include ENTRE 370 A in the subject line)

Phone 206.685.2748

Course page: http://uwbs.blackboard.com

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course is an introduction to entrepreneurial practices and as such the emphasis is on learning how to find business ideas, how to evaluate their potential, and how to recognize the barriers to success. The course provides exposure to the stresses of a start-up business, the uncertainties that exist, and the behavior of entrepreneurs. Prerequisites: ACCTG 225, ECON 200, and ECON 201.

This course is designed to appeal to individuals who have a strong desire to become entrepreneurs, to those who intend to join start-up companies as employees, to those who intend to work in the venture capital industry, and to those interested in professional businesses supporting entrepreneurial firms.

In order to provide a broad overview of key issues to consider in the entrepreneurial process, you (and your team) will come up with a venture idea and the course will be organized around identifying whether your idea is a real and viable opportunity for creating a venture that adds value to your life, to your potential investors and partners, and to society at large. The idea that you pursue in this course need not be limited to a for-profit venture. We will interpret entrepreneurship very broadly and consider legitimate all ideas oriented towards the formation of a venture that creates value by bringing people and resources together.

You will be challenged to push the boundaries of established business to identify unmet customer needs that your new venture can address. Some of the most important aspects of the business concept include a careful analysis of the following: customer needs, product and service offerings, markets and strategy, marketing, financials and financing. Your new venture should have the potential to create superior returns in the form of profits (economic & social).

COURSE OBJECTIVES

1. Explore an entrepreneurial idea to the point where you can intelligently and passionately decide whether to “go for it” or not.
2. Think about and practice reaching out to potential customers, partners, suppliers, and experts.
3. Learn to use tools and concepts that enable the achievement of Objective #1.

TEXTBOOK

The Art of the Start, Kawasaki, 2004

Further Readings:

Entrepreneurship – Successfully Launching New Ventures, Barringer, B. & Ireland, D, 2006.

New Venture Creation, Timmons & Spinnelli, 2004

Entepreneurship – The Social Science View, Swedberg, 2002

GRADING OVERALL

The distribution by assignment is as follows:

Participation		20%
Individual Assignments		10%
Business Idea Page	5%
Interview with an Entrepreneur	5%
Exams		30%
Midterm Exam	10%
Final Exam	20%
Team Assignments		40%
Team Venture Idea Memo	5%
Interim Report	5%
Group Presentation	15%
Final Report	15%
Total		100%

PARTICIPATION (Total: 20%)

Because class discussion is a critical component of the course, participation is essential, both for your own learning and that of other students. Your classmates and I expect you to attend every class session having read the assigned material and thought carefully about the discussion questions. We will not always review assigned reading materials in class, but you will want to demonstrate your preparation by asking questions that refer to issues from the reading material or by incorporating concepts you gleaned from the readings in your comments. Because the course is interdisciplinary and the class is composed of students of various backgrounds, there is tremendous opportunity for you to learn from your peers and for you to help your peers learn from you – this will be aided by relating class material to your own personal experiences and sharing these connections in class.

Evaluation of class participation will be based upon your ability to raise and answer questions, to bring up ideas or insights and to build upon the ideas of others, NOT on the simple frequency of speaking. If you have concerns about your ability to participate in class discussions, please contact me immediately. We can work together to improve your oral communication skills, but only if you contact me early.

In order to assess the quality of your participation, it is essential that I know each of you individually as soon as possible. To facilitate this, I ask that you submit your student information sheet by Thursday, Oct 3rd. You will start receiving credit for class participation after I receive your info sheet.

INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENTS (Total: 10%)

There will be 2 individual assignments during the term. These include initially evaluating some business ideas and interviewing an entrepreneur.

BUSINESS IDEA PAGE (5%). Please turn in a list of two business ideas, along with a half page description for each idea. The ideas should be interesting to you. This exercise is intended to get you thinking about the details of a business idea. The analysis will help form an understanding of which ideas might become opportunities.

INTERVIEW WITH AN ENTREPRENEUR (5%). Please submit a 2 page (approx.) description of your interview with an entrepreneur. The only requirement is that the person you interview must have started his or her own business, or been part of the founding team. Success or failure of the venture is not important. The interview may be unstructured but should include questions about how/ why the venture got started, what were the benefits/ drawbacks of working in a small business, what advice would you get if you were to start a business.

EXAMINATIONS (Total 30%)

MIDTERM EXAM (10%). This exam will take place in class on Thursday, October 26th and will cover the topics discussed in sessions 1 through 8. The exam is closed-book and closed-notes. You will not be given extra time if you arrive late.

FINAL EXAM (20%). This exam will take place in class on Friday, December 15th and will cover all topics discussed. The exam is closed-book and closed-notes. You will not be given extra time if you arrive late.

TEAM ASSIGNMENTS (Total: 40%)

In groups of four, you will all explore an opportunity or opportunities to the point where you can make an informed and intelligently justified decision about whether or not to pursue that opportunity more intensely. The write up will explain the operational approaches, selling/marketing approaches, people solutions, competitive approaches, and financial solutions related to your opportunity.

You may begin by discussing the ideas that you described in your individual venture idea memos and decide to pursue in greater detail one of the group member’s ideas, or you may come up with a new idea altogether as a group. As the point is to make an informed and intelligently justified decision, the report will explain what information you have gathered and what you believe you know and why, along with analysis/evaluation/imagination about the implications of that information for your opportunity. The team project is divided into three assignments. Every assignment will build upon the previous one.

TEAM VENTURE IDEA MEMO (5%). Each group will submit a memo (up to 2 pages) introducing its opportunity and how each member will contribute to the group effort.

INTERIM REPORT (5%). Each group will submit a report (up to 8 pages) showing the progress it has made in researching and thinking about its opportunity, specifically in terms of strategy, competition, and the internal characteristics of the organization. This report will be incorporated into the final report.

PRESENTATION (15%). Each group will present and provide its analyses of the opportunity it has been investigating throughout the term and offer a decision regarding the future viability of the opportunity (approximately 20 minutes each, including questions and comments from the class). Entrepreneurship is more than about having a great idea – it is ultimately about convincing others (especially holders of critical resources) that your venture is a value-creating opportunity and that your product/service will add value to their lives. Seen this way, how entrepreneurs present themselves and their product/service is critical to their success. In this spirit, you are urged to think creatively and engagingly about your presentation (and 20 minutes is a long time to sit through (and to deliver) a boring presentation!).

FINAL REPORT (15%). Each group will submit a final report (up to 15 pages). The four members of each team will get the same grade for each of the assignments above. Your grade will be based evenly between effort/motivation, information, logic, and persuasiveness.

POLICIES

No late assignments will be accepted. There will be no exceptions. If you can’t make class, submit your work via e-mail or in my mailbox by the time class starts.

Intellectual Property. In this class you are entirely responsible for protecting your own intellectual property. If there is any part of your business idea that you would not like to disclose, then you should simply not disclose it. Obviously, any material not disclosed cannot be evaluated for grading. Unfortunately, the instructor cannot sign any non-disclosure agreements related to this course. If you have any questions about this policy, do not hesitate to ask.

Academic Integrity. Please see the UW code of conduct. If you have to rationalize that what you’re doing is not cheating you are probably heading in the wrong direction. Integrity is a VITAL part of being a successful entrepreneur, and investors and potential partners look very closely at the character of the people they might work with. Protect your reputation for honesty and integrity and I guarantee it will benefit you in your endeavors.

Class Schedule: ENTRE370 Introduction to Entrepreneurship (Weeks 1-5)

Week	Day	Date	Topic/Lecture	In Class	Readings / Assignment
THE ENTREPRENEUR AND THE ENTREPRENEURIAL PROCESS
1	Thursday	28-Sep	Course Overview
			Introduction to Entrepreneurship	Case:	Kawasaki (2004):"Chapter 11"
				Jeff Hawkins
2	Tuesday	03-Oct	The Entrepreneurial Process	Case:	Sarasvathy (2001):  “What makes Entrepreneurs ”
				The Singing Machine
					DUE: Student Info Sheet
	Thursday	05-Oct	Creativity and Idea Generation	Exercise:	Drucker (1985):  “The Discipline of Innovation"
				Creative Squares
				Exercise:
				Brainstorming Business Ideas
3	Tuesday	10-Oct	Technological Change & Innovation	Case:	Kawasaki (2004):"Chapter 1 & 3"
				Digital Imaging
					DUE: Business Idea Page
	Thursday	12-Oct	Opportunity Recognition	Case:	Kawasaki (2004):"Chapter 2"
				Parent Watch
			Form Teams	Exercise:
				Networking	DUE: List of Team Members
THE MARKET / ENVIRONMENT
4	Tuesday	17-Oct	Industry and Competitor Analysis	Case:	Bhide (1994):  “How Entrepreneurs craft Strategies that work"
				Panera
	Thursday	19-Oct	Entry Strategy and Competitive Dynamics	Case:	Coughlan (2001): "Anticipating Competitive Actions"
				Dogfight over Europe: Ryan Air	DUE: Interview with an Entrepreneur
5	Tuesday	24-Oct	Developing a Business Model	Guest Speaker	Hamermesh (2002): "Note on Business Model Analysis for the Entrepreneur"
				Exercise:
				Customer Interview
	Thursday	26-Oct	Midterm Exam		DUE: Team Venture Idea Memo

Class Schedule: ENTRE370 Introduction to Entrepreneurship (Weeks 6-12)

Week	Day	Date	Topic/Lecture	In Class	Readings / Assignment
ENTREPRENEURIAL MANAGEMENT, CAPITAL SOURCES AND VALUATIONS
6	Tuesday	31-Oct	Entrepreneurial  Teams	Case:	Kawasaki (2004):"Chapter 6"
				Wherify Wireless
	Thursday	02-Nov	Relationships as Resources	Exercise:	Kawasaki (2004):"Chapter 8"
				Mapping your network	Burt (2002):  “The Network Entrepreneur"
					Saxenian (2002): "Production Networks in Silicon Valley"
7	Tuesday	07-Nov	Corporate Entrepreneurship	Case:	Macmillan (1995): "Discovery-Driven Planning"
				Kao
					Thornberry (2002):  "Corporate Entrepreneurship"
					DUE: Interim Report
	Thursday	09-Nov	Business Plans	Case:	Kawasaki (2004):"Chapter 4"
				Furniture.com
					Sahlman (1997):"How to write a great business plan"
8	Tuesday	14-Nov	Entrepreneurial Finance	Case:	Kawasaki (2004):"Chapter 5"
				Google
					Sahlman (1988):"Aspects of Financial Contracting in Venture Capital"
	Thursday	16-Nov	Capital Sources & Valuations		Kawasaki (2004):"Chapter 7"
				Guest Speaker	Timmons (2004): "Obtaining Venture and Growth Capital"
LEGAL FOUNDATIONS, ETHICS AND FIRM GROWTH
9	Tuesday	21-Nov	Intellectual Property	Case:	Kawasaki (2004):"Chapter  9"
				Amazon
					Yoffie (2004): "Intellectual Property and Strategy"
10	Tuesday	28-Nov	Entrepreneurial Ethics & Social Entrepreneurship		Friedman (1970): "The Social Responsibility of Business is to increase its profits."
					Kawasaki (2004): "Chapter 11"
	Thursday	30-Nov	Firm Growth, Harvesting, and Exit		Timmons (2004): "The Harvest and Beyond"
ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROJECT AND FINAL EXAM
11	Tuesday	05-Dec	Project Presentations	15 minutes per group	Group Presentation
	Thursday	07-Dec	Project Presentations	15 minutes per group	Group Presentation
			Review and Summary		DUE: Final Reports
12	Friday	15-Dec
			Final Exam