Objectives

At the end of the course, the participants will have the following competences:

1. Understand the process of starting and growing a company
2. Have the tools to make the entrepreneurial journey in the most efficient way
3. Understand the role of innovation in established companies
4. Develop the knowledge to design an innovation process in an organization

Contents

The sessions will cover the following material:

Class #1: Searching for Opportunities

This session introduces the course and provides a framework for innovation and entrepreneurship process. During the session we begin with the first step: searching and discovering for opportunities and how to provide the management tools to do so.

Class #2: The Entrepreneurship Process

This session examines the growth path of startups and the systems and processes needed to transition from the entrepreneurial to the managerial phase in a smooth way. Management control begins to play a significant role, not only in governance but also in the management of the venture

Class #3: Startup Funding and Governance

This session covers the topics of funding as a means to align the interests of investors and entrepreneurs as well as the control challenges facing growing companies. During the session, we will learn about various frameworks to think about controlling the growth process.

Class #4: Managing Innovation Projects

In this session, we turn our attention to the management of innovation in established companies. Innovation is crucial to the future of today’ organizations, which face an increasingly dynamic and opportunity rich environment. We will learn the concepts needed to manage innovation.

Class #5: Designing Experiments

Experiments are an important piece of innovation. They help us lower uncertainty and learn about whether our value proposition makes sense in the market. We will develop the tools needed to design and execute experiments.

Class #6: Innovation in Large Companies

Large companies face a specially challenging set up. They do not have the speed of smaller organizations and they have to rely on their ecosystem to innovate. While this open innovation is important, they also need to leverage the capabilities that they have inside

Class #7: Project presentations

In this class, students will present the project that they have worked on during the course.

Evaluation

First attempt

Exam:

Written 2 hours

Documentation:

Not allowed

Calculator:

Not allowed

Evaluation:

In-class quizzes - 15%

Final exam - case analysis - 25%

Group project - 40%

Class participation - 20%

Retake

Exam:

Written 2 hours

Documentation:

Not allowed

Calculator:

Not allowed

Evaluation:

Case analysis - 100%