ECE 495B - Entrepreneurship

Course Details

Lecture Hours: 3 Credits: 3

Counts as:

Experimental Course Offered:

Fall 2005

Catalog Description:

Entrepreneurial hands-on class that is focused on educating engineers and business students how to identify new business opportunities, evaluate their market value, assess the competitive landscape, create a winning business plan, acquire funding and grow a business from the ground up. Students will participate in teams of 5+ individuals and through the semester, each team will be required to engage in each of these areas which will culminate in the teams written business plan. Part of the final exam will require each team to present and defend their plan to a small group of potentially interested investors.

Required Text(s):

  1. The Portable MBA in Entrepreneurship Case Studies , 1st Edition , edited by William D. Bygrave and Andrew Zacharakis , Wiley , 1997 , ISBN No. 047118229X

Recommended Text(s):

  1. The Portable MBA in Entrepreneurship , 3rd Edition , edited by William D. Bygrave and Andrew Zacharakis , Wiley , 2003 , ISBN No. 0471271543

Learning Outcomes:

A student who successfully fulfills the course requirements will have demonstrated:
  1. understanding of what it takes to be an entrepreneur. [c,h,k]
  2. an ability to assess markets to identify new business opportunities. [h,j]
  3. an understanding of the fundamentals of finance, marketing, strategic planning, product marketing, marketing communications and development. [h,k]
  4. an understanding of the components of a successful business plan and how to create one: and. [h,k]
  5. experience first hand the realities of having just 10 minutes in front of an investor to make one's case to secure funding.. [g,k]

Lecture Outline:

Week Topic
1 What it takes to be an entrepreneur Establish teams
1 How to assess markets to identify new opportunities Preliminary list of ideas
1 How to value a new business idea Short list ideas
3 How to put together a successful business plan "The Idea" Competitive Landscape Market value of the team's idea
1 Fundamentals of marketing
1 How to hire and grow a startup business Exam
1 Case studies
1 How to partner for success Business plan update
1 How to solicit for funding
1 Case studies
1 Fundamentals of finance
1 How to protect intellectual property Business plan final test run
1 Case studies Exam
1 Final Business Plan Presentations

Engineering Design Content:

  • Establishment of Objectives and Criteria
  • Synthesis
  • Analysis
  • Construction
  • Testing
  • Evaluation

Engineering Design Consideration(s):

  • Economic
  • Environmental
  • Ethical
  • Health/Safety
  • Manufacturability
  • Political
  • Social
  • Sustainability
  • market needs
  • market valuation

Assessment Method:

Students will be expected to have prepared for each class by reviewing the relevant case material. Classroom participation will be graded, as well as in-class quizzes that cover the material from previous classes. A mid-term will be given to assess the fundamental understanding of the course material regarding marketing, market valuation, and competitive analysis. The final exam will consist of two components: a written exam covering the material from the second half of the semester (hiring, growing a business, partnering, funding, and relevant case studies); and the teams presentation of their business plan to a small group of professionals from outside of Purdue (VCs, senior level executives, etc.). The final grade will be based upon: Class Participation Team Participation Business Plan Exams and Quizzes VC Presentation