Engineering Entrepreneurship I
Engineering Entrepreneurship I
TR 10:15am-11:44am in TOWN 327 (1/15 to 4/30)
EENT(Engineering ENTrepreneurship)
Engineers and scientists create and lead great companies, hiring managers when and where needed to help execute their vision. Designed expressly for students having a keen interest in technological innovation, this course investigates the roles of inventors and founders in successful technology ventures. Through case studies and guest speakers, we introduce the knowledge and skills needed to recognize and seize a high-tech entrepreneurial opportunity - be it a product or service - and then successfully launch a startup or spin-off company. The course studies key areas of intellectual property, its protection and strategic value; opportunity analysis and concept testing; shaping technology driven inventions into customer-driven products; constructing defensible competitive strategies; acquiring resources in the form of capital, people and strategic partners; and the founder's leadership role in an emerging high-tech company. Throughout the course emphasis is placed on decisions faced by founders, and on the sequential risks and determinants of success in the early growth phase of a technology venture. The course is designed for, but not restricted to, students of engineering and applied science and assumes no prior business education. Prerequisite: Third or Fourth year or Graduate standing
Library Resources Workshop: Monday, Feb 3
Extra credit (up to 2 points) as one course attendance
Time: 6:00-7:00pm
Place: Heilmeier Hall (Towne 100)
Grading
Attendance 30%
show up every class get full, late, miss 扣分
Essays, quizzes & problem set: 45%
Final exam: 25%
Date, time, location - TBD
use AI for editing, not generating (long)
assignment
- In-class quizzes are given weekly (usually on Thursdays) or as announced in class. Quizzes are designed to reinforce
and stimulate discussion on the assigned reading materials. Quizzes will be in-person only, closed notes and
accessed via Respondus Lockdown Browser (see Canvas). - In addition, selected classes (usually on Tuesdays) will have brief essays due and submitted online before class,
covering the assigned material. Essays must be no more than 2 pages (unless otherwise assigned) and will address a
specific question or set of questions provided and available on the class web site. Focus on making your essays
insightful and concise. Refer to the Case Method Overview for more information.
Assignments may also include problem sets, which require calculations or other quantitative analysis, or questions for
guest lecturers, which are prepared by researching the guest and their company(ies). Breakout assignments and
other in-class work reinforce assigned materials and may be worked on in groups. - Unless otherwise instructed, submit all assignments via the course web site. Problem sets may be hand-written,
scanned into PDF files, and submitted electronically via the course web site. Specific instructions are provided for
each assignment. To obtain full credit, assignments must be submitted prior to the start of the class period on the date
they are due. Late papers (anything after the start of class) are not accepted (except in the case of documented
incapacity or emergency). There will be no re-grading of assignments.
in class quiz
given a reading that do not give you previously
THE CLASSROOM DISCUSSION
Depending on the nature of the case, the class is often conducted as a meeting of an advisory team to the decision-maker in the case, where you and your classmates are the advisors. The team’s objective is to recommend the best course of action and how to implement it. This recommendation is decided by healthy debate and discussion of pros and cons among the team members where the faculty member’s role is that of a facilitator. Classroom learning with the case method depends on your active and thoughtful participation in the team discussion. Although this is a group process, it does not imply conformity to group opinion. You should be willing to submit your views to rebuttal in a climate of constructive criticism, and overcome any fears of making and admitting a mistake. Each person will not necessarily have an opportunity to speak every day. Whether you speak or not on a given day, you will benefit by comparing your case analysis to that of others. Participation will be graded not by your amount of “air time” but by the quality and thoughtfulness of your comments. Near the end of the class session, the faculty member will summarize the discussion, highlight the useful lessons learned and, if applicable, provide a brief epilog to the case.
5 specific questions for guest talk
slack channel
Final Exam
4 page cheat sheet
2 review session on zoom
- Submitted Questions
- Thursday, May 1
Exam Format
- short answer 80%
- 16 of 20, @ 5 pts, do not skip more and do not write more
- 1-4 sentence for full credit (2 or 4 sentences)
- VC Evaluation 20% (take a lot of time)
- 2 term sheet, which one is optimal for u
- 8 questions
- show your work, give a lot of partial credit, put your formulars, error will not cut more than once
Read through all questions
Mark those 16 you will answer
Allocate equal time to each question
1 hour for section 1
1 hour for section 2
Provide sample questions
No curve for final or course
provide calculator
Review key take-away
read the question,
Response should include:
- Discuss relevance of concept
- Apply to the high-tech entrepreneur
- Cite specific example
- provide one example
- provide two examples
you can use same one or two examples for every question of the exam
Section 2
Provided Info
- Company Information
- Business plan fund-raising objectives
- Two different investors' term sheets and objectives
- Liquidity event and valuation info
Questions
- investors acquired, shares
- Calculate
short reading no case for last class
•
Section 1: Short Answer (80%)
– Answer 16 of 20 questions (@ 5
points) requiring brief (1-4)
sentence response and/or
calculations
•
Recommended Section 1 strategy
– Read through all questions
– Mark those 16 you will answer
– Allocate equal time to each
question
(do not write as much as possible)
•
Section 2: VC Evaluation (20%)
– Choose from two term sheet offers
– Answer all 8 questions
– Quantitative & qualitative analysis
•
Recommended Section 2 strategy
– Read through entire set and questions
– Create timeline
– Determine information given,
information asked, relevant formulas
– Calculate & respond to each question
(qualitative & quantitative)
We do provide sample questions, but
we do NOT provide previous exams.