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2020/2021  KAN-CSIEO2023U  Entrepreneurial Processes

English Title
Entrepreneurial Processes

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Mandatory
Level Full Degree Master
Duration One Quarter
Start time of the course Second Quarter, Autumn
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board
Study Board for MSc in Social Sciences
Course coordinator
  • Christina Lubinski - Department of Management, Politics and Philosophy (MPP)
Main academic disciplines
  • Entrepreneurship
Teaching methods
  • Blended learning
Last updated on 23-06-2020

Relevant links
Learning objectives
  • Utilize the POCD framework to evaluate new business opportunities.
  • Discuss the key activities, resources and relationships necessary to develop products/services with a viable customer value proposition.
  • Develop business plans of products and/or services and undertake iterative testing and revision of these plans based on primary and secondary research.
  • Understand the challenges of building and managing founding teams and employees.
  • Analyze balance sheet, income statement, cash flow, and Business Model of startup ventures.
  • Evaluate dilemmas in equity split negotiations and founder agreements.
Prerequisites for registering for the exam (activities during the teaching period)
Number of compulsory activities which must be approved (see s. 13 of the Programme Regulations): 1
Compulsory home assignments
One activity-based grading (approved/not approved). Passing the compulsory assignment is a prerequisite for participating in the regular exam.

Please note that if a student does not hand in the compulsory assignment, there will be no further tries, and the student will not have access to the ordinary exam. Nevertheless, if the compulsory assignment is not approved, or if the student is ill (documented), he or she will have a second try before the ordinary exam.
Examination
Entrepreneurial Processes:
Exam ECTS 7,5
Examination form Home assignment - written product
Individual or group exam Individual exam
Size of written product Max. 10 pages
Assignment type Written assignment
Duration 72 hours to prepare
Grading scale 7-point grading scale
Examiner(s) One internal examiner
Exam period Winter
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
Course content, structure and pedagogical approach

Entrepreneurial Processes builds on the previous studio course by moving from identifying and testing value propositions to pursuing them in organizational contexts. It introduces the idea of “entrepreneurial processes”, which encompass the challenges of (i) managing people, (ii) analyzing trends and contexts, and (iii) designing deal and partnership. The “POCD”-framework (People, Opportunity, Context and Deals) provides students a big-picture analytical tool to both manage and analyze startups at different stages in their life cycle.

 

Among the topics covered are recognizing opportunities in context, assembling founding teams, managing team work across time and space, startup finance, equity splits, founder agreements, and venture capital.

 

We emphasize the skills, capabilities, and judgment needed to effectively manage entrepreneurial processes. The course takes a unique interdisciplinary approach to entrepreneurship, integrating entrepreneurial history, strategy, sociology and finance. It teaches students how to imaginge opportunities, assemble resources, deal with uncertainty, and legitmize innovative ventures. It will involve both quantitative and qualitative modes of reasoning about entrepreneurial decision making. 

 

Students will learn through a combination of studio exercises, lectures, case discussions, and real-world applications. 
Description of the teaching methods
The pedagogy for the class is, primarily, studio-based learning. Using knowledge from assigned readings, short (video and in-class) lectures and cases, students engage in experimental exercises, simulations, role plays and group assignments.
Feedback during the teaching period
In-class feedback on compulsory assignment.
Video feedback on selected case discussion.
Office hours.
Student workload
Class preparation 101 hours
Exam (including exam preparation) 72 hours
Teaching 33 hours
Expected literature
  • Osterwalder, A., & Pigneur, Y. (2010).  Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, And Challengers. New York: Wiley.
  • Wasserman, N. (2012). The Founder's Dilemmas: Anticipating and Avoiding the Pitfalls That Can Sink a Startup. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.
  • Ruef, M., Aldrich, H., & Carter, N. (2003). The Structure of Founding Teams: Homophily, Strong Ties and Isolation Among U.S. Entrepreneurs. American Sociological Review, 68(2): 195-222.
  • Leach, J. C., & Melicher, R. W. 2015. Entrepreneurial Finance (5th ed.). Stamford, CT, USA: Cengage Learning.
  • Harvard Business School Publishing coursepack (cases and technical notes).
Last updated on 23-06-2020