University of Waterloo Department of Economics Principles of Entrepreneurship ECON 220 (001) Spring 2015

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1 University of Waterloo Department of Economics Principles of Entrepreneurship ECON 220 (001) Spring 2015 Instructor Information Instructor: Camelia Nunez Office: ML 323 Phone: ext Office Hours: Thurs 8am 8:30am; Tues.10am 10:30am or by appointment Course Description Welcome to ECON 220! This is an introductory course intended to help students develop a solid understanding of the crucial role played by entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship in the 21st century global economy. Through a series of in- and outside of class activities, we will discover, study, evaluate and celebrate the entrepreneurial initiatives amongst ourselves, in our community and around the world. This course approaches entrepreneurship as a way of thinking, an attitude and a behaviour that can be applied to the creation of new ventures or within any existing organization. For the first part of the course we will discuss and understand existing entrepreneurial initiatives locally and globally. During the second part of the course we will evaluate our own entrepreneurial attitude and determine ways in which to incorporate entrepreneurship into our careers. Finally, the last module will focus on the creating of a new venture and the factors associated to its success. In a nutshell, this is a course that mixes theory with practice and you will be challenged to apply the concepts and frameworks presented in class, to real life situations. Course Goals and Learning Outcomes The goal of this course is to offer you an introduction to entrepreneurship as a factor in today s economy, help you understand your own attitude towards this global phenomenon and give you an initial glimpse at the challenges faced when developing a new business venture. Upon completion of this course students should be able to: have a basic understanding of entrepreneurship as an economic factor; recognize the entrepreneurial potential within themselves and others in their environment;

2 appreciate the value of entrepreneurship within society, within an organization, and in their own personal life; appreciate the Waterloo region as Canada s most entrepreneurial community; identify key resources available for entrepreneurs in the Waterloo region; identify the different ways in which entrepreneurship manifests itself (eg. start-up contexts, corporate, social, public sector); develop an appreciation for opportunity, how to recognize it, and how to evaluate it; understand the challenges faced when developing (or working for) a new venture. Required Course Material - There is no required textbook for this course. All necessary readings will be made available on LEARN - Students are asked to purchase the Top Hat software for the term. Detailed explanation on how to purchase during first day of class. Course Requirements and Assessment Assessment Date of Evaluation Weighing Class Contribution Ongoing 20% (individual) Start-up Case Study (group) May 15% Me Inc. Pitch (individual) June 15% Pop Quiz (4) (individual) Ongoing 20% Final Project (group) July 30% TOTAL 100% Assessment 1 (20%) Class Contribution (individual) Active participation in class discussions is essential to the learning process and to your success in this course. You will be graded on your individual participation including the quality of your contributions to the discussion and your understanding of assigned reading materials. Due to the size of this course, most class interaction will be done through the Top Hat software. Attendance will be taken on a daily basis and a percentage of the class contribution grade will be base on attendance alone.

3 Assessment 2 (15%) Start-up Case Study (group) The objective of this assignment is to help you familiarize yourself with some of the existing startups, their founders and the challenges they had to overcome in the process of creating a business venture. You will be asked to study and analyze the progress of the chosen startup from its conception until today. The concepts discussed in class will of course, need to be taken into account in your analysis. This project is to be done in groups of two or three students and the paper should not exceed four pages in length. Specific project guidelines will be provided in class. Assessment 3 (15%) Me Inc. Pitch (individual) Pitch yourself for 90 seconds! As a student in this course, you will prepare a 90 second pitch in which you will introduce yourself to the class, tell your peers who you are, what you are good at, what kind of problems you can solve and what makes you an awesome professional. Most importantly, you will have to prove your entrepreneurial mindset to your peers. Specific project guidelines will be provided in class. Assessment 4 (20%) Pop Quizzes (individual) There will be four pop-up quizzes during the term. Each quiz will be 5 minutes in length and it will cover material discussed in class and/or the assigned readings. Note that no make-up dates will be arranged for students absent on a quiz day. Assessment 5 (30%) Final Report and Presentation (group) The final business plan report is due on the day of the final presentation (last two days of class). The report should include a detailed description of the nature of the new business, a realistic assessment of its feasibility and an implementation plan outlining how the new venture should be launched and managed successfully. The report should be approximately 10 pages. During the last two days of class, teams will pitch the business idea they had been working on to their classmates. The in-class presentation should represent a concise summary of your business plan. Each team will have a maximum of 10 minutes for their presentation and they will be graded by their instructor as well as their peers.

4 Course Outline Week Date Topic Readings / Due Week 1 May 5 The course structure Course Syllabus Introductory discussion on Entrepreneurship May 7 The Entrepreneurial Revolution - Theoretical Background Entrepreneurship - The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics Russell S. Sobel Week 2 May 12 Why the economy needs Workers on Tap & There is an May 14 entrepreneurs? Entrepreneurship and Innovation The High Tech Sector App for that the Economist Industry gets Religion The Economist Week 3 May 19 Lecture held at Accelerator Centre May 21 Lecture held at Communitech Week 4 May 26 Global Entrepreneurship The Global Entrepreneur by Daniel Isenberg Harvard Business Review May 28 Entrepreneurs Case Studies Invited Speakers Entrepreneurs Week 5 June 2 Corporate Entrepreneurship - Intrapreneurship Submit My favourite entrepreneur Assignment (end of the week) How Can Big Companies Keep the Entrepreneurial Spirit Alive Harvard Business Review June 4 Intrapreneurs Case Studies Sheryl Sandberg Marissa Mayer Week 6 June 9 Video: Guy Kawasaki The Art of What about you? Intrapreneur or Entrepreneur? the TieCon 2006 Entrepreneurs need Entrepreneurs need Intrapreneurs to make their companies work Entrepreneur Magazine, May 2014 June 11 Find your niche TBD Week 7 June 16 Personal Branding TBD June 18 The art of pitching Guy Kawasaki Book Excerpt Week 8 June 23 Me Inc. Pitches In- class pitching June 25 Me Inc. Pitches In-class pitching Week 9 June 30 Identifying Opportunities TBD

5 July 2 Industry and Competitor Kuratko et. al Analysis Week 10 July 7 Designing and effective business Kuratko et. al model July 9 Building the Team Kuratko et. al Week 11 July 14 Financing the Entrepreneurial Kuratko et. al Venture July 16 Go-to-market Kuratko et. al Week 12 July 21 Managing Growth Kuratko et. al July 23 Final Presentations In-class presentations Week 13 July 28 Final Presentations In-class presentations Late Work The startup case study is due at the end of the week (Sunday night). All other assignments and presentations must be carried out following the specified deadlines. No alternative arrangements will be made without an official medical note. Information on Plagiarism Detection Turnitin.com: Plagiarism detection software (Turnitin) may be used to screen assignments in this course, to verify that use of all material and sources in assignments are documented. Further details will be provided about the arrangements for the use of Turnitin in this course. Electronic Device Policy Taking into account that will be incorporating the Top Hat software into our course, the use of electronic devices will be part of the lectures on most days. Note however, that their use must be related to the class discussion occurring at that time. For example, note-taking, accessing readings and notes, and referring to company websites would be appropriate. Using devices for purposes not related to the course is not appropriate. You will at times be asked to refrain from using electronic devices, specifically when fellow students are presenting, or if guest speakers are in the classroom. And of course when you are being distracting to those around you by engaging in non-course related activities such as or social media. Attendance Policy Absenteeism will negatively affect your class contribution grade. Attendance will be taken every class and part of your class contribution grade will specifically come from attendace. Institutional-required statements for undergraduate course outlines approved by Senate Undergraduate Council, April 14, 2009 Cross-listed course

6 Please note that a cross-listed course will count in all respective averages no matter under which rubric it has been taken. For example, a PHIL/PSCI cross-list will count in a Philosophy major average, even if the course was taken under the Political Science rubric. Academic Integrity Academic Integrity: In order to maintain a culture of academic integrity, members of the University of Waterloo are expected to promote honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility. Discipline: A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity, to avoid committing academic offences, and to take responsibility for his/her actions. A student who is unsure whether an action constitutes an offence, or who needs help in learning how to avoid offences (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about rules for group work/collaboration should seek guidance from the course professor, academic advisor, or the Undergraduate Associate Dean. When misconduct has been found to have occurred, disciplinary penalties will be imposed under Policy 71 Student Discipline. For information on categories of offenses and types of penalties, students should refer to Policy 71 - Student Discipline. Grievance: A student who believes that a decision affecting some aspect of his/her university life has been unfair or unreasonable may have grounds for initiating a grievance. Read Policy 70 - Student Petitions and Grievances, Section 4. Appeals: A student may appeal the finding and/or penalty in a decision made under Policy 70 - Student 5 Petitions and Grievances (other than regarding a petition) or Policy 71 - Student Discipline if a ground for an appeal can be established. Read Policy 72 - Student Appeals. Other sources of information for students Academic integrity (Arts) Academic Integrity Office (uwaterloo) Accommodation for Students with Disabilities Note for students with disabilities: The AccessAbility Services office, located in Needles Hall Room 1132, collaborates with all academic departments to arrange appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities without compromising the academic integrity of the curriculum. If you require academic accommodations to lessen the impact of your disability, please register with the AS office at the beginning of each academic term.