School of Business MGMT 451/IT 495 Syllabus REVISED 9/1/2015 Turning Ideas into Companies, IT495 (Crosslist) Assistant Professor Jim Wolfe Tel. 703-220- 9231 jwolfe7@gmu.edu Purpose: This fundamental entrepreneurship course is designed as an introduction to new venture creation and the entrepreneurial process. Topics will include screening the opportunity, creating new ventures, evaluating the entrepreneurial team, product launch, financing, and exit strategies. The centerpiece of this course is developing a feasibility study for a new venture that you would consider actually starting. Learning Objectives: This course is for anyone who plans to participate in the creation, management, financing, or sale of a new venture. Emphasis will be placed on the start- up business, but we will also examine corporate and nonprofit ventures. Upon completion students should comprehend the language of entrepreneurship; be familiar with the new venture process; understand the distinctions between managerial and entrepreneurial behaviors; and be qualified to join an entrepreneurial team pursuing a new venture. Desirable Prerequisites: Basic courses in management, marketing and finance. A business law course would also be helpful. Format: The course will culminate in the preparation of a business plan by students working in teams. You are expected to read the text assignment each week before class as preparation. We will not discuss each topic in class you will be expected to know the material, use it in your business plan, and use it to complete the exams. The professor should be viewed as a facilitator to discussion, and not as an oracle. Rules of the Road: Students in this class are considered to be adults completing the final year of their undergraduate education; they will be treated as such. The course is a transitional program engaging all your previous Mason education to solve typical business process challenges. Class participation is a significant part of the grade; it is difficult to engage if you are not present. If you must miss a class, you do not need to let the professor know, but do inform your team in advance. Use your name placard in each class. Here are some things to keep in mind: Assignments. All assignments are to be submitted before class. We would prefer that assignments be delivered at least one hour before class begins. Questions. All questions should be asked and resolved in class, especially those concerning class assignments. Those involving personal matters should be addressed in private by phone or email or through a personal meeting.
Dress. This class has several corporate visitors throughout the term. Standard dress is business casual although for presentations you may want to be more formal for your presentations. You represent your team, the class and Mason when you interact with outside personnel. Make sure that everything you write, say and do makes a positive, business- like impression. Team Work. Our project work is done in teams. Your participation in the team s work is among the most critical factors of your class grade and your team s success. Conflicts should be resolved quickly through team leadership and the professor s help, if necessary. If for some reason you cannot show up to join your team on those project days, please make sure to inform your team members in advance. The review by your peers will help determine your grade. Computers in Class. Laptops and smartphones may not be used in the classroom. Take your notes by hand (research shows this improves learning) and summarize into electronic form later. Bring your laptop or a memory stick on days you present in class. Academic Honesty: Students are expected to know and follow the GMU honor code ( http://www.gmu.edu/facstaff/handbook/ad.html). Scholastic dishonesty, including cheating in exams or plagiarism, will be treated as a violation of university s regulations. As such, appropriate sanctions will be pursued vigorously. This ethical rule does not prevent the discussion of business ideas with classmates outside the classroom. Obtaining business ideas or getting notes on quizzes from previous years are not considered honest behavior, as they hinder the normal discovery and learning process, and overstate your preparation. You will complete original work for this class. Research is important, but you must cite all your sources for all papers and presentations in this course. You may not paraphrase or quote without proper reference. You may use materials you prepared for other courses. You may not use material prepared by other students in the same or other sections of this course, past or present. In order to insure equity, electronic means will be used to check originality of work. Students Needing Accommodations: If you are a student with a disability and you need academic accommodations, please see me and contact the Disability Resource Center (DRC) at 993-2474. All academic accommodations will be arranged through the DRC. Page 2 of 8
Required Text: Entrepreneurship, 3/E By William D. Bygrave / Andrew Zacharakis ISBN 978-1- 118-58289- 3 Publisher: Wiley I highly recommend that you purchase a used copy online. It is much less expensive! Wall Street Journal Students are also required to purchase the Wall Street Journal. Sign up in class. We will use discussion of current events from the WSJ to kick off each class session. Optional Texts: The best work on business plans I have found is Writing a Convincing Business Plan (Paperback) by Dethomas, Arthur R. and Lin Grensing. Barron'ʹs Educational Series; 2nd edition (January 1, 2001). ISBN: 0764113992. Class Schedule: s, 7:20 pm 10:00 pm. Location: Fairfax, Innovation Hall 206. Office hours: s before class, or by appointment, Enterprise 45. The best way to reach the professor is email; please use your GMU account to avoid spam filters. Homework: There are several homework assignments listed in the syllabus that you will be responsible for during the semester. The homework is not graded but must be turned in on time to receive credit as a part of your class participation grade. Homework assignments that are due in written form are to be submitted via email prior to the beginning of class. Entrepreneurial Profile: Each team will be required to profile an entrepreneur and give a brief presentation to the class about this person according to a pre- assigned questionnaire/topic list. This assignment will focus on the extent to which the entrepreneur reflects the behaviors we covered in class and lessons the team learns as they develop their business plan. Each team will write a 2 page single- spaced summary of their entrepreneur and give a maximum 5-10 minute slide presentation to the class with a 5 minute question and answer session to follow. Details of this assignment and grading criteria will be discussed in class and distributed via email and posted on the course website during the first part of the semester. Grading: The centerpiece of this course is a written Feasibility Study, which is also presented in- person to the class. Your work on the Feasibility Study as a team will count for 50% of your grade; your individual assignments count for 50%. The Feasibility Study is written by teams of up to 4 persons (please get permission if you need a larger team, or would like to work alone). For individual work, students will complete two exams (a mid- term and a short final) and actively participate in class. Students should note that class participation is not a trivial part of the grade. Homework will not be graded separately; it is part of class participation. See the Grading Rubric for more details. Page 3 of 8
Your grading will be weighted 50% team and 50% individual as follows: Team Feasibility Study Project Presentation 50% Final Presentation 15% Final Feasibility Study Written Report 20% Peer Evaluation 15% Class Participation (Note that all homework is included in participation!) 30% Mid Term Exam 10% Final Exam (take home) 10% Total Grade 100% Grade Structure 95 100 A 90-94.99 A- 85-89.99 B+ 75-84.99 B 70-74.99 B- 65-69.99 C Below 65 F Page 4 of 8
FALL 2015 SCHEDULE Using Entrepreneurship, 3rd Edition, By William D. Bygrave / Andrew Zacharakis, Published by Wiley. Note: This schedule is subject to change. DATE TOPIC READING ASSIGNMENTS DUE September 1 Introductions Course Description and expectations Syllabus Review The Power of Entrepreneurship Chapter 1 September 8 The Power of Entrepreneurship Information on Entrepreneurial Profile Assignment The Entrepreneurial Process Chapter 1 Chapter 2 HW Due: Write down a list of your top 3-5 passions and the top 3-5 businesses or industries that these might include. Survey family and friends and summarize results in up to a 1 page paper. September 15 Opportunity Recognition, Shaping and Reshaping Team Brainstorming Competition Details on requirements for Team Project Delivery of elevator pitches, networking session & team formation Chapter 3 HW Due: Elevator Pitch - - Max. 1 min. description of yourself, interests, background, skills, work experience, etc., or a prospective business idea. September 22 Understanding Your Business Model and Developing Your Strategy Entrepreneurial Marketing Chapter 4 Chapter 5 HW Due: Company name and biographies of all team members. Page 5 of 8
September 29 Team Entrepreneurial Profile presentations October 6 Building the Founding Team October 13 The Business Planning Process No Class Columbus Day Week Chapter 6 Chapter 7 HW Due: 2 2.5 page Entrepreneurial Profile Paper sent via email by the beginning of class. 5-10 minute team EP presentation given during class.* HW Due: 1- page summary of product or service idea to be researched as a team project over the semester. October 20 Midterm Exam Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, & 7 You must take the Exams at the time scheduled Bring a green Scantron card and a pencil.* Sales 101 The Basic Principles of Selling October 27 Building Your Pro- Forma Financial Statements Financial Entrepreneurial Ventures Worldwide Chapter 8 Chapter 9 HW Due: One page written report from each group re: primary and secondary market research performed for the team project. November 3 Raising Money for Starting and Growing Businesses Debt and Other Forms of Financing Chapter 10 Chapter 11 HW Due: Cash flow exercise create a list of applicable receipts and disbursements for your venture. November 10 Legal and Tax Issues, Including Intellectual Property Chapter 12 HW Due: 1- page summary of company s marketing and ad plan. Page 6 of 8
November 17 Entrepreneurial Growth Chapter 13 HW Due: Create a summary of your financial projections for your venture. November 24 Social Entrepreneurship Chapter 14 December 1 Final Team Presentations December 8 Final Team Presentations Graded Team Assignment: (hard copy) due beginning of class. Team presentations given during class.* Graded Team Assignment: Team presentations given during class.* December 15 The Final Exam will be a take- home assignment. Final Exam must be submitted by email or Blackboard by, Dec 15 at 7:20PM. HONOR CODE: any cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, or facilitating academic dishonesty by another will result in confiscation of the subject work or exam, and a grade of zero on that work. It is your responsibility to know and to follow George Mason University s policy on intellectual integrity. Please see: http://oai.gmu.edu/the-mason-honor-code/ Page 7 of 8
Feasibility Study Project Our final project in Entrepreneurship is a feasibility study for a specific intellectual property, technology, or business concept. A feasibility study is not a full business plan. Rather, it is a first look comparing the product or service and the marketplace in order to determine whether there is market demand, and a chance for a fundable business idea. Simply put, is there a business here, or just an interesting idea? In the first weeks of the course we will take up some of these issues: finding the idea; conducting market research; understanding the business model. As we will cover in some detail, this is similar to marketing or marketing research, but with an important distinction. Most marketing strategy is about selling the product or service; this is about determining whether there is a product or service worth selling at any price, and at whatever cost of production. The central question is whether we should pursue the given business idea with even more resources required to write a full plan, and to use up those precious contacts with prospective investors. A number of preliminary questions need to be addressed: What exactly is the product or service? How will it be used? Who is the target customer? What is the appropriate business model, given the type of customers anticipated? Is there an alternative use for the technology that the owner or inventors have not yet thought about? Could that be a more profitable approach? Is the addressable market sufficiently large to support financial returns to outside investors (whether angels, VCs or corporate partners)? What types of returns might be anticipated? What are the potential pitfalls in the technology, IP, product or design? What additional research and study will need to be completed as part of the final, complete business planning process? In contrast, a full business plan would go on to fully describe the management team, funding required, funding approach, competition, competitive landscape, and exit strategy. A complete business plan also includes financial projections and complete pro forma financial statements; here we only need some preliminary projections of markets, revenues, and profits. The business plan is the subject for a later, more advanced course in entrepreneurship. Finally, it is important to remember that our concerns are about the business; we assume the gadget works as promised by the inventors or engineers. (And when has a mad inventor ever been wrong, anyway?) Page 8 of 8