MST-23406 New Venture Creation: from Idea to Business Plan

Course

Credits 6.00

Teaching methodContact hours
Lecture26
Group work12
Independent study0
Course coordinator(s)dr. HB Kok
Lecturer(s)dr. HB Kok
dr. VC Materia
Examiner(s)dr. VC Materia
dr. HB Kok
prof. dr. WA Dolfsma

Language of instruction:

English

Assumed knowledge on:

Msc students MME (specialization: Management, Innovation and Life Sciences) and MFT (specialization: Food Innovation and Management) can follow this course. Furthermore, all Msc students with an interest to learn more about innovation, knowledge management and entrepreneurship can join this course. This course is also part of the Master Track Entrepreneurship. For more information see the Master Track Entrepreneurship webpage.

Continuation courses:

Other courses from the Master Track Entrepreneurship. For more information see the Master Track Entrepreneurship webpage

Contents:

In the course New Venture Creation: From Idea to Business Plan, students with a real or potentially innovative business idea are guided in the process of elaborating their idea, analyzing its future market potential, and preparing and writing a business plan. During the course students will develop a business plan for a new enterprise based on their own innovative idea. This plan should be feasible and have the potential to generate substantial revenues, cash and profits. The venture should be able to provide a competitive remuneration for the founders.
The purpose of this course is to give students insight into the processes underlying entrepreneurship in independent or autonomous start-ups and future medium sized companies. There will be a special focus on opportunity identification and business case simulation, and other skills relevant for planning a new business venture (e.g. creativity, market testing, impression management, etc.). The course reviews different approaches to feasibility analysis that can be carried out before the potential entrepreneur embarks on preparing the full-blown business plan. The course then introduces students to the financing of the start-up, where to go for start-up and growth capital, with special emphasis on bootstrapping and venture capital. Franchising, licensing, acquisition of an on-going enterprise and new product development represent different specific strategies various entrepreneurs have used to start and/or stimulate the growth of their businesses.
Students are expected to prepare by already bringing an individual innovative business idea to the beginning of the course. Only selected ideas will be further developed in the group work. The selection is done by students' voting.

Learning outcomes:

After successful completion of this course students are expected to be able to:
- to explain the specifics of new venture creation at different settings;
- to apply strategic and organisational insights to the start-up and growth processes of new firms;
- to select ideas for innovation and to identify business opportunities in order to commercialise them through a new organisation;
- to explain now the actual value of a business plan: what it can and cannot do (i.e. the do's and don'ts of business plan writing);
- to demonstrate how all the various aspects of new venture planning contribute to solid and robust business plans that are both promising, feasible and viable;
- acquire presentation skills and apply them in the context of developing an innovative idea into a full blown business plan.

Activities:

The course consists of 10 (guest)lectures, self-study, one individual presentation, group work plus 2 group presentations and team supervision meetings.

Examination:

- individual assignment (business idea pitch) (10%);
- group assignment, being writing a business plan and group presentations (50%);
- written exam with open questions (40%);
Both assignments and the written exam must receive a mark of at least 5.5 in order to pass the course. Missing deadlines may lead to deduction of points.

Literature:

After each lecture, a PowerPoint presentation on the subject will be posted on Blackboard. The following text books will be optional during the course:
- Ostwalder, A. and Y. Pigneur (2010). Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
- Spinelli, S. and R. Adams (2012). New Venture Creation. Entrepreneurship for the 21st Century, 9th Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.

ProgrammePhaseSpecializationPeriod
Restricted Optional for: MMEManagement, Economics and Consumer StudiesMScD: Management in Life Sciences5MO
MFTFood TechnologyMScB: Food Innovation and Management5MO
MPBPlant BiotechnologyMSc5MO