Course Syllabus

NCU COURSE: Entrepreneurship - BSL101/SML300

1.     Department:

SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT AND LIBERAL STUDIES

2.     Course Name:

3.     Course Code

4.     L-T-P

5.     Credits

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

BSL101/SML300

2-0-2

3

6.     Type of Course (Check one): 

☒Programme Core

☒Programme Elective

☐Open Elective

7.     Pre-requisite(s), if any(Mention course code and name) : NA

8.     Frequency of offering (check one):

☐   Odd    ☐ Even     ☒ Either semester   ☐Every semester

9.     Brief Introduction:

The course is designed to provide students an understanding of how new ventures/ entrepreneurs contribute to the economic development of a nation. It introduces them to the principles of entrepreneurship and the processes involved in setting up a new enterprise. Not only setting up a new enterprise but also operating it demands equal or more effort. Apart from making the business plan, they need to understand different business models, financing mechanisms, marketing, inventory management, human resource management etc. The significance of developing a new product and commercializing it, is stressed upon. Subsequently, the students need to understand the different growth strategies. The various exit options are also important and need to be worked upon. The course ends by making the students aware that every business, small or big, needs to be socially responsible. Upon completion of this accelerator-style course, the students will be able to immediately apply lean start-up and disciplined entrepreneurship methodologies toward the advancement of their own venture or within their role as an industry professional. 

Total lecture, Tutorial and Practical Hours for this course (Take 15 teaching weeks per semester)

Lectures: 30 Hours

Tutorials: NIL

Practical:  30 Hours

10.   Course Outcomes (COs)

Possible usefulness of this course after its completion i.e. how this course will be practically useful to students once it is completed

CO 1

Understand specific areas of interest and skill in order to identify entrepreneurial or intrapreneurial opportunities that present themselves in the life of his/her career.

CO 2

Learn how to effectively identify and critically analyze an entrepreneurial opportunity and formulate the steps in establishing a value proposition oriented toward that opportunity.

CO 3

Get direction as to how to start a new enterprise & write a business plan and get awareness of protecting one’s intellectual property.

CO 4

Learn how to critically assess business model choices and select an optimal strategy for a chosen business concept and mobilize the resources.

CO 5

Comprehend the role of multiple institutions involved in supporting the entrepreneurial process.

11.    UNIT WISE DETAILS                                                                               No. of Units: 06

Unit Number: 1             CO1             No. of Lectures: 06                          Title: Introduction to Entrepreneurship and Ideation

Content Summary:

Understanding Entrepreneurship – Importance & Contribution; Attributes and Characteristics of a successful Entrepreneur; Entrepreneurial Culture, Generation of Business Idea: Entrepreneurship and Ideation [video], Introduction to REAL Framework [video], Why to Start a Startup, Sam Altman[video],

Where Good Ideas Come From, Steven Johnson [video], Sources of entrepreneurial support.

Individual Assignment 1 (Graded Discussion):

Bug List and Innovative List

Respond to at least 3 classmates’ bug lists -- for each response:
Explain how you would create a business to solve one of their bugs. Please be sure your original and follow-up comments are engaging and thorough. Feedback is more than agreeing with others.

Individual Assignment 2: 

Find any news article or information on business incubators in India and Write a paragraph summarizing what the article or information is about. Please specifically stick to your understanding of that article.

Unit Number: 2           CO2                     No. of Lectures: 05        Title: Market Research and Validation

Content Summary:

Porter’s Five Forces, Market Research and Validation, Competitive Analysis [video], Tools for Entrepreneurs: Finding Product Market Fit, Market Research – What is it, Benefits, Process & Information Sources; How to Research Your Business Idea. What is Customer Discovery? [video]; Customer Archetype [video]; Customer Development Data [video]; Test before you build [video];Minimum Viable Product [video]; Business Model Canvas

You Have a Great Idea and Nobody Cares [video]

Team Assignment 3:

Team Charter & Customers Profiles on Canvas

Identify five potential customer segments. Think of these as five distinct ideal specific customers (customer archetypes). Fill out the customer profile canvas for each one.

Team Assignment 4:

Minimum Viable Product

Unit Number: 3                 CO3                        No. of Lectures:03                     Title: Legal Component

Content Summary:

Intellectual Property – Creation and Protection, Family Business; Startup Legal Entities [video]; Startup and Legal Operations [video]; Intellectual Property [video]

Group discussion on legal aspects

Unit Number: 4                   CO4                       No. of Lectures: 05                       Title: Mobilizing Resources

Content Summary:

Entrepreneurial Finance – Debt, Venture Capital; Funding your Startup, Business Models – Components, Customer Value Proposition, writing a business plan, types of Business plan Getting From Business Idea to Business Model, How to Raise Money [link], Elevator’s Pitch

Discuss with team: 

Financial Analysis

Develop your Initial Venture Idea (submit this as a final report)

Unit Number: 5                     CO5                    No. of Lectures: 08           Title: Operations, Management & Value Creation

Content Summary:

Managing Operations – Purchasing, Inventory;

HRM – Selection of personnel, induction, training, performance appraisal; Entrepreneurial Marketing - Branding and Storytelling [video] [slides], Distribution;

New Product Development - Concept, Types, Best Practices, Barriers; Project Management – Project selection, Planning, Project Manager

Preparation: Think about a company you find innovative -- why is it innovative? Apply operations and management aspects

Part 1: Identify a company that is innovative and identify 2-3 of its competitors -- How it is different than its competitors? What is it doing that its competitors aren't even thinking about? Part 2: Repeat, for your venture idea.

The Ideas can be discussed and implemented in Institution Innovation Council and Entrepreneurship Cell of the University.

Unit Number: 6                       CO5                  No. of Lectures: 04            Title: Growth and Social Responsibility

Content Summary:

Growth – Stages, Strategies;  Exit Strategies - Reasons, Social Responsibilities – Corporate Social Responsibility; The Social Entrepreneur

Part 1: Identify a company that is innovative and identify 2-3 of its competitors -- How it is different than its competitors? What is it doing that its competitors aren't even thinking about? Part 2: Repeat, for your venture idea.

12.   Title of Practical, if applicable:

Case studies, Writing Business Plans, Chalking out different Business Models

13.   Brief Description of Self-learning components by students (through books/resource material etc.):

ü  https://nculms.ncuindia.edu/

ü  Entrepreneur Magazine

ü  Business World, Business Today

ü  Rashmi Bansal (2012), “Connect the dots”, Westland and Tranquebar Press; 1st edition 

ü  Rashmi Bansal (2018), “Stay hungry, stay foolish”- IIM-A

ü  What’s a Startup? First Principles, Steve Blank [link]

ü  How to Get Startup Ideas [link (Links to an external site.)]

ü  Retooling Early Stage Development, Steve Blank [podcast]

ü  10 Dumb Ideas That Made Millions [link]

ü  8 Ways to Come Up With a Business Idea [link]

ü  8 Ways To Build A Great Startup Team [link]

ü  With as Little as $500, These Entrepreneurs Created Multimillion-Dollar Businesses [link]

ü  24 Steps to a Successful Startup [link]

ü  Startup Metrics for Pirates [article]

ü  Article- Play Your Cards Right – Sleepless Young Inventor Shows the Way

ü  Why Startups and Products Fail [link] (important)

ü  MVP: Quickly Validate your Startup [link] (important)

ü  Making Sense of MVP [video] [clarification]

ü  The Lean Approach: Minimum Viable Products [link] (important)

ü  25 Amazing Portfolio Websites to Inspire You [link]

ü  A Student’s Guide to Startups [link]

ü  The Lean Startup Eric Ries [video]

ü  Read The Ultimate Pitch Deck to Raise Money for Startups

ü  Watch 5 Secrets to a Killer Pitch

ü  Brand Gap eBook [link]

ü  Ted Talks:

v  What moral Decisions should driverless cars make?

v  The Secret to how to think like an entrepreneur

v  How business ideas are born

v  How Great Leaders Inspire action

v  What Customers Want?

v  Intellectual Property in the age of Open Source

v  Does Intellectual Property Really Matter, IIM Indore

v  Chris McKnett: The investment logic for sustainability

v  3 ways to be a more effective fundraiser | Kara Logan Berlin

ü  MOOC Supplementation/Blended learning.

ü  Online courses (NPTEL/Swayam/Coursera/Startup India etc.)

v  Entrepreneurship Essentials offered by IIT Kharagpur, 12 weeks AICTE approved FDP course on Swayam NPTEL

v  Entrepreneurship: Do your Venture offered by IIM Bangalore, 12 weeks AICTE approved FDP course on Swayam NPTEL

v  Startup India Learning Program, a 4 weeks online free learning program offered by Startup India, a GOI initiative.

v  Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, a 6 weeks self paced course offered by Harvard University on EDX.

v  You Can Innovate: User Innovation & Entrepreneurship, a 10 weeks self paced course offered by MITx.

14.   Books Recommended :

Ø  Text Books

i.    Robert D Hisrich, M P Peters, D A Shepherd, Entrepreneurship, McGraw Hill, 10^th edition (2017)

ii.   Rajeev Roy, Entrepreneurship, Oxford Higher Education, 2^nd edition (2011)

Ø  Reference Books

i.      David H Holt, Entrepreneurship: New Venture Creation, Prentice Hall (2019)

ii.   Alexander Osterwalder & Yves Pigneur, Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers (The Strategyzer series), John Wiley and Sons; 1st edition. (2010)