Credits: 5
Schedule: 15.04.2019 - 16.05.2019
Teaching Period (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020):
V spring (2018-2019, 2019-2020)
Learning Outcomes (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020):
This course is targeted at students who are interested in joining or founding new ventures. While other entrepreneurship courses focus on ideation and opportunity spotting, this course focuses on the process of building a high growth venture. During this course, you will develop your knowledge of leadership in an entrepreneurial setting, your ability to design efficient entrepreneurial teams and your interpersonal skills in areas such as team working, negotiation, and networking as well as critical thinking and presentation skills.
Content (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020):
Based on research spanning over ten years and covering almost 10,000 startups in the U.S., Harvard Professor Noam Wasserman has identified important decisions that most founders face, and outcomes that are typically related with those decisions. Most often these decisions are related to people: starting from making the decision to become a founder, debating on whether to partner with other people, who they might be, dividing roles and rewards within the founding team, and acquiring the needed human, social and/or financial capital for growth. Each time new players become involved in the venture, new decisions have to be made which might have significant influence on the future outcomes. Wasserman refers to the most critical decisions as the founder's dilemmas: The Founder's dilemmas are decisions that involve a tradeoff, hence they are painful to make, and often the easy decision is the wrong one in the long run. These dilemmas form the basis of the case-based learning on the course. Using these cases as examples, we will discuss issues such as how to get the right people engaged in your business idea, how to develop implementation capacity networks through global partnerships, how to grow without losing a start-up culture, and thus, how to building a high-growth, long-term, sustainable firm from scratch.
Assessment Methods and Criteria (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020):
The course assessment includes written individual case assignments prior to each teaching session (33%), active participation during teaching sessions (33%), and a group project (33%). Before each session, a short written case assignment is handed in. During teaching sessions, multiple activating methods will be used, including founder visits (Q&A sessions), simulation and role play. You will also prepare a short case as a group project, either based on own experience or by interviewing a founder or founders. Please note that in most of the teaching sessions, founders of new ventures will be invited as guest speakers so you are expected to participate in all sessions and your activity will be graded.
Study Material (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020):
The primary course material will be a series of short cases available when the course starts. As main reference, we will use Wasserman, Noam (2012) The Founder's Dilemmas: Anticipating and Avoiding the Pitfalls That Can Sink a Startup. Princeton Univ, (488p) ISBN 978-0-691-14913-4; Ebook 978-1-4008-4193-6. You will need the course book throughout the course. There will be some additional readings that will be listed in the course syllabus.
Substitutes for Courses (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020):
Replaces the course TU-53.1291 and TU-E4050
Prerequisites (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020):
An introductory course in entrepreneurship is highly recommended.
Registration for Courses (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020):
WebOodi. A maximum of 40 students will be admitted to the course. Students will be selected based on their motivation letters and academic performance. Students who are further along in studies have precedence.
- Teacher: Leinonen Paavo
- Teacher: Vuori Natalia