BSHE: Introduction to IT Entrepreneurship

Introduction to IT Entrepreneurship

• Course name: Introduction to IT Entrepreneurship
• Code discipline: XXX
• Subject area:

Course Topics

Course Sections and Topics

Section	Topics within the section
Introduction & Building Your Team & Making Your Team Agile	Defining a startup Formulating the group project: team, business idea Leadership Forming the team Managing the team
Defining Your Customer & Defining Your Product & Defining Your Rivals	Customer Segmentation Customer Profile (JTBD, Pains, Gains) Creating a Value Proposition Matching Value Proposition with Customer Profile Strategy Canvas
Defining Your Business Model & Defining Your Vision	Business Model Canvas Business Model Patterns Business Model Environment Business Model Testing Minimum-Viable Product Product Roadmap
Creating Your Story & Finding Money	Storytelling Sources of investment Pitching

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

What is the main purpose of this course?

The start-up world is rapidly developing nowadays, more and more people are considering the opportunity to set up their own business. How can we turn the idea into the working business?

ILOs defined at three levels

Level 1: What concepts should a student know/remember/explain?

By the end of the course, the students should be able to ...

• design-thinking tools to design the prototype of the product,
• approaches to designing and testing a business model through the experiments,
• frameworks of agile development,
• storytelling methods to design a brand,
• pitching presentation tools.

Level 2: What basic practical skills should a student be able to perform?

By the end of the course, the students should be able to ...

• concrete steps of creating a value proposition for a customer,
• concrete steps of the business design (business model, hypothesis formulation/testing and minimum-viable product creation),
• SCRUM roles, ceremonies and artefacts,
• specifics of pitch presentation for investors.

Level 3: What complex comprehensive skills should a student be able to apply in real-life scenarios?

By the end of the course, the students should be able to ...

• build and manage the startup team,
• define the customer problem and validate it,
• create the product to fit the problem with agile methods,
• define the business model around the product,
• promote a product and a startup,
• raise investments and build strong networks in the business world.

Grading

Course grading range

Grade	Range	Description of performance
A. Excellent	90-100	-
B. Good	75-89	-
C. Satisfactory	60-74	-
D. Poor	0-59	-

Course activities and grading breakdown

Activity Type	Percentage of the overall course grade
Final presentation	30
Project Report	10
Project Progress	50
Individual Participation	10
Exam	0

Resources, literature and reference materials

Open access resources

• • Tidd, J. & Bessant, J. (2011). Managing Innovation: Integrating Technological, Market and Organizational Change
• • Stickdorn, M. & Schneider, J. (2010). This is Service Design Thinking. Wiley.
• • Brown, T. & Kātz, B. (2009). Change by design. New York: Harper Business.
• • Osterwalder, A.& Pigneur, Y. (2010). Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers
• • Sutherland, J. (2014). Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time
• • Ries, E. (2011). The Lean Startup

Teaching Methodology: Methods, techniques, & activities

Activities and Teaching Methods

Activities within each section

Learning Activities	Section 1	Section 2	Section 3	Section 4
In-class assignment	1	1	1	1
Home assignment	1	1	1	1
Discussion	1	1	1	1
Presentation	1	1	1	1

Formative Assessment and Course Activities

Ongoing performance assessment

Section 1

Activity Type	Content	Is Graded?
Question	What is a startup?	1
Question	What are the roles within a team?	1
Question	How should you form the team of a startup?	1
Question	What types of leadership are the most effective?	1
Question	What are the ceremonies, roles and artifacts of SCRUM?	1

Section 2

Activity Type	Content	Is Graded?
Question	How to validate a problem?	1
Question	How to validate a market?	1
Question	How to validate a solution?	1
Question	How customers do their jobs in the industry right now?	0
Question	How can we develop the empathy with users?	0
Question	What is a persona? How to design a persona?	0

Section 3

Activity Type	Content	Is Graded?
Question	What is the value of the business model canvas by Alexander Osterwalder?	1
Question	What are the components of the business model?	1
Question	What is the Minimum Viable Product (MVP)? How to define must-have, should-have and could-have requirements?	1
Question	Please, develop the business model for your tech product.	0
Question	Please, test your business model using experiments with your prototypes.	0
Question	Please, create the concept for your Minimum Viable Product.	0

Section 4

Activity Type	Content	Is Graded?
Question	What are the main parts of a story?	1
Question	What are the sources of investment?	1
Question	What is a pitch? What makes a great pitch?	1
Question	Please, prepare the pitch for potential investors.	0
Question	Write a plan how to develop a business network.	0
Question	Make a story for your product or brand.	0

Final assessment

Section 1

1. Fill in the team canvas to put all your goals and common values on one page. *Use Miro Tool

Section 2

1. Define INTERESTING industries for all team members. Define industries in which you HAVE KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE. Put these industries on the matrix. Choose ONE industry for your project that meets 2 criteria above. *Use Miro Tool
2. Brainstorm about stakeholders from your market. Choose the segment that you sympathise the most. *Use Miro Tool
3. Define the customer segment you empathise the most (i.e. elderly people, children, office workers etc.). Define JOBS TO BE DONE. Put each job on the separate sticker. Define user's PAINS. Put each pain on the separate sticker.Define user's GAINS. Put each gain on the separate sticker. *Use Miro Tool
4. Brainstorm what products you can offer to the chosen segment with their pains or gains. If you are stuck, use SCAMPER techniques.Group ideas that have the similar topic into clusters. Choose 1 top idea for further development based on 2 defined criteria (innovative potential and feasibility). *Use Miro Tool
5. Choose the best product idea. Define PRODUCTS & SERVICES. Put each item on the separate sticker. Define GAIN CREATORS. Put each item on the separate sticker. Define PAIN RELIEVERS. Put each item on the separate sticker. *Use Miro Tool
6. Review your pain relievers and gain creators.Check if pain relievers and gain creators correspond with JBDs, pains and gains from the customer profile. Highlight those that correspond with each other. If there are any pain relievers and gain creators are left, they don't create the value for a customer. Check how you can redefine you value proposition. *Use Miro Tool
7. Define your 5 main competitors. Define competing factors (these are your pain relievers and gain creators). Draw the strategic canvas based on competing factors. Define areas where you can compete. Redefine your value proposition if necessary (make new priorities for product and services, pain relievers, gain creators. *Use Miro Tool

Section 3

1. Formulate all blocks of the business model for your business idea. *Use Miro Tool
2. Define the forces that shape your business environment. *Use Miro Tool
3. Define must-have, should-have and could have requirements for your product. *Use Miro Tool

Section 4

1. Create a story for your product. Think about your user as a hero and your product as a helper.
2. 2. 1 Late Submission Policy
3. This policy will be strictly applied in this course. If a personal emergency should arise that affects your ability to turn in an assignment in a timely fashion, you must contact the course instructor BEFORE the deadline to get a “Special Late Submission Approval” from the course instructor. Without the “Special Late Submission Approval” submissions will be still accepted up to 48 hours late, but with a 50% penalty. No “Special Late Submission Approval” will be granted after the deadline. All late submissions should be submitted by email directly to the instructors.
4. 2. 2 Cooperation Policy and Quotations

The retake exam

Section 1

Section 2

Section 3

Section 4