Taught by Mukesh Sud
What are the key ingredients that drive success in startups? How do entrepreneurs capitalize on new ideas and bring them to market? How is an entrepreneurial mindset different from a managerial one?
This course will engage with these and other key questions. From it students will gain valuable insight into how entrepreneurs start companies and probe the unique vision that often accompanies a successful venture. The course examines how an entrepreneurial mindset enables identifying and exploiting opportunities and pursuing a lifestyle of your choice. We will also discuss how entrepreneurs deal with uncertainty and learn from failure. The course is organized around modules.
We will begin by investigating some of the common myths surrounding entrepreneurship and identify the risks and opportunities associated with new venture creation. We will also examine the differences between an entrepreneurial and managerial mindset across a range of dimensions. This will be followed by studying the concept of effectuation i.e. how entrepreneurs often take decisions based on who they are/ what they know/whom they know. The course engages with opportunity recognition behavior to understand how entrepreneurs see patterns that help them connect the dots. There is a module around execution that will examine vastly different business models.
We will also delve into the foundations of entrepreneurship. In this students will learn the legal entity start-ups can adopt and key concepts associated with business and startups. This will be followed by cases on how ventures are financed both conventionally (equity and debt) and through crowdsourcing.
During the course, we will examine social and professional networks and how entrepreneurs leverage OPR (other people’s resources). We will engage with failure and why entrepreneurs embrace failure while treating it as a learning for their next iteration. The course will conclude by questioning whether entrepreneurship should be confined to establishing and running a venture or can be a mindset that students follow throughout their lives.
