Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Startup (BØK385)

In this course students will join toghether in small groups to make a business plan. Making a business plan is a kind of summary of many of the other courses that a bachelor student has taken.

The "Disciplined Entrepreneurship Workbook" describes 24 steps that the student groups will use and present during the course. The topics are:

- Who is your customer?

- What can you do for your customer)

- How does your customer acquire your product?

- How do you make money from your product?

- How do you design and build your product?

- How do you scale your business?

The information from working with the 24 steps should incorporated in a business plan and form the basis of the oral presentation and defense.

Knowledge

Upon completion of the course, students will:

• have a theoretical and practical understanding of how research or knowledge-based businesses are created and how ideas can form the basis for specific businesses based on the Disciplined Entrepreneurship method. This includes both new start-ups and the growth of existing companies, including:

- How ideas or research can become commercialized and turned into a business

- What characterizes a successful start-up company including Business Plan objectives and structure using a Business Model

- Methods and techniques for investigating market needs and potential demand

- Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) or "intellectual property" as a strategic tool for business development

- Valuation, financing strategy and sources.

Skills

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:

• Prepare a business plan
• Evaluate the potential of different business ideas
• Clarify the product or the service function for customers/users, customer value and cost estimates
• Perform a financial analysis, profitability analysis and risk analysis and identify resource requirements
• Prepare and perform a presentation for investors

Fagperson(er)

Study Program Director:

Course coordinator:

Course teacher:

The workload is estimated to be 270 hours for the average student (approximately 30 hours of lectures, five hours of presentations, 200 hours of reading material and writing on the 24 steps that will be developed into a business plan, 40 hours preparing for an oral exam with presentation and defense.) Instruction is provided through three hour sessions. A schedule will be available at course start. Between sessions, participants must work on their business plan independently in their groups. Students will receive guidance from lecturers in class or by submitting presentations / business  plans in progress. Submissions of work in progress is voluntary but needed in order to receive feedback, as well as comments in class.

The sessions will be organized as a combination of lectures, group discussions and group presentations. During the course, guest speakers will be used who are specialists in their fields.

It is a requirement that students work together in a group of 3 or 4., and we encourage interdisciplinary groups.

The final grade for the submitted business plan (and the defense) will be determined on the basis of the formal quality of the business plan, i.e. how well it has been documented, how well the choices made have been argued for, and how the analyzes have been conducted.The assessment includes questions whether the result is feasible and reliable? Does it have a coherent and connected "story" from the introduction to the budget and conclusion? It is the group's responsibility to identify a project or idea for the business plan. However, the lecturer will be able to assist in identifying appropriate projects.