Have you ever thought about creating your own business? Are you interested in working for a start-up, a Venture Capital Fund or a large company as an “intrapreneur“? If so, this practical and interdisciplinary seminar might be the ideal kick-start of your entrepreneurial journey.
This seminar is about how to transform prospective business ideas into successful early stage ventures. Students will learn how to assess business opportunities, articulate their vision, create a viable business model, obtain funding as well as the importance of sustainable partnerships.
The set-up of the course is two-fold: The first part focuses on key concepts that comprise the academic subject of “Entrepreneurship” to provide a solid theoretical foundation for discussion.
In the second part of the course, students are to develop an idea for a venture of their own choosing in small teams. Based on the previous learnings, students are required to compile a business plan including sales/marketing objectives as well as financial projections. This business plan then needs to be presented to a panel of “potential investors”, followed by a challenging Q&A session.
Please let us know in the comment field if you already have a start-up idea or if you are already experienced with entrepreneurship.
Location: Zurich
Timeplan: Friday 14:00 to Sunday 18:00
Working language: English
Lecturers:
- oec. Yuan Yao: Studienstiftung Alumna, former UN Youth Delegate of Switzerland, Ph.D. in “International Business”, serial entrepreneur (15 years of entrepreneurship experience) and professional chef. Yuan has been teaching entrepreneurship for the past 12 years and is currently pursuing her second PhD at the University of St.Gallen, where she researches the crossroads between food, migration and entrepreneurship.
- Thomas Zweifel, LL.M.: Attorney-at-Law and Senior Associate at CMS von Erlach Poncet Ltd.
Guest Speaker:
- Dominik Brumm: Founder and Head of Development at Cubera Solutions AG. Cubera creates mostly individual software solutions for mid-sized companies but is also often involved in experimental project ideas. Dominik began his entrepreneurial journey in his children’s room, where he started operating web servers in 1998. He now leads his development team from his desk, an airport, a mountain lodge or deep inside the jungle.
Direction: Dr. oec. Yuan Yao, discover more about her in this podcast (German) -> Link
Coordination: Sarah Beyeler
Administration: Nathalie Ellington
Number of participants: max. 20
Readings: Required readings and articles will be provided during class.
Further recommended readings:
Carnegie, D. (1936). How to win Friends and influence People. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Cullinane, J. (1993). The Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide: 101 Tips for Managing in Good Times & Bad. Illinois: Business One Irwin.
Ferriss, T. (2007). The 4h-Workweek. New York: Crown Publishing Group.
Gladwell, M. (2008). Outliers: The Story of Success. Boston: Little, Brown & Company.
Kaplan, J. (1996). Startup: A Silicon Valley Adventure. New York: Penguin.
Krass, P. (ed). (1999). Book of Entrepreneurs’ Wisdom: Classic Writings by Legendary Entrepreneurs. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Ries, E. (2011). The Lean Start-Up. New York: Crowd Publishing Group.
Sahlman, W. et al. (1999). The Entrepreneurial Venture. Boston, Mass.: Harvard Business School Press.
Stevenson, H., Roberts, M. & Grousbeck, H. (1998). New Business Ventures and the Entrepreneur. Boston: Irwin McGraw-Hill.
Timmons, J.A. (2004). New Venture Creation: Entrepreneurship for the 21st Century. Boston: Irwin McGraw-Hill.
Timmons, J.A., Zacharakis, A. & Spinelli, S. (2004). Business Plans that work: A Guide for Small Business. Boston: Irwin McGraw-Hill.
Von Pierer, H. & Von Oetinger, B. (ed.). (2002). A Passion for Ideas: How Innovators Create the New and Shape our World. Indiana: Purdue University Press.
