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 asking you to describe your motivatoin for attending this event if you already have a start-up idea, or if you are already experienced with entrepreneurship.
Lecturers:
- Dr. oec., Dr. rer. soc. Yuan Yao: Studienstiftung Alumna, former UN Youth Delegate of Switzerland, serial entrepreneur (18 years of entrepreneurship experience) and professional chef. Yuan has been teaching entrepreneurship for the past 14 years.
- Dr. iur. Thomas Zweifel, LL.M.: Attorney-at-Law and Partner at CMS von Erlach Poncet Ltd.
Guest Speaker:
- Nicholas Hänny: Co-Founder and CEO of the Swiss sustainable apparel brand NIKIN. Together with his team, he has grown NIKIN into one of Switzerland’s most recognized purpose-driven brands, combining entrepreneurship, sustainability and community building. He is passionate about innovation, circular business models and building brands with long-term impact.
Location: Zurich
Timeplan: Friday 14:00 to Sunday 18:00
Working language: English
Direction: Dr. Dr. Yuan Yao, discover more about her in this podcast (German) -> Link
Coordination: Dr. Sandra Bastelberger
Administration: Nathalie Ellington
Number of participants: max. 20
Readings: Required readings and articles will be provided during class.
Further recommended readings:
Blank, S. (2013). The Four Steps to the Epiphany: Successful Strategies for Products that Win. California: K&S Ranch.
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.
Fitzpatrick, R. (2013). The Mom Test: How to Talk to Customers and Learn if Your Business is a Good Idea when Everyone is Lying to You. California: Foundercentric.
Fried, J. & Heinemeier Hansson, D. (2010). Rework. New York: Crown Business.
Fried, J. & Heinemeier Hansson, D. (2018). It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work. New York: Harper Business.
Gladwell, M. (2008). Outliers: The Story of Success. Boston: Little, Brown & Company.
Godin, S. (2003). Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable. New York: Portfolio.
Guillebeau, C. (2012). The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future. New York: Crown Business.
Horowitz, B. (2014). The Hard Thing about Hard Things. USA: Harper Collins.
Kaplan, J. (1996). Startup: A Silicon Valley Adventure. New York: Penguin.
Kawasaki, G. (2004). The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything. New York: Portfolio.
Kelley, T. & Kelley, D. (2013). Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All. New York: Crown Business.
Krass, P. (ed). (1999). Book of Entrepreneurs’ Wisdom: Classic Writings by Legendary Entrepreneurs. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Maurya, A. (2012). Running Lean: Iterate from Plan A to a Plan that Works. Sebastopol: O’Reilly Media.
Osterwalder, A. & Pigneur, Y. (2010). Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.
Pink, D.H. (2012). To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others. New York: Riverhead Books.
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.
Sinek, S. (2009). Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action. New York: Portfolio.
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.
Wasserman, N. (2012). The Founder’s Dilemmas: Anticipating and Avoiding the Pitfalls that Can Sink a Startup. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
More Book Recommendations here.
Deadline inscription: Sunday, July 26 2026
