Entrepreneurial Investments

Abstract

How do we think about innovation and the diffusion of innovation, from the perspective of an investor ? When a new technology emerges, how do we separate hype from viability?This course is designed for ETHZ students interested in best practice investment strategies that address the important challenges of our times, by incorporating financial, environmental, social and governance objectives.

Objective

The objective of this course is to help students obtain a solid understanding of the dynamics governing the early stages in the diffusion of new and emerging technologies as a decisive tool for efficiently orienting technology investments. The course helps strengthen student’s analytical thinking and problem-solving skills for investment decision-making with the aim of addressing the important global challenges and opportunities of our times.

Content

In this course, special focus will be placed on theoretical and empirical analysis of the economics of innovation and technology development. Entrepreneurship in this course is studied from the filter of an investor interested in financial as well as environmental, social and governance considerations. As such, this course is likewise of interest to ETHZ students interested in turning advanced research results into highly innovative, socially, economically and environmentally viable products and services, and financing them sustainably. Essential to any investment decision is knowledge and good understanding of the global investment environment. ETHZ scientists and engineers need to work within the priorities of the society in which they operate, and their expectations must be aligned with the opportunities and constraints emanating from the environmental, economic, social and political environment. This demands multi-disciplinarity. It requires bold thinking on technology development, and challenges students to effectively bridge the different cultures represented by multiple disciplines. Methodologies and tools presented throughout this course serve to help students gain the necessary skills and confidence to identify, evaluate and manage entrepreneurial risks and opportunities, and navigate the complexities of entrepreneurial investment decision making within multiple stakeholder settings and given multiple objectives. Both economic theory and empirical knowledge are critical for decision-making skills required to tackle entrepreneurial investment risks and opportunities. To that end, the first part of the course is dedicated to an intensive study of theoretical foundations of economic analysis applied to entrepreneurial investments. The multifaceted issues entrepreneurial investors face, as well as the essential mechanics of startup investing are also studied. The second part of the course is dedicated to real world experiences in entrepreneurial investments for sustainability. Students will be offered to meet with a startup/spinout that was financed by various early stage investors and learn from the experiences of the companies and their investors.

Resources