Technology and Entrepreneurship

Abstract

This course provides theoretical and practical insights into technology entrepreneurship. It focusses on the process of building new ventures from the idea to successfully scaling its business operations.! Please note, that in-person attendance is mandatory during the course times. For group work we also encourage you to work together in-person, however your group may decide individually.

Objective

Students will develop internationally scalable and technology‑based ventures using the Startup Navigator and ScaleUp Navigator Framework. They will learn how to structure and communicate these ideas to business angel and venture capital investors.

Content

This course provides theoretical and practical insights into technology entrepreneurship. It focusses on the process of building new ventures from the idea to successfully scaling its business operations. All tasks will lead students to give a complete pitch presentation in front of business experts and investors at the end of the seminar. The course structure will broadly follow the four dimensions of the St.Galler Startup NavigatorTM. The detailed program is listed here: https://ai.ethz.ch/education/courses/techentrepreneurship.html - Profiling (Problem‑Solution‑Fit): Here, students will learn to answer questions such as (1) what is your motivation to start a business? (2) What is the real customer problem? (2) What solution can be identified? (3) Who are the customers? (4) What is the job they need done? etc. - Prototyping (Product‑Market‑Fit): After this section, students will be able to answer questions such as (1) What is the product or service that solves a customer need? (2) What is the value proposition? (3) What is the unique selling proposition? (4) What is the go‑to market strategy? (5) Who are the competitors? etc. - Sourcing (Execution‑Fit): Here, students will learn to address questions such as (1) What are important team roles? (2) How to leverage network and partners? (3) What are the requirements to execute the business? (4) Are there any IP‑related challenges? (5) How may we co‑create with others? etc. - Scaling (Performance‑Fit): In this section, students will reflect their concept in terms of scalability. They will learn to answer questions such as (1) How do we create purpose‑driven culture for growth? (2) How do we scale‑up revenues? (3) How do we optimize our startupʹs valuation in Series‑X funding? (4) What kind of exit options are there? As a result, students develop internationally scalable and technology‑driven businesses in teams. The special focus lies on the ability to successfully pitch these ventures to business angels or venture capital investors.

Resources