Developing Innovative Ideas for New Companies: The First Step in Entrepre

Developing Innovative Ideas for New Companies: The First Step in Entrepreneurship
by Dr. James V. Green

Syllabus

Overview

This course assists aspiring entrepreneurs in developing great ideas into great companies. With strong economies presenting rich opportunities for new venture creation, and challenging economic times presenting the necessity for many to make their own job, the need to develop the skills to develop and act on innovative business opportunities is increasingly vital.

Using proven content, methods, and models for new venture opportunity assessment and analysis, students will learn how to identify and analyze entrepreneurial opportunities. Value propositions, customer segments, strategic alliances, and business modeling are core elements taught in the course. The initial steps to creating a business plan, and raising financial capital to launch the firm, are examined as well.

Prerequisites

This introductory course is designed for those interested in learning about innovative idea generation and new venture creation, and does not require a background in business or any specific area. A desire to build your knowledge and capabilities are the only requirements for entry.

Course Structure

• Videos - Our format will consist of 6 to 12 video lectures per week. 
• Weekly Assessments - Each week, there are assessment activities that will provide you with opportunities to integrate and apply learnings from that week’s content. These assessments should be completed by the end of the week, after you have viewed all of the video lectures.

Readings

Our recommended text is the "The Opportunity Analysis Canvas" by James V. Green. It is available for $4.99 as an ebook. For the ePub version for Apple's iPad and other ePub readers, click here. For the Mobi version for Amazon's Kindle and the free Kindle reader for computers, click here. For Windows, we suggest a an Adobe PDF version available here. For students without a credit card or a preference for PayPal, click here.

Grading & Verified Certificates

Details of the deliverables and grading are noted in the schedule below. The opening survey and closing survey are worth 2% each. The end of week deliverables are worth 10% to 20% each as listed in the schedule. 

These end-of-week assessments with multiple choice, true-false, numeric, and/or short answer responses. For each assignment, you may submit your responses up to 3 times. The highest score achieved will be the final score for that assignment. 

Assignments turned in after the deadline will receive a 5% per day late penalty for up to 7 days, after which time no credit will be given.

Students who earn a grade of at least 70%, and who register for Signature Track before the last week of the course, will receive a Verified Certificate. Students who earn a grade of at least 90% will receive the added designation "with Distinction". You are free to follow the course without completing the assignments or final project, or without registering for Signature Track, but you will not receive a Verified Certificate. 

This course only offers a Verified Certificate. It will not offer the Statement of Accomplishment. You can start verifying your work for free and pay anytime before the final week of the course. Coursera Financial Aid is also available for learners with limited economic means. To earn a Verified Certificate learners must earn a final grade greater than or equal to 70% and register for Signature Track. You can register for Signature Track up until the final week if and only if you begin the free trial when you submit your first assignment. If you don't begin the free trial you can still register by the midpoint of the course.

If you complete the course without verifying your work, you will still earn a completion grade on your Course Records page. For more information, see our announcement titled “Verified Certificate Policy For This Course” or read more about Coursera Accomplishments in the Learner Help Center.

Questions

If you have questions, please do not contact the instructor directly, as with thousands of students responses to all emails are unlikely. As a more effective approach, the course includes online Q&A forums where students can post and respond to questions. This will go live in parallel with the first lectures. The teaching team will periodically monitor these forums, so that important questions not answered by other students will be addressed.

Schedule

Sessions	Topics and Readings	Assignments
Week One:  Introduction to Innovation and Entrepreneurship Starts: December 1	Welcome Course overview What is entrepreneurship? Who is an entrepreneur?                     Entrepreneurship, creativity, and innovation The world's most innovative companies Types of innovation Entrepreneurs and strategic decisions The Opportunity Analysis Canvas           Readings for Week One: The Opportunity Analysis Canvas - Chapter 1	Assignment 1A: Opening Survey (2%)  Assignment 1B: Entrepreneurial Perspective (18%) Due: December 7
Week Two:   Entrepreneurial Mindset, Motivations, and Behaviors  Starts: December 8	Introduction to entrepreneurial mindset, motivations, and behaviors Entrepreneurial mindset Entrepreneurial motivations                      Entrepreneurial behaviors Risk taking in entrepreneurial decision-making Risk, uncertainty, and stakeholder involvement           Readings for Week Two: The Opportunity Analysis Canvas - Chapters 2, 3, and 4	Assignment 2: Entrepreneurial Mindset, Motivations, and Behaviors (18%) Due: December 14
Week Three:   Industry Understanding Starts: December 15	Introduction to industry understanding Knowledge conditions Demand conditions Industry lifecycle Industry structure Competitive advantage Learning curve Complementary assets Reputation effects           Readings for Week Three: The Opportunity Analysis Canvas - Chapters 5, 6, and 8	Assignment 3: Industry Analysis (18%) Due: December 21
Week Four:   Customer Understanding and Business Modeling Starts: December 22	Introduction to customer understanding Macro changes that increase new venture opportunities Exploring real market needs Satisfying real market needs Strategic positioning  Strategic planning Value innovation Opportunity identification Business modeling           Readings for Week Four: The Opportunity Analysis Canvas - Chapter 7-11           Software for authoring business plans is available here.	Assignment 4A: Customer Analysis (18%) Assignment 4B: Business Plan Evaluation (24%) Assignment 4C: Closing Survey (2%) Due: December 28
Bonus Material:	Developing business models and business plans
Next Steps:	Coursera's Entrepreneurship Specialization by the University of Maryland explores the next steps to new venture creation, launch, and growth.