New business start-up

Launching a new business is a highly uncertain process. It starts with the discovery of an opportunity and unfolds through the development of a business model to exploit that opportunity. This course is meant to introduce students with theory, techniques and practice entrepreneurs can apply for managing the complexity of starting up a new business. The basic steps required to plan, start and run a new business will be covered. By applying a "learning by doing" approach and working on real cases, students will analyze opportunity identification, set a value proposition, collect evidence to validate their assumptions, and orchestrate all the needed resources to exploit a business opportunity. Traditional lectures will be combined with a strong link to the entrepreneurship eco-systems, to train students on how to develop a business plan. Students will also have the opportunity to take part of seminars, speeches from "insiders", public pitch sessions, crowdfunding campaigns.

By the end of the course, students will learn how to perform the distinct business planning activities throughout the steps of an entrepreneurial process. By applying agile working, lean business planning, tools for market and competitor analysis, trend-watching and data crunching, students will be able to understand how to create value for customers and investors, as well as for the other stakeholders involved. Moreover, they will acquire knowledge and skills to evaluate the potential of business initiatives, while managing risks and uncertainty and preventing failure. By working in teams, students will also develop collaborative attitudes, as well as self-assessment skills.