The Entrepreneurship program provides a resource to enhance the educational and professional opportunities of the School of Management students through experiential learning.  The curriculum will consist of a series of integrated courses including a course in new product marketing, a course in venture capital and new business finance and a course in business plan development.  Students will leverage the research and analytical capabilities provided by the program with emphasis on developing an idea into a viable business opportunity. The focus in these courses is on the identification and evaluation of new venture opportunities, the development of effective business plans, and the financing, establishment and operation of new businesses. The classes will simulate the experiences that entrepreneurs undergo during the process of launching a new business.

The format of the classes will include case studies, lectures, guest speakers, and self-assessment and group exercises.  Students will be divided into teams that will prepare and present proposed business plans to their entire class, and then to entrepreneurs who will function as judges.  Faculty members and entrepreneurs will assist students in their research, discussions and presentation preparation. The entrepreneur judges will typically be alumni of the School of Management who are working on Wall Street as venture capitalists, along with local business owners and managers.  Course grades will be determined on the basis of faculty evaluation of reports, presentations, class participation, and assessment by peers and business professionals.

In order to fulfill the requirements of the concentration in entrepreneurship, students must complete the standard core curriculum for the management degree option and the following three undergraduate courses:

This course will cover topics involved with raising capital for new and growing businesses. Topics include venture capital, private placements, initial public offering (IPO), mezzanine debt, preferred stock, warrants, and other forms of new venture financing. We will cover the information you will need to be a venture capitalist or private equity investor. If your interest is more as an entrepreneur, you will find this class invaluable at teaching you how to seek venture capital investments and how to talk VC's languages and meet their expectations.

MKTG 325-New Product Marketing

Explores strategic aspects of new product management, and the issues relating to the process of new product development for sustained future growth.

ENT 460-Entrepreneurship

Investigation of the components, tools and practices of entrepreneurship. Focuses on identifying new venture opportunities; evaluating the viability of a new venture; writing a business plan; building a "E-team" that possesses the attributes necessary for success; financing, starting and operating a business; and creating liquidity for shareholders.

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