SOL23 Entrepreneurship

• Topics

  The course offers students practical experience in building a new venture and preparing this startup so it is ready for launch. The students will engage in the process of opportunity recognition and evaluation, mobilizing resources, and preparing to launch their project. Students have full discretion on the business opportunity they wish to pursue, however:

  • The startup should have the purpose to create impact
  • We encourage students to work on topics with a social/sustainability angle

  By the end of the semester, the students have developed a business plan that will be presented in the form of a pitch to a jury of experts. The projects the candidates deliver can be developed into real companies. We encourage the candidates to pursue their business ideas if deemed viable. The most promising initiatives might consider applying for the Norwegian Research Council’s Student Entrepreneurship Grant.

  This course will rely on collaboration with central actors in the Norwegian entrepreneurial ecosystem. In addition, each group will be assigned a mentor. These mentors are drawn from the NHH alumni pool and all have an affinity with entrepreneurship, either as an entrepreneur or resource provider for entrepreneurs. You have an opportunity to meet and interact with your mentor 3-4 times during the course (more meetings are possible but upon agreement with the mentor).

  The course is divided in a theoretical component and a practical component. In the theoretical component, we touch upon the following themes:

  • The Entrepreneurship Phenomenon
  • Entrepreneurial Intention
  • Entrepreneurial Mindset
  • Entrepreneurial Action
  • Entrepreneurship and Experimentation

  In the practical component, the students will engage in

  • Building an effective team
  • Ideation
  • Customer Exploration
  • Customer Validation
  • Business Model Experimentation
  • Presentation and Pitching

  The development of a business idea is a fun and exciting, but also challenging task. It requires teamwork, commitment, and dedication. It will require considerable amount of work outside traditional class hours, possibly some long nights of work together with your team.

• Learning outcome

  Knowledge -upon successful completion the student:

  • can demonstrate to have knowledge and understanding of central themes, theories, processes, tools and methodologies within entrepreneurship.
  • understands the uncertain nature of entrepreneurship and can related to academic knowledge in how to respond to this uncertainty.
  • has knowledge on how different actors in the entrepreneurial ecosystem can contribute to the success of a new business.

  Skills -upon successful completion the student:

  • respond effectively in environments that are characterized as uncertain.
  • apply new ideas, methods, and ways of thinking to improve the performance of the businesses they engage with.
  • design strategies for pursuing, exploiting and further developing of new business opportunities. 
  • locate, select, and mobilize relevant resources to pursue exploit and further develop a business opportunity.
  • reflect on their own entrepreneurial practice and be aware of one’s personal strength and weaknesses.

  General Competence -upon successful completion the student:

  • plan and execute a variety of tasks and projects that extend over time, alone and in a diverse group of individuals.
  • communicate effectively in writing, orally and through other relevant forms of expression.
  • exchange views and experiences with others with backgrounds in the field or organization theory and thereby contribute to the development of good practice.
  • consider the ethical and sustainability issues and responsibilities that entrepreneurs and managers must take into account when making decision

• Teaching

  The course is divided in two components: a theoretical component and a practical component.

  The theoretical component the candidates are introduced to the fundamentals of entrepreneurship, what entrepreneurship is, what roles entrepreneurship plays in society, and challenges entrepreneurs face when setting up their business and how to overcome these challenges. This component exists out of a series of weekly seminar sessions, consisting out of a combination of lectures, case-study discussions, and guest lectures.

  In the practical component the student will be placed in a diverse group of three to five people and develop and implement their own business idea. The starting point for this component is an "Idea Day" where different problem owners, which include public and private organizations, present an array of sustainability challenges that serve as inspiration for the students. The groups subsequently decide the problem they want to work on. Here we start with our 100-day countdown.

  While working on their business ideas, the students will participate in a series of workshops that assist them in developing the business idea, mobilizing relevant resources, building a business model, and a pitching bootcamp. The groups are assigned an academic supervisor as well as a mentor from the NHH- Alumni mentor-pool.

  At the end of the course, the students present their project in front of an expert jury consisting out of entrepreneurs, investors, and academics.

• Recommended prerequisites

  Interest in the topic of entrepreneurship. Basic knowledge on organization, marketing, finance and strategy is considered helpful, but not required.

• Required prerequisites

  We expect that students have completed 60 ECTS in coursework before enrolling in this course. 

• Compulsory Activity

  This is a highly participatory and hands-on course and requires the students to be actively involved in the class sessions, whether in-class or external. All activities are deigned to provide practical contexts for students to better understanding the topics and themes covered during lectures. Therefore, there is a high emphasis on activity-based learning.

  Consequently, the course approval is based on the following:

  • Theoretical component
    • attendance is mandatory for all course activities*
    • in-class participation (based on engagement)
    • take home essay (max 3 pages, pass/fail)
  • Practical component
    • Participation in the idea day
    • Attendance in the workshops is mandatory*
    • Attendance in the course presentation session is required
  • As soon as the team is formed, you are expected to stick with your team. Leaving the team, at any time during the course, means that you will not obtain course approval.

  *While I may grant permission to miss class for personal reasons, you need to ask for permission in advance. A student missing more than two sessions across the without prior approval will fail the course.

• Assessment

  The course will consist out of the following evaluation moments:

  • Group-based project report (80%)
  • Group-based oral presentation (20%) 

  Group size can vary between 3-5 people.

• Grading Scale

  A-F

• Literature

  Main Textbook: TBA

  Additional material: uploaded on Canvas