!BAEN 506 & APSC 541

!

Technology Entrepreneurship ! COURSE INFORMATION Instructors: Paul Cubbon [email protected]

Teaching Assistants:

Tamara Etmannski

Jay Rhind

[email protected]

Fraser Pogue

David Miller

Jamie McAllister

[email protected] Course duration: Jan 6th to April 13th Office hours: by appointment

Classroom location: DL 009/005 (at back of Sauder’s Henry Angus Building, below and behind the Triple O’s,) unless otherwise noted.

Term/period: Winter Term / MBA P3&P4

Class meeting times: Wednesday 6-9:30pm Course website: We will use a private course blog – registered students will be autosubscribed. BRIEF COURSE DESCRIPTION This course provides an experienced-based exposure to the process of starting technology-based entrepreneurial ventures. The course is suitable for students interested in finding out about the process of launching start-ups, and the multiple challenges associated with it. The main project is to develop an investor-ready pitch to investors about a start-up opportunity that is identified by a team of students. This course is hosted jointly between the Sauder School of Business and the Faculty of Applied Sciences and is also open to entrepreneurial-minded student across UBC that are enrolled at master, PhD or postdoc levels. The course harnesses Steve Blank’s Lean Launch Pad methodologies. COURSE GOALS This course provides students with an experience-based introduction into the process of starting a technology company. It is a real life immersion into the process that founders go through when starting a high-tech company. Student will be faced with the key issues involved in evaluating market opportunities, designing profitable business models, producing a solid business plan, raising capital, !

"!1!"!!

!BAEN 506 & APSC 541

!

Technology Entrepreneurship ! and developing a winning team. Students will gain the skills and tools to creatively commercialize high tech research into profitable businesses. All venture ideas are subject to Instructor approval.

PROGRAM GOALS MBA Critical Thinking Analytical Decision-making Integration Business Writing Oral Presentation Skills Ethics Sustainability

LEARNING & ASSESSMENT ALIGNMENT Students will learn to 1.! Learn the essential component of planning a new start-up, including a.! Recognizing viable market opportunities b.! Customer discovery via primary market research c.! Creating a profitable business model and an executable business plan d.! Protecting the intellectual property at the heart of their technology company e.! Developing financial projections that are aligned with the fundamental of the proposed business plan 2.! Integrate creative business strategies with solid engineering and effectively work in multi-disciplinary teams 3.! Make decisions in highly uncertain and unstructured environments, and take in feedback from a large variety of sources that use it to improve their business plans, or help them to ‘pivot’ and find alternative ideas or approaches

!

"!2!"!!

!BAEN 506 & APSC 541

!

Technology Entrepreneurship ! 4.! Pitch their product, strategy and team to experienced entrepreneurs and investors Learning Objectives “Students will be able to …” 1.! Learn to build a business plan 2.!

3.! 4.! 5.!

Assessment Details See weekly schedule for timings and detailed breakdown Final Presentation: 30% (team, one deliverable) This assignment helps students to meet all course learning objectives, and is the focal point of the entire class project.

A.! Interim Presentation: 20% (team) This presentation is an important stepping stone towards the final goal of the final Work with students from other disciplines presentation. Students will be particularly challenged in terms of learning objectives 3 and 4. on technology business plans Assignments: 40% (team, 3 assignments plus the weekly Use feedback blog documentation of activity.) The regular assignments constructively allow students to develop their presentations, and strengthen their fundamental business ideas. Students will be Learn to pitch. particularly challenged in terms of learning objectives 3, 4 Become more capable and 5. at undertaking qualitative market Class participation: 10% (individual) research. Students will be expected to participate both as an individual as well as through group presentations. Students will be expected to attend ALL class and where they are unable to attend to notify the teaching staff ahead of time. Any absence over and above one excused absence (agreed in writing before class) will affect the course grade. Missing more than 2 classes will result in a failing grade and/or being required to withdraw from the course. Where we have speakers in class, it is expected that students are prepared and interaction with guests will be evaluated as part of participation. On several occasions we will have short pitches where teams are expected to deliver a short pitch that focuses on one aspect of their business. These will focus on teams presenting their hypotheses via the b-model canvas, outlining their test plans to validate, kill or pivot on these hypotheses, and then reporting back on the research findings and interpretations. Performance for these short pitches will count towards your class participation grade,

!

"!3!"!!

!BAEN 506 & APSC 541

!

Technology Entrepreneurship ! and is separate from the formal presentations in c6 and c12. The class participation grades are based on individual performance; all other grades are based on group performance. However, there may be differential grades within teams, based on performance during presentations, and based on the peer feedback performed at the end of term (details below). Detailed assignment briefings will be posted to the course blog. COURSE MATERIALS & REQUIREMENTS Reading Materials: You are not required to buy any books for this course. However, we do expect you to come to classes prepared, and we will be referring to concepts from the following books. It is a good idea to have one copy of each in the team to refer to. As a minimum, you should peruse the free online resources that are available to support much of this material. Blank, Steve and Dorf, Bob: The Startup Owner's Manual: The Step-By-Step Guide for Building a Great Company , K&S Ranch Press, 2012 http://amzn.to/14IllSY This is a good value buy. It may be available in the UBC bookstore, but is not specifically ordered for this course, in part because many students have preferred a digital copy with instant access. Please obtain directly, before the course. You can read the first few chapters by way of preparation. •!

And/or review the slides posted on steveblank.com and the videos in the related Udacity course (free access with free sign-up.)!https://www.udacity.com/course/how-to-build-astartup--ep245 •! Osterwalder, Alexander, and Yves Pigneur. Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers: Wiley, 2010. ISBN: 978-0470876411 Many business students will have seen this. It is also in the Sauder Lam library. We will cross-reference this extensively. There are also free resources online. You can download the first 72 pages for free, and should familiarize yourself with this if it is new to you. http://www.businessmodelgeneration.com/book •! “Value Proposition Design” is Osterwalder’s latest book (Oct 2014) http://www.amazon.ca/Value-Proposition-Design-ProductsCustomers/dp/1118968050 and drills deep on the challenging but critical fit between customer segments and value propositions. We will use a number of

!

"!4!"!!

!BAEN 506 & APSC 541

!

Technology Entrepreneurship ! tools from this text. Some free information here: http://www.businessmodelgeneration.com/canvas/vpc Rob Fitzpatrick.!“The Mom Test: How to talk to customers & learn if your business is a good idea when everyone is lying to you.” http://www.amazon.com/dp/1492180742/ref=r_soa_w_d Paperback or digital download.

!

Further optional readings: more will be added to the course blog, but these will get you started. 1.! “My opportunity: why will or won’t this work?” Chapter 1 of The New Business Road Test, by John Mullins, Prentice Hall, 1-23. http://web.stanford.edu/group/techventures/resources/Ch1-Title%20Page.pdf 2.! “The Art of the Start” or any posts by Guy Kawasaki, http://blog.guykawasaki.com/venture_capital/ (up to 2009) and then check out http://www.garage.com/ 3.! “The Founder's Dilemma” by Noam Wasserman: whole book or summary here: https://hbr.org/2008/02/the-founders-dilemma/ar/1 COURSE STRUCTURE (Teaching and Learning Activities) The course is taught in a “flipped classroom” format, with small group exercises, and informal feedback sessions. This requires that you come to classes prepared, a) by doing the relevant directed readings, b) by undertaking the weekly work on customer discovery (interviews) and related work, and documenting progress on your team blogs, which will be provided to you. Central to the course is the development of a business model, technical approach and roadmap, go-to-market strategy and financial projections, and presentation of this to a panel of outside experts. The time requirement for this class is very heavy. Students should be prepared to dedicate a minimum of 10-15 hours per week in order to sufficiently prepare for classes and external presentations. OTHER INFORMATION Choice of business ideas Each student team will pick its own business ideas. It is common for teams to start with several ideas, and then to change to another idea at a later stage, or to at least significantly pivot or narrow from one of the original ideas. You will be encouraged to pick something disruptive and viable.

!

"!5!"!!

!BAEN 506 & APSC 541

!

Technology Entrepreneurship ! Peer evaluations At a graduate level it is expected that all students are equally committed and conscientious. We undertake peer evaluations at the interim and final stages and will take this information into account in the following ways: a)! at the interim stage to give formative feedback to any individuals seen by their team to be significantly under-contributing; b)! at the end of the course to make any downward reductions in grades. There will be no upward movements. Individual students should make all reasonable efforts to contribute and to ensure that communications are positive within the team. Any concerns within a team should be addressed, where possible, by the team, as early as possible. The T.A.s are a good source of help here, before you get to the instructors. Ideally, we will not have to make any grade changes. However, free-riding is not acceptable, and everyone must earn their grade. IP and ownership This is a short course and the primary intent is to help you learn a process for starting a venture. It is recommended that teams draw up a simple written note of mutual understanding, outlining that they each have an equal share of the input and output of the venture during the course. This should be re-visited at the end of the course and revised. Typically, at the end of the course there is an idea but no value. Everyone has an equal share of nothing. If one or more team members then want to pursue the idea further and add value in creating a venture, they should be free to do so. SCHEDULE The preliminary outline of the class-by-class schedule is subject to change. This is subject to change. All updates will be posted to the course blog.

!

"!6!"!!

!BAEN 506 & APSC 541

!

Technology Entrepreneurship !

Week! Date!

Main!Theme!

Time!

Guest! speaker!/! Lecturer!

Detailed!Themes!

6:00%7:15"

Guest:" Geordie" Rose""

Why"consider" entrepreneurship?"

"rolling""15" min"breaks"

Present"initial"ideas"%3"teams"in" parallel"

""

Intro"customer"discovery"tools:" VP"canvas,"developing" hypotheses,"customer" interviewing"(who,"what,"how)," day"in"the"life"of"customer"maps""

Opportunity" 7:30%8:45" Identification." 1" 06%Jan" Customer" discovery"and" product%market"fit" 8:45"%" 9:30" "" 6:00%7:15"

Opportunity" Assessment." 2" 13%Jan" Customer" validation." Product"market"fit"

!

"" "

Grading!

Slide"deck"on"3" initial"" problem/opportunity" "" areas"and" hypotheses"to"test"%" brief"format"Dec"2"

"" Opportunity"assessment." Validating"pains/gains.""""Market" sizing."

7:15%8:30"

"rolling""15" min"breaks"

Internal"presentations"

8:35"%" 9:30"

""

Tools:"maps"on"external" ecosystem"and"internal"buyer" decision"process."

"!7!"!!

Deliverables:!! weekly!to!blog!for! formative! feedback!

Value"proposition"&" customer"segment" hypotheses"for"lead" idea(s)"validated"by" "" primary"research" interviews."Day"in" the"life"maps."

!BAEN 506 & APSC 541

!

Technology Entrepreneurship ! "" 6:00%7:15" 3" 20%Jan" Business"Models" 7:15%8:30" 8:35"%" 9:30" "" 6:00%7:15" Go%to%Market" Strategy"and" 4" 27%Jan" Customer" Development"

5" 03%Feb"

!

7:30%8:30"

8:35"%" 9:30" "" " 6:00%7:15" Managing*IP*&* tech*roadmap*

7:30%8:30"

"!8!"!!

"" "

"" ""business"model"types,"mash% ups"and"disruption"%"revenue" implications"

"rolling""15" min"breaks"

Internal"presentations"

""

Tools:"pass%fail"test"design"for" customer"validation"

""Value"proposition" discovery"for"lead" idea"and"3"maps:"1)" Day"in"the"life"of" customer:"before"&" "" after"2)"customer" ecosystem,"3)" internal"buyer" influence" "

"" Guest:"Eric" " Sales"models" Winsborrow""

"

Channels"and"implications"for" margins"and"costs."Customer" acquisition"programs."

" Documented* interviews*and* interpretation*on* pass/fail*tests.* Market*sizing.*

""

""

Progress"report"&"feedback"

""

"B%model"design"and" "" IP"Strategy"&"commercialization" strategy"outline." "" Draft"RHS"b%model" Building"a"technology"roadmap" canvas."

" "

!BAEN 506 & APSC 541

!

Technology Entrepreneurship !

"

6" 10%Feb" Gate"1"

""

"" !!Break!

""

!!

Financial" 7" 09%Mar" Projections"&" Prototyping"intro"

FInancial" Projections"&" 8" 16%Mar" Prototyping" workshop" !

8:35"%" 9:30"

""

Progress"report"&"feedback"""""""""

""

""

""

6:00%9:00"

Panel"of" outside" judges"

""

""

9%9.30"

""

Interim" iPeer"

""

!!

!!

6:00%7:15"

""

7:30%8:30"

""

8:35"%" 9:30"

""

6:00%7:15"

""

7:30%8:30"

""

8:35"%" 9:30"

""

"!9!"!!

External" Presentation"(Gate" Presentations"in"several"parallel" 1)"RHS"of"canvas," rooms" including"pricing" and"customer" Informal"feedback" acquisition,"and" provisional" "Picking"up"the"pieces"" technical"approach" and"roadmap." mid%term"blog" "" grading" interim!iPeer:!Feb! !! 12! Pivot"and"updated" Financial"projections" b%model"canvas.! "Prototyping"1" Workplan!for! period.""""IP" strategy"and"MVP" Informal"feedback" spec."Technology" roadmap%v2." Financial"projections"workshop" Financial" "Prototyping"2" Projections"1""""""" Prototype:"demo"v1" ""

20"

5" ""

10"

""

!BAEN 506 & APSC 541

!

Technology Entrepreneurship ! "" "" 6:00%7:15" Left"Hand"Side"of" 7:30%8:30" 9" 23%Mar" Canvas" 8:35"%" 9:30"

10" 30%Mar" Venture"capital"

" "" "" ""

"" partners"activities,"resources" "Prototyping"3"

""

Pulling"it"all"together"%"exercise"

6:00%7:15"

Guest:"" (tbc)"

Introduction"to"VC"

7:30%8:30"

""

Review"of"financial%identifying" gaps""

8:35"%" 9:30"

""

Valuation"exercise"

""

30"min"slot"with"Instructor," followed"by"30"min"coaching" with"T.A."

6%9.30" 11" 06%Apr" Dry"Run"

Final" 12" 13%Apr" Presentation"

"" "" "" !

" " ""

""

one"team" at"a"time"

""

""

All"day"%9" to"9"

Panel"of" outside" judges"

50"min"slots"

""

Teams"only"attend"their"timeslot"

(parallel" sessions)" "Final" iPeer" "" "!10!"!!

" "" ""

"" ""

Financial" projections"2""""""" Positioning"and" pitching"the"team."""

10"

Validating"the" business"model."" 10" Prototype"demo"v2." Dry"Run:" opportunity,"need" and"size."Technical" solution"and" roadmap."Go"to" market"plan." Financials."Team."" The"ask."

""

Final"Presentations"

30"

Participation"

10"

Final"blog"grading" TOTAL!

5" 100!

!BAEN 506 & APSC 541

!

Technology Entrepreneurship ! COURSE INFORMATION Instructors: Paul Cubbon [email protected]

Teaching Assistants:

Tamara Etmannski

Jay Rhind

[email protected]

Fraser Pogue

David Miller

Jamie McAllister

[email protected] Course duration: Jan 6th to April 13th Office hours: by appointment

Classroom location: DL 009/005 (at back of Sauder’s Henry Angus Building, below and behind the Triple O’s,) unless otherwise noted.

Term/period: Winter Term / MBA P3&P4

Class meeting times: Wednesday 6-9:30pm Course website: We will use a private course blog – registered students will be autosubscribed. BRIEF COURSE DESCRIPTION This course provides an experienced-based exposure to the process of starting technology-based entrepreneurial ventures. The course is suitable for students interested in finding out about the process of launching start-ups, and the multiple challenges associated with it. The main project is to develop an investor-ready pitch to investors about a start-up opportunity that is identified by a team of students. This course is hosted jointly between the Sauder School of Business and the Faculty of Applied Sciences and is also open to entrepreneurial-minded student across UBC that are enrolled at master, PhD or postdoc levels. The course harnesses Steve Blank’s Lean Launch Pad methodologies. COURSE GOALS This course provides students with an experience-based introduction into the process of starting a technology company. It is a real life immersion into the process that founders go through when starting a high-tech company. Student will be faced with the key issues involved in evaluating market opportunities, designing profitable business models, producing a solid business plan, raising capital, !

"!1!"!!

!BAEN 506 & APSC 541

!

Technology Entrepreneurship ! and developing a winning team. Students will gain the skills and tools to creatively commercialize high tech research into profitable businesses. All venture ideas are subject to Instructor approval.

PROGRAM GOALS MBA Critical Thinking Analytical Decision-making Integration Business Writing Oral Presentation Skills Ethics Sustainability

LEARNING & ASSESSMENT ALIGNMENT Students will learn to 1.! Learn the essential component of planning a new start-up, including a.! Recognizing viable market opportunities b.! Customer discovery via primary market research c.! Creating a profitable business model and an executable business plan d.! Protecting the intellectual property at the heart of their technology company e.! Developing financial projections that are aligned with the fundamental of the proposed business plan 2.! Integrate creative business strategies with solid engineering and effectively work in multi-disciplinary teams 3.! Make decisions in highly uncertain and unstructured environments, and take in feedback from a large variety of sources that use it to improve their business plans, or help them to ‘pivot’ and find alternative ideas or approaches

!

"!2!"!!

!BAEN 506 & APSC 541

!

Technology Entrepreneurship ! 4.! Pitch their product, strategy and team to experienced entrepreneurs and investors Learning Objectives “Students will be able to …” 1.! Learn to build a business plan 2.!

3.! 4.! 5.!

Assessment Details See weekly schedule for timings and detailed breakdown Final Presentation: 30% (team, one deliverable) This assignment helps students to meet all course learning objectives, and is the focal point of the entire class project.

A.! Interim Presentation: 20% (team) This presentation is an important stepping stone towards the final goal of the final Work with students from other disciplines presentation. Students will be particularly challenged in terms of learning objectives 3 and 4. on technology business plans Assignments: 40% (team, 3 assignments plus the weekly Use feedback blog documentation of activity.) The regular assignments constructively allow students to develop their presentations, and strengthen their fundamental business ideas. Students will be Learn to pitch. particularly challenged in terms of learning objectives 3, 4 Become more capable and 5. at undertaking qualitative market Class participation: 10% (individual) research. Students will be expected to participate both as an individual as well as through group presentations. Students will be expected to attend ALL class and where they are unable to attend to notify the teaching staff ahead of time. Any absence over and above one excused absence (agreed in writing before class) will affect the course grade. Missing more than 2 classes will result in a failing grade and/or being required to withdraw from the course. Where we have speakers in class, it is expected that students are prepared and interaction with guests will be evaluated as part of participation. On several occasions we will have short pitches where teams are expected to deliver a short pitch that focuses on one aspect of their business. These will focus on teams presenting their hypotheses via the b-model canvas, outlining their test plans to validate, kill or pivot on these hypotheses, and then reporting back on the research findings and interpretations. Performance for these short pitches will count towards your class participation grade,

!

"!3!"!!

!BAEN 506 & APSC 541

!

Technology Entrepreneurship ! and is separate from the formal presentations in c6 and c12. The class participation grades are based on individual performance; all other grades are based on group performance. However, there may be differential grades within teams, based on performance during presentations, and based on the peer feedback performed at the end of term (details below). Detailed assignment briefings will be posted to the course blog. COURSE MATERIALS & REQUIREMENTS Reading Materials: You are not required to buy any books for this course. However, we do expect you to come to classes prepared, and we will be referring to concepts from the following books. It is a good idea to have one copy of each in the team to refer to. As a minimum, you should peruse the free online resources that are available to support much of this material. Blank, Steve and Dorf, Bob: The Startup Owner's Manual: The Step-By-Step Guide for Building a Great Company , K&S Ranch Press, 2012 http://amzn.to/14IllSY This is a good value buy. It may be available in the UBC bookstore, but is not specifically ordered for this course, in part because many students have preferred a digital copy with instant access. Please obtain directly, before the course. You can read the first few chapters by way of preparation. •!

And/or review the slides posted on steveblank.com and the videos in the related Udacity course (free access with free sign-up.)!https://www.udacity.com/course/how-to-build-astartup--ep245 •! Osterwalder, Alexander, and Yves Pigneur. Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers: Wiley, 2010. ISBN: 978-0470876411 Many business students will have seen this. It is also in the Sauder Lam library. We will cross-reference this extensively. There are also free resources online. You can download the first 72 pages for free, and should familiarize yourself with this if it is new to you. http://www.businessmodelgeneration.com/book •! “Value Proposition Design” is Osterwalder’s latest book (Oct 2014) http://www.amazon.ca/Value-Proposition-Design-ProductsCustomers/dp/1118968050 and drills deep on the challenging but critical fit between customer segments and value propositions. We will use a number of

!

"!4!"!!

!BAEN 506 & APSC 541

!

Technology Entrepreneurship ! tools from this text. Some free information here: http://www.businessmodelgeneration.com/canvas/vpc Rob Fitzpatrick.!“The Mom Test: How to talk to customers & learn if your business is a good idea when everyone is lying to you.” http://www.amazon.com/dp/1492180742/ref=r_soa_w_d Paperback or digital download.

!

Further optional readings: more will be added to the course blog, but these will get you started. 1.! “My opportunity: why will or won’t this work?” Chapter 1 of The New Business Road Test, by John Mullins, Prentice Hall, 1-23. http://web.stanford.edu/group/techventures/resources/Ch1-Title%20Page.pdf 2.! “The Art of the Start” or any posts by Guy Kawasaki, http://blog.guykawasaki.com/venture_capital/ (up to 2009) and then check out http://www.garage.com/ 3.! “The Founder's Dilemma” by Noam Wasserman: whole book or summary here: https://hbr.org/2008/02/the-founders-dilemma/ar/1 COURSE STRUCTURE (Teaching and Learning Activities) The course is taught in a “flipped classroom” format, with small group exercises, and informal feedback sessions. This requires that you come to classes prepared, a) by doing the relevant directed readings, b) by undertaking the weekly work on customer discovery (interviews) and related work, and documenting progress on your team blogs, which will be provided to you. Central to the course is the development of a business model, technical approach and roadmap, go-to-market strategy and financial projections, and presentation of this to a panel of outside experts. The time requirement for this class is very heavy. Students should be prepared to dedicate a minimum of 10-15 hours per week in order to sufficiently prepare for classes and external presentations. OTHER INFORMATION Choice of business ideas Each student team will pick its own business ideas. It is common for teams to start with several ideas, and then to change to another idea at a later stage, or to at least significantly pivot or narrow from one of the original ideas. You will be encouraged to pick something disruptive and viable.

!

"!5!"!!

!BAEN 506 & APSC 541

!

Technology Entrepreneurship ! Peer evaluations At a graduate level it is expected that all students are equally committed and conscientious. We undertake peer evaluations at the interim and final stages and will take this information into account in the following ways: a)! at the interim stage to give formative feedback to any individuals seen by their team to be significantly under-contributing; b)! at the end of the course to make any downward reductions in grades. There will be no upward movements. Individual students should make all reasonable efforts to contribute and to ensure that communications are positive within the team. Any concerns within a team should be addressed, where possible, by the team, as early as possible. The T.A.s are a good source of help here, before you get to the instructors. Ideally, we will not have to make any grade changes. However, free-riding is not acceptable, and everyone must earn their grade. IP and ownership This is a short course and the primary intent is to help you learn a process for starting a venture. It is recommended that teams draw up a simple written note of mutual understanding, outlining that they each have an equal share of the input and output of the venture during the course. This should be re-visited at the end of the course and revised. Typically, at the end of the course there is an idea but no value. Everyone has an equal share of nothing. If one or more team members then want to pursue the idea further and add value in creating a venture, they should be free to do so. SCHEDULE The preliminary outline of the class-by-class schedule is subject to change. This is subject to change. All updates will be posted to the course blog.

!

"!6!"!!

!BAEN 506 & APSC 541

!

Technology Entrepreneurship !

Week! Date!

Main!Theme!

Time!

Guest! speaker!/! Lecturer!

Detailed!Themes!

6:00%7:15"

Guest:" Geordie" Rose""

Why"consider" entrepreneurship?"

"rolling""15" min"breaks"

Present"initial"ideas"%3"teams"in" parallel"

""

Intro"customer"discovery"tools:" VP"canvas,"developing" hypotheses,"customer" interviewing"(who,"what,"how)," day"in"the"life"of"customer"maps""

Opportunity" 7:30%8:45" Identification." 1" 06%Jan" Customer" discovery"and" product%market"fit" 8:45"%" 9:30" "" 6:00%7:15"

Opportunity" Assessment." 2" 13%Jan" Customer" validation." Product"market"fit"

!

"" "

Grading!

Slide"deck"on"3" initial"" problem/opportunity" "" areas"and" hypotheses"to"test"%" brief"format"Dec"2"

"" Opportunity"assessment." Validating"pains/gains.""""Market" sizing."

7:15%8:30"

"rolling""15" min"breaks"

Internal"presentations"

8:35"%" 9:30"

""

Tools:"maps"on"external" ecosystem"and"internal"buyer" decision"process."

"!7!"!!

Deliverables:!! weekly!to!blog!for! formative! feedback!

Value"proposition"&" customer"segment" hypotheses"for"lead" idea(s)"validated"by" "" primary"research" interviews."Day"in" the"life"maps."

!BAEN 506 & APSC 541

!

Technology Entrepreneurship ! "" 6:00%7:15" 3" 20%Jan" Business"Models" 7:15%8:30" 8:35"%" 9:30" "" 6:00%7:15" Go%to%Market" Strategy"and" 4" 27%Jan" Customer" Development"

5" 03%Feb"

!

7:30%8:30"

8:35"%" 9:30" "" " 6:00%7:15" Managing*IP*&* tech*roadmap*

7:30%8:30"

"!8!"!!

"" "

"" ""business"model"types,"mash% ups"and"disruption"%"revenue" implications"

"rolling""15" min"breaks"

Internal"presentations"

""

Tools:"pass%fail"test"design"for" customer"validation"

""Value"proposition" discovery"for"lead" idea"and"3"maps:"1)" Day"in"the"life"of" customer:"before"&" "" after"2)"customer" ecosystem,"3)" internal"buyer" influence" "

"" Guest:"Eric" " Sales"models" Winsborrow""

"

Channels"and"implications"for" margins"and"costs."Customer" acquisition"programs."

" Documented* interviews*and* interpretation*on* pass/fail*tests.* Market*sizing.*

""

""

Progress"report"&"feedback"

""

"B%model"design"and" "" IP"Strategy"&"commercialization" strategy"outline." "" Draft"RHS"b%model" Building"a"technology"roadmap" canvas."

" "

!BAEN 506 & APSC 541

!

Technology Entrepreneurship !

"

6" 10%Feb" Gate"1"

""

"" !!Break!

""

!!

Financial" 7" 09%Mar" Projections"&" Prototyping"intro"

FInancial" Projections"&" 8" 16%Mar" Prototyping" workshop" !

8:35"%" 9:30"

""

Progress"report"&"feedback"""""""""

""

""

""

6:00%9:00"

Panel"of" outside" judges"

""

""

9%9.30"

""

Interim" iPeer"

""

!!

!!

6:00%7:15"

""

7:30%8:30"

""

8:35"%" 9:30"

""

6:00%7:15"

""

7:30%8:30"

""

8:35"%" 9:30"

""

"!9!"!!

External" Presentation"(Gate" Presentations"in"several"parallel" 1)"RHS"of"canvas," rooms" including"pricing" and"customer" Informal"feedback" acquisition,"and" provisional" "Picking"up"the"pieces"" technical"approach" and"roadmap." mid%term"blog" "" grading" interim!iPeer:!Feb! !! 12! Pivot"and"updated" Financial"projections" b%model"canvas.! "Prototyping"1" Workplan!for! period.""""IP" strategy"and"MVP" Informal"feedback" spec."Technology" roadmap%v2." Financial"projections"workshop" Financial" "Prototyping"2" Projections"1""""""" Prototype:"demo"v1" ""

20"

5" ""

10"

""

!BAEN 506 & APSC 541

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Technology Entrepreneurship ! "" "" 6:00%7:15" Left"Hand"Side"of" 7:30%8:30" 9" 23%Mar" Canvas" 8:35"%" 9:30"

10" 30%Mar" Venture"capital"

" "" "" ""

"" partners"activities,"resources" "Prototyping"3"

""

Pulling"it"all"together"%"exercise"

6:00%7:15"

Guest:"" (tbc)"

Introduction"to"VC"

7:30%8:30"

""

Review"of"financial%identifying" gaps""

8:35"%" 9:30"

""

Valuation"exercise"

""

30"min"slot"with"Instructor," followed"by"30"min"coaching" with"T.A."

6%9.30" 11" 06%Apr" Dry"Run"

Final" 12" 13%Apr" Presentation"

"" "" "" !

" " ""

""

one"team" at"a"time"

""

""

All"day"%9" to"9"

Panel"of" outside" judges"

50"min"slots"

""

Teams"only"attend"their"timeslot"

(parallel" sessions)" "Final" iPeer" "" "!10!"!!

" "" ""

"" ""

Financial" projections"2""""""" Positioning"and" pitching"the"team."""

10"

Validating"the" business"model."" 10" Prototype"demo"v2." Dry"Run:" opportunity,"need" and"size."Technical" solution"and" roadmap."Go"to" market"plan." Financials."Team."" The"ask."

""

Final"Presentations"

30"

Participation"

10"

Final"blog"grading" TOTAL!

5" 100!

!BAEN 506 & APSC 541

!

Technology Entrepreneurship ! COURSE INFORMATION Instructors: Paul Cubbon [email protected]

Teaching Assistants:

Tamara Etmannski

Jay Rhind

[email protected]

Fraser Pogue

David Miller

Jamie McAllister

[email protected] Course duration: Jan 6th to April 13th Office hours: by appointment

Classroom location: DL 009/005 (at back of Sauder’s Henry Angus Building, below and behind the Triple O’s,) unless otherwise noted.

Term/period: Winter Term / MBA P3&P4

Class meeting times: Wednesday 6-9:30pm Course website: We will use a private course blog – registered students will be autosubscribed. BRIEF COURSE DESCRIPTION This course provides an experienced-based exposure to the process of starting technology-based entrepreneurial ventures. The course is suitable for students interested in finding out about the process of launching start-ups, and the multiple challenges associated with it. The main project is to develop an investor-ready pitch to investors about a start-up opportunity that is identified by a team of students. This course is hosted jointly between the Sauder School of Business and the Faculty of Applied Sciences and is also open to entrepreneurial-minded student across UBC that are enrolled at master, PhD or postdoc levels. The course harnesses Steve Blank’s Lean Launch Pad methodologies. COURSE GOALS This course provides students with an experience-based introduction into the process of starting a technology company. It is a real life immersion into the process that founders go through when starting a high-tech company. Student will be faced with the key issues involved in evaluating market opportunities, designing profitable business models, producing a solid business plan, raising capital, !

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Technology Entrepreneurship ! and developing a winning team. Students will gain the skills and tools to creatively commercialize high tech research into profitable businesses. All venture ideas are subject to Instructor approval.

PROGRAM GOALS MBA Critical Thinking Analytical Decision-making Integration Business Writing Oral Presentation Skills Ethics Sustainability

LEARNING & ASSESSMENT ALIGNMENT Students will learn to 1.! Learn the essential component of planning a new start-up, including a.! Recognizing viable market opportunities b.! Customer discovery via primary market research c.! Creating a profitable business model and an executable business plan d.! Protecting the intellectual property at the heart of their technology company e.! Developing financial projections that are aligned with the fundamental of the proposed business plan 2.! Integrate creative business strategies with solid engineering and effectively work in multi-disciplinary teams 3.! Make decisions in highly uncertain and unstructured environments, and take in feedback from a large variety of sources that use it to improve their business plans, or help them to ‘pivot’ and find alternative ideas or approaches

!

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Technology Entrepreneurship ! 4.! Pitch their product, strategy and team to experienced entrepreneurs and investors Learning Objectives “Students will be able to …” 1.! Learn to build a business plan 2.!

3.! 4.! 5.!

Assessment Details See weekly schedule for timings and detailed breakdown Final Presentation: 30% (team, one deliverable) This assignment helps students to meet all course learning objectives, and is the focal point of the entire class project.

A.! Interim Presentation: 20% (team) This presentation is an important stepping stone towards the final goal of the final Work with students from other disciplines presentation. Students will be particularly challenged in terms of learning objectives 3 and 4. on technology business plans Assignments: 40% (team, 3 assignments plus the weekly Use feedback blog documentation of activity.) The regular assignments constructively allow students to develop their presentations, and strengthen their fundamental business ideas. Students will be Learn to pitch. particularly challenged in terms of learning objectives 3, 4 Become more capable and 5. at undertaking qualitative market Class participation: 10% (individual) research. Students will be expected to participate both as an individual as well as through group presentations. Students will be expected to attend ALL class and where they are unable to attend to notify the teaching staff ahead of time. Any absence over and above one excused absence (agreed in writing before class) will affect the course grade. Missing more than 2 classes will result in a failing grade and/or being required to withdraw from the course. Where we have speakers in class, it is expected that students are prepared and interaction with guests will be evaluated as part of participation. On several occasions we will have short pitches where teams are expected to deliver a short pitch that focuses on one aspect of their business. These will focus on teams presenting their hypotheses via the b-model canvas, outlining their test plans to validate, kill or pivot on these hypotheses, and then reporting back on the research findings and interpretations. Performance for these short pitches will count towards your class participation grade,

!

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Technology Entrepreneurship ! and is separate from the formal presentations in c6 and c12. The class participation grades are based on individual performance; all other grades are based on group performance. However, there may be differential grades within teams, based on performance during presentations, and based on the peer feedback performed at the end of term (details below). Detailed assignment briefings will be posted to the course blog. COURSE MATERIALS & REQUIREMENTS Reading Materials: You are not required to buy any books for this course. However, we do expect you to come to classes prepared, and we will be referring to concepts from the following books. It is a good idea to have one copy of each in the team to refer to. As a minimum, you should peruse the free online resources that are available to support much of this material. Blank, Steve and Dorf, Bob: The Startup Owner's Manual: The Step-By-Step Guide for Building a Great Company , K&S Ranch Press, 2012 http://amzn.to/14IllSY This is a good value buy. It may be available in the UBC bookstore, but is not specifically ordered for this course, in part because many students have preferred a digital copy with instant access. Please obtain directly, before the course. You can read the first few chapters by way of preparation. •!

And/or review the slides posted on steveblank.com and the videos in the related Udacity course (free access with free sign-up.)!https://www.udacity.com/course/how-to-build-astartup--ep245 •! Osterwalder, Alexander, and Yves Pigneur. Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers: Wiley, 2010. ISBN: 978-0470876411 Many business students will have seen this. It is also in the Sauder Lam library. We will cross-reference this extensively. There are also free resources online. You can download the first 72 pages for free, and should familiarize yourself with this if it is new to you. http://www.businessmodelgeneration.com/book •! “Value Proposition Design” is Osterwalder’s latest book (Oct 2014) http://www.amazon.ca/Value-Proposition-Design-ProductsCustomers/dp/1118968050 and drills deep on the challenging but critical fit between customer segments and value propositions. We will use a number of

!

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Technology Entrepreneurship ! tools from this text. Some free information here: http://www.businessmodelgeneration.com/canvas/vpc Rob Fitzpatrick.!“The Mom Test: How to talk to customers & learn if your business is a good idea when everyone is lying to you.” http://www.amazon.com/dp/1492180742/ref=r_soa_w_d Paperback or digital download.

!

Further optional readings: more will be added to the course blog, but these will get you started. 1.! “My opportunity: why will or won’t this work?” Chapter 1 of The New Business Road Test, by John Mullins, Prentice Hall, 1-23. http://web.stanford.edu/group/techventures/resources/Ch1-Title%20Page.pdf 2.! “The Art of the Start” or any posts by Guy Kawasaki, http://blog.guykawasaki.com/venture_capital/ (up to 2009) and then check out http://www.garage.com/ 3.! “The Founder's Dilemma” by Noam Wasserman: whole book or summary here: https://hbr.org/2008/02/the-founders-dilemma/ar/1 COURSE STRUCTURE (Teaching and Learning Activities) The course is taught in a “flipped classroom” format, with small group exercises, and informal feedback sessions. This requires that you come to classes prepared, a) by doing the relevant directed readings, b) by undertaking the weekly work on customer discovery (interviews) and related work, and documenting progress on your team blogs, which will be provided to you. Central to the course is the development of a business model, technical approach and roadmap, go-to-market strategy and financial projections, and presentation of this to a panel of outside experts. The time requirement for this class is very heavy. Students should be prepared to dedicate a minimum of 10-15 hours per week in order to sufficiently prepare for classes and external presentations. OTHER INFORMATION Choice of business ideas Each student team will pick its own business ideas. It is common for teams to start with several ideas, and then to change to another idea at a later stage, or to at least significantly pivot or narrow from one of the original ideas. You will be encouraged to pick something disruptive and viable.

!

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Technology Entrepreneurship ! Peer evaluations At a graduate level it is expected that all students are equally committed and conscientious. We undertake peer evaluations at the interim and final stages and will take this information into account in the following ways: a)! at the interim stage to give formative feedback to any individuals seen by their team to be significantly under-contributing; b)! at the end of the course to make any downward reductions in grades. There will be no upward movements. Individual students should make all reasonable efforts to contribute and to ensure that communications are positive within the team. Any concerns within a team should be addressed, where possible, by the team, as early as possible. The T.A.s are a good source of help here, before you get to the instructors. Ideally, we will not have to make any grade changes. However, free-riding is not acceptable, and everyone must earn their grade. IP and ownership This is a short course and the primary intent is to help you learn a process for starting a venture. It is recommended that teams draw up a simple written note of mutual understanding, outlining that they each have an equal share of the input and output of the venture during the course. This should be re-visited at the end of the course and revised. Typically, at the end of the course there is an idea but no value. Everyone has an equal share of nothing. If one or more team members then want to pursue the idea further and add value in creating a venture, they should be free to do so. SCHEDULE The preliminary outline of the class-by-class schedule is subject to change. This is subject to change. All updates will be posted to the course blog.

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Technology Entrepreneurship !

Week! Date!

Main!Theme!

Time!

Guest! speaker!/! Lecturer!

Detailed!Themes!

6:00%7:15"

Guest:" Geordie" Rose""

Why"consider" entrepreneurship?"

"rolling""15" min"breaks"

Present"initial"ideas"%3"teams"in" parallel"

""

Intro"customer"discovery"tools:" VP"canvas,"developing" hypotheses,"customer" interviewing"(who,"what,"how)," day"in"the"life"of"customer"maps""

Opportunity" 7:30%8:45" Identification." 1" 06%Jan" Customer" discovery"and" product%market"fit" 8:45"%" 9:30" "" 6:00%7:15"

Opportunity" Assessment." 2" 13%Jan" Customer" validation." Product"market"fit"

!

"" "

Grading!

Slide"deck"on"3" initial"" problem/opportunity" "" areas"and" hypotheses"to"test"%" brief"format"Dec"2"

"" Opportunity"assessment." Validating"pains/gains.""""Market" sizing."

7:15%8:30"

"rolling""15" min"breaks"

Internal"presentations"

8:35"%" 9:30"

""

Tools:"maps"on"external" ecosystem"and"internal"buyer" decision"process."

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Deliverables:!! weekly!to!blog!for! formative! feedback!

Value"proposition"&" customer"segment" hypotheses"for"lead" idea(s)"validated"by" "" primary"research" interviews."Day"in" the"life"maps."

!BAEN 506 & APSC 541

!

Technology Entrepreneurship ! "" 6:00%7:15" 3" 20%Jan" Business"Models" 7:15%8:30" 8:35"%" 9:30" "" 6:00%7:15" Go%to%Market" Strategy"and" 4" 27%Jan" Customer" Development"

5" 03%Feb"

!

7:30%8:30"

8:35"%" 9:30" "" " 6:00%7:15" Managing*IP*&* tech*roadmap*

7:30%8:30"

"!8!"!!

"" "

"" ""business"model"types,"mash% ups"and"disruption"%"revenue" implications"

"rolling""15" min"breaks"

Internal"presentations"

""

Tools:"pass%fail"test"design"for" customer"validation"

""Value"proposition" discovery"for"lead" idea"and"3"maps:"1)" Day"in"the"life"of" customer:"before"&" "" after"2)"customer" ecosystem,"3)" internal"buyer" influence" "

"" Guest:"Eric" " Sales"models" Winsborrow""

"

Channels"and"implications"for" margins"and"costs."Customer" acquisition"programs."

" Documented* interviews*and* interpretation*on* pass/fail*tests.* Market*sizing.*

""

""

Progress"report"&"feedback"

""

"B%model"design"and" "" IP"Strategy"&"commercialization" strategy"outline." "" Draft"RHS"b%model" Building"a"technology"roadmap" canvas."

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Technology Entrepreneurship !

"

6" 10%Feb" Gate"1"

""

"" !!Break!

""

!!

Financial" 7" 09%Mar" Projections"&" Prototyping"intro"

FInancial" Projections"&" 8" 16%Mar" Prototyping" workshop" !

8:35"%" 9:30"

""

Progress"report"&"feedback"""""""""

""

""

""

6:00%9:00"

Panel"of" outside" judges"

""

""

9%9.30"

""

Interim" iPeer"

""

!!

!!

6:00%7:15"

""

7:30%8:30"

""

8:35"%" 9:30"

""

6:00%7:15"

""

7:30%8:30"

""

8:35"%" 9:30"

""

"!9!"!!

External" Presentation"(Gate" Presentations"in"several"parallel" 1)"RHS"of"canvas," rooms" including"pricing" and"customer" Informal"feedback" acquisition,"and" provisional" "Picking"up"the"pieces"" technical"approach" and"roadmap." mid%term"blog" "" grading" interim!iPeer:!Feb! !! 12! Pivot"and"updated" Financial"projections" b%model"canvas.! "Prototyping"1" Workplan!for! period.""""IP" strategy"and"MVP" Informal"feedback" spec."Technology" roadmap%v2." Financial"projections"workshop" Financial" "Prototyping"2" Projections"1""""""" Prototype:"demo"v1" ""

20"

5" ""

10"

""

!BAEN 506 & APSC 541

!

Technology Entrepreneurship ! "" "" 6:00%7:15" Left"Hand"Side"of" 7:30%8:30" 9" 23%Mar" Canvas" 8:35"%" 9:30"

10" 30%Mar" Venture"capital"

" "" "" ""

"" partners"activities,"resources" "Prototyping"3"

""

Pulling"it"all"together"%"exercise"

6:00%7:15"

Guest:"" (tbc)"

Introduction"to"VC"

7:30%8:30"

""

Review"of"financial%identifying" gaps""

8:35"%" 9:30"

""

Valuation"exercise"

""

30"min"slot"with"Instructor," followed"by"30"min"coaching" with"T.A."

6%9.30" 11" 06%Apr" Dry"Run"

Final" 12" 13%Apr" Presentation"

"" "" "" !

" " ""

""

one"team" at"a"time"

""

""

All"day"%9" to"9"

Panel"of" outside" judges"

50"min"slots"

""

Teams"only"attend"their"timeslot"

(parallel" sessions)" "Final" iPeer" "" "!10!"!!

" "" ""

"" ""

Financial" projections"2""""""" Positioning"and" pitching"the"team."""

10"

Validating"the" business"model."" 10" Prototype"demo"v2." Dry"Run:" opportunity,"need" and"size."Technical" solution"and" roadmap."Go"to" market"plan." Financials."Team."" The"ask."

""

Final"Presentations"

30"

Participation"

10"

Final"blog"grading" TOTAL!

5" 100!