BA 260H: Entrepreneurship (4 h.)

Fall 2008 Course Syllabus

Instructor: Geoff Archer, MEM, MBA, PhD Candidate

Classroom Hours: Monday and Wednesday 4pm-5:50pm, STAG233

Office Hours: Mon. 12pm-1pm, Tues. 4pm-5pm, Wed. 12pm-1pm, 330 Bexell Hall

Contact: geoff.archer@bus.oregonstate.edu, Office Phone (541)737-2616

Pre-requisites: Honors College Membership or prior approval

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OVERVIEW

This course is a focused introduction to entrepreneurship, designed with the assumption that you have little or no business experience. Throughout the semester, you will be exposed to a variety of business strategy and entrepreneurship concepts while developing the ability to present and pursue an entrepreneurial opportunity.

As individuals you will read a textbook, business cases and several business plans, and you will write a weekly journal. Simultaneously, you will be working with a team to deliver and present a complete business plan for a new venture. It is expected that you will use a great many other resources to assist your learning, including primary research with potential customers and partners – ‘real world’ interaction is a must.

To clarify, the venture that you propose in this class does not necessarily have to be a for-profit business, but can be built around any idea that brings people together to address an opportunity through economic means, including a non-profit or volunteer organization. The philosophical assumption of the class is that we have the option as individuals to create a different and better future, and the act of entrepreneurship is one mechanism to do so.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

BA 260H students will learn to:

· Generate and present new business concepts

· Identify entrepreneurial opportunities

· Assess the feasibility of an entrepreneurial opportunity

· Devise a business model that exploits this opportunity

· Write and present a formal business plan as a team

GRADING

I will give plus and minus grades as follows: 94 and above = A, 90-93 = A-, 87-89 = B+, 84-86 = B, 80-83 = B-, 77-79 = C+, 74-76 = C, 70-73 = C-, 67-69 = D+, 64-66 = D, 60-63 = D-, 59 and below= F. The composition of your grade is determined by a mixture of individual and group efforts, specifically:

Individual Grading (60%)

1. Class Participation and Engagement in Learning (10%)

Quality class participation is reflected in your insight and contribution to the class discussion. In my eyes, the most important time to speak up is when we are hosting a guest speaker (who could obviously be talking to a customer or an investor, but took the time to speak with our class for your benefit).

2. Your Elevator Pitch (5%)

On the third day of class each one of you will take the stage and make what is called an “Elevator Pitch.” In less than a minute you will need to describe a business concept, and explain who will buy it and why. You will also submit a hard copy of your elevator pitch which explains your idea in words and images. This is called a "one sheet", and you will hand it in to me when you are finished talking to the class.

3. Personal Entrepreneurship Journal (5%)

Entrepreneurship is an intensely personal experience. The decision to pursue an entrepreneurial venture is bound within your upbringing, life experiences, societal position, current employment, potential opportunities, and psychological factors. To capture your own thoughts around this journey you will keep a personal weekly journal. The purpose of the journal is to clarify your goals and expectations around entrepreneurship and to track your participation in the class. What you write should concern the concepts we cover in class, the progress of your teams’ efforts, and your own journey in defining your entrepreneurial ambitions. Type-written, Hard-copy, one-page-minimum journal entries will be due to me in class every Wednesday at the start of class.

4. Business Planning Exercises (3 at 10% = 30% total)

Entrepreneurship has been shown to reward generalists, business leaders with a broad array of skills. With these three individual exercises I am testing your ability to apply all of the concepts covered in class, not just those few your team assigned to you. In one of the two hours of class on the same days that your team will be presenting the Marketing, Operations and Finance plans you personally will be given some basic facts about a new business, and be asked to outline a plan for this firm. Bullet points are OK.

5. Business Planning Peer Evaluation (10%)

Towards the end of the quarter you will evaluate your team-mates performance on group assignments. Your grade will be based on a ranking of each of the following factors:

· Great Attendance, Timeliness, Courtesy

· Delivered their Fair Share of the workload

· Delivered Quality Work that didn’t need a lot of edits

· Contributed Important Work that Shaped the project

· Would Team up with this person Again

Group Grades (40%):

PRESENTATIONS: As I mentioned above, everyone in the class will make an Elevator Pitch early on. Four person teams (with limited exceptions made at my discretion) will then be formed around the business concepts that you choose. Therefore, every person in the class will be on a business plan team. Every group will present to the class four times this term. Presentations should be professional with powerpoint slides on a memory stick transferred to the classroom computer before the beginning of class. Presentations should be no longer than 10 minutes. You should come prepared to answer questions from the audience. Note: For both the presenters and the audience this Q&A period is a font of valuable, low-cost information.

Marketing Plan (10%) – October 20th

Operations Plan (10%) – November 5th

Financial Plan (10%) – November 24th

Business Plan (10%) – December 3rd

FINAL BUSINESS PLAN (10%): The written business plan is the cumulative effort of the class and takes the place of the final exam. Written business plans are generally between 15 and 25 pages in length. Yours are to be turned in at the beginning of the final exam period (which will be assigned by the university about half way through the term). Every team must submit a written business plan to complete this course. As you will be presenting the business plan as a powerpoint and handing it in as a written plan, your ultimate grade will be the higher of the two received.

MATERIALS

Entrepreneurship, Successfully Launching New Ventures, 2^nd Ed. (2008) by Bruce Barringer and Duane Ireland (referred to as B&I)

LATE ASSIGNMENTS
Unexcused late assignments will lose one point for every day that they are late.

CHEATING

Please refer to the University’s policy on cheating http://oregonstate.edu/admin/stucon/achon.htm

Statement Regarding Students with Disabilities
Accommodations are collaborative efforts between students, faculty and Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD). Students with accommodations approved through SSD are responsible for contacting the faculty member in charge of the course prior to or during the first week of the term to discuss accommodations. Students who believe they are eligible for accommodations but who have not yet obtained approval through SSD should contact SSD immediately at 737-4098.

BA 260 ENTREPRENEURSHIP

COURSE SCHEDULE

FALL, 2008

Class	Day / Date	Class Topic
1	09/29/08	*INTRODUCTION and* THE NATURE OF ENTREPRENEURIAL OPPORTUNITY**
2	10/01/08	SOURCES OF OPPORTUNITY and ELEVATOR PITCHES EXPLAINED
3	10/06/08	THE ELEVATOR PITCH W/ GUEST JUDGES = PROFESSORS CLAY DIBRELL ANDD DON NEUBAUM
4	10/08/08	MARKETING Part 1 and GUEST TBA
5	10/13/08	GUEST EVENT TBA
6	10/15/08	MARKETING Part 2 & INDUSTRY/COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
7	10/20/08	MARKETING PLAN PRESENTATIONS & TEST
8	10/22/08	OPERATIONS PLAN Part 1
9	10/27/08	OPERATIONS PLAN Part 2
10	10/29/08	GUEST EVENT TBA
11	11/03/08	THE BUSINESS PLAN & BUSINESS FORMS
12	11/05/08	OPERATIONS PLAN PRESENTATIONS & TEST
13	11/10/08	GUEST: AARON DEEN (OSU ’06), PITA PIT FRANCHISEE
14	11/12/08	CASE DISCUSSION: KAPAI NZ and GUEST: HARRY DEWOLF (OSU alum) FROM THE SBA
15	11/17/08	FINANCE PART 1
16	11/19/08	FINANCE PART 2
17	11/24/08	FINANCE PLAN PRESENTATIONS
18	11/26/08	CASE DISCUSSION: WALDEN PADDLERS
19	12/01/08	BUSINESS PLAN WORKSHOP
20	12/03/08	BIZPLAN PRESENTATIONS – GUEST JUDGES TBA

TWO EXTRACURRICULAR EVENTS OF INTEREST:

SAO’s High-Tech After Hours

Thursday November 13, 2008 from 1:00pm - 8:00pm

CH2M Hill Alumni Center

725 SW 26th Street
Corvallis, Oregon 97333

Category: Commercial

Website: http://www.hightechafterhours.com

The 6th Annual High Tech After Hours will be held on November 13th from 1:00pm until 8:00pm at the CH2M Hill Alumni Center located on the OSU campus across from Reser Stadium.

http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/833794/

Dean’s Distinguished Lecture Series – Guest Alfred Lin, COO, CFO and Chairman Zappos.com

If the shoe fits, wear it. If not, Zappos.com will gladly take it back at no cost to you. Zappos.com has become the #1 seller of shoes on the Internet (ahead of J.C. Penney) by stressing customer service. The e-tailer stocks 3 million pairs of shoes, handbags, and apparel and accessories, specializing in some 1,000 brands that are difficult to find in mainstream shopping malls. With only one Web site (and 7,000 affiliate partners), Zappos.com distributes stylish and moderately-priced footwear, and more, to frustrated and shop-worn customers nationwide. The company was founded by Chairman Nick Swinmurn in 1999 following a mall-based shoe quest gone wrong.

October 16^th 7:00pm – 8:30pm Milam auditorium

Alfred Lin COO, CFO, and Chairman

Alfred joined Zappos.com in 2005 and is responsible for all financial, administrative, and warehouse operations. Alfred focuses on bringing focus, strategy and financial discipline in order to grow the business efficiently and profitably. Prior to joining Zappos, Alfred served as VP of Finance and Business Development at Tellme Networks, helping grow that business from no revenue to over $120M in recurring revenue per year, 30% cash margins and a $0.5B estimated contracted revenue backlog.

Prior to joining Tellme Networks, Alfred co-founded Venture Frogs with Tony Hsieh. Venture Frogs is an incubator and investment firm that invested in Internet startups, including Ask Jeeves, Tellme Networks, and of course, Zappos.com. Prior to Venture Frogs, Alfred served as VP of Finance and Administration at LinkExchange, where he managed the sale of the Company to Microsoft for $265M.

Alfred met Tony Hsieh (CEO) in college, when Tony was running a pizza business and Alfred was his #1 customer.

To learn more about the company and some of its innovative practices, you may find the following article of interest.

http://discussionleader.hbsp.com/taylor/2008/05/wy_zappos_pays_new_employees_t.html

BA 260 ENTREPRENEURSHIP Daily Assignments

09/29/08

1A. INTRODUCTION and

1B. THE NATURE OF ENTREPRENEURIAL OPPORTUNITY

Readings:

“Chapter 1: Entrepreneurship, Successfully Launching New Ventures,” (B&I)

One Red Paperclip

http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/

Sustainable Skateboards

www.cometskateboards.com

Flocks Sweater

http://www.springwise.com/fashion_beauty/full_provenance_sweaters/index.php

Flying Lawn Chair

http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2007/07/10/828456-lawn-chair-pilot-flies-with-105-balloons

Treasure Dough

http://www.treasuredough.com/treasure.html

iPod Walking Tours of Buenos Aires

http://mptours.com/

Facebook Apps

http://www.smsmallbiz.com/technology/Stanfords_Facebook_Apps_Class_Proves_a_Quick_Hit.html

Row your Bike

http://inventorspot.com/row_your_bike

Dean Kamen

http://www.notablebiographies.com/news/Ge-La/Kamen-Dean.html

Assignment:

Be prepared to introduce yourself including your name, major, inspiration for taking this course, and a suggestion of one thing you are hoping to learn here.

10/01/08

2A. SOURCES OF OPPORTUNITY and

2B. ELEVATOR PITCHES EXPLAINED

Readings:

“Chapter 2: Recognizing Opportunities and Generating Ideas,” (B&I)

Effectuation (www.effectuation.org)

Terracycle

http://www.springwise.com/eco_sustainability/garbage_into_gold_via_worm_poo_1/index.php

Street-Level Billboards

http://www.springwise.com/marketing_advertising/digital_billboards_revive_empt/index.php

S.T. Lawder (!)

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119880875500454651.html?mod=djemSB

Assignment:

Be prepared to describe a venture that you think is really just an idea, and one that you suspect is an actual opportunity.

10/06/08

3. THE ELEVATOR PITCH

Readings:

Chapter 3 (B&I)

www.vator.tv

www.raisecapital.com

Assignment:

Business Concept “One-Sheet” due when you present. After you have spoken please hand it in to me. Also please post it onto Blackboard.

Please Include:

YOUR NAME
YOUR EMAIL
YOUR CONCEPT NAME

The rest of the content on the one-sheet is up to you

10/08/08

4. MARKETING Part 1

Readings:

· Chapter 11 (B&I)

www.linkedin.com

Assignment:

Connect with classmates (on blackboard and/or in real life) with whom you would like to form a four-person team,

10/13/08

5. GUEST EVENT

Readings:

· TBA

Assignment:

None

10/15/08

6. MARKETING Part 2

Readings:

· Chapter 5 (B&I)

Assignment:

Connect with classmates (on blackboard and/or in real life) with whom you would like to form a four-person team,

10/20/08

7. MARKETING PLAN PRESENTATIONS

Readings:

None

Assignment:

All teams present their Marketing plan in fewer than 10 slides
Prepare for your Individual Marketing Exercise (Test)

10/22/08

8. OPERATIONS PLAN – Part 1

Readings:

· Chapter 6 (B&I)

· Chapter 12 (B&I)

· Chapter 15 (B&I)

· http://www.franopolis.com/

Assignment:

Come prepared to explain your favorite business model

10/27/08

9. OPERATIONS PLAN – Part 2

Readings:

· Chapter 7 (B&I)

· Chapter 9 (B&I)

· http://www.theonion.com/content/node/75344

Assignment:

Think about how you would handle the criticism that you are too young/have no experience?

What do you think about working with friends?

10/29/08

10. GUEST EVENT

Readings:

· TBA

Assignment:

None

11/03/08

11A. FEASIBILITY and THE BUSINESS PLAN

11B. BUSINESS FORMS

Readings:

· Chapter 4 (B&I)

· Sample Business Plans I will post to Blackboard

· http://www.unitedkeys.com/

· Small Business Administration (www.sba.gov)

· Oregon’s Secretary of State (http://www.sos.state.or.us/)

Assignment:

Think about these plans as though you were an investor.

11/05/08	12. OPERATIONS PLAN PRESENTATIONS
Readings:	None
Assignment:	All teams present their Operations plan in fewer than 10 slides Prepare for your Individual Operations Exercise (TEST)

11/10/08

13. GUEST EVENT: AARON DEEN (OSU ’06), PITA PIT FRANCHISEE

Readings:

· TBA

Assignment:

None

11/12/08

14. CASE DISCUSSION: KAPAI NZ and

GUEST: HARRY DEWOLF (OSU alum) FROM THE SBA

Readings:

Kapai NZ case (on blackboard)

Assignment:

Come prepared to discuss your recommendations for the founding team

11/17/08

15. FINANCE PART 1

Readings:

Chapter 8 (B&I)

www.prosper.com

www.kiva.org

www.mircoplace.com

Assignment:

None

11/19/08

16. FINANCE PART 2

Readings:

Chapter 10 (B&I)

http://www.thefunded.com/

http://www.applieddisruption.com/2007/04/one_stop_list_o.html

http://www.angelcapitalassociation.org/

Assignment:

None

11/24/08	17. FINANCE PLAN PRESENTATIONS
Readings:	None
Assignment:	All teams present their Operations plan in fewer than 10 slides Prepare for your Individual Finance Exercise (TEST)

11/26/08	18. CASE DISCUSSION: WALDEN PADDLERS
Readings:	Walden Paddler Case (on blackboard)
Assignment:	Come prepared to discuss your recommendations for the founder