COURSE NUMBER: EWMBA295M.1
This course is cross-listed with the Full-Time MBA
Program
COURSE TITLE: Business Model Innovation and Entrepreneurial
Strategy
UNITS OF CREDIT: 2
INSTRUCTORS: David Charron
EMAIL ADDRESSES: david.charron@berkeley.edu
MEETING DAY(S)/TIME: Tuesday, 6:00 – 9:30PM, first 10 weeks
of the semester
PREREQUISITES: EWMBA Core
CLASS FORMAT: Primarily case discussions, with lectures and
guest speakers
REQUIRED READINGS:
We do not have a
textbook for the class, but will draw upon readings from several sources along
with the case material, all of which will be available electronically. The
readings are extensive, covering theory, cases that allow for historical
business model analysis, and examinations of companies currently entering the
market. To the extent possible, we will discuss business model issues facing
new ventures in the Silicon Valley along with market changing trends, events
and companies.
BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE:
The main
requirements for this course are class participation (case preparation and
discussion) and three projects. You will be required to quickly form
teams focused on deeply understanding a market, a particular company or a
specific type of business model. The first project will be done as an
individual. The second two projects will be done as a team. All
projects will focus on a company of your choosing. The third and final
project is larger in scope than the first two.
ABSTRACT OF COURSE CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES:
This class
explores innovation of the business model as a strategy for new venture
creation and growth. We will see that the business model, the set of
assumptions that fundamentally underpin a business, can dramatically affect the
venture’s chances of durable success. The course will review the historical
contexts of markets and the evolution of competitors in those markets with the
aim of anticipating future opportunities based on business model changes.
The class presents an integrated view of the business model
to teach how to characterize and analyze entrants, incumbents and competitors.
We will cover basic methods to efficiently construct and test business models
to determine how they might succeed in the market. The course shows how
business models differ across industries and phases of a firm’s growth – from
high-tech to social ventures and from the earliest start-up phases through
realization and maintenance of significant value. The course provides students
with the skills and knowledge to rapidly assess and shape business models to
their advantage when constructing new enterprises and to create the potential
to scale. You will learn about specific business model decisions that
entrepreneurs make when building a company and how they drive the value capture
process.
This course uses case studies, with short lectures and
occasional guest speakers to reinforce frameworks and showcase actual business
examples. Your preparation, attendance and active participation is critical and required for success in the course. You will
be provided with opportunities to present to the class, and the class will have
the opportunity to provide feedback during the presentation. At the end of the
course you will be comfortable with discussing business models and business
model innovation in any context.
INSTRUCTOR BIO:
DAVID CHARRON – Mr. Charron is a member of the professional
faculty at Haas and has been teaching for the past eight years. He is currently
a Senior Fellow with the Lester Center, the Haas School’s Entrepreneurship
Program and has previously held positions as the Executive, and Associate,
Director of the Lester Center, and Executive Director the Berkeley Innovative
Leadership Development (BILD) program. He has been active in the field of
entrepreneurship and technology commercialization for over 25 years and has
worked in the private and public sector environments with companies such as
Xerox PARC, MIT and Stanford University. In 1995, he co-founded Scientific
Learning Corporation, a publicly traded neuroscience company. He has been active in many
other entrepreneurial ventures and actively advises startups, inventors and
entrepreneurs. He is a Board Member at Impact Carbon and is currently working
on a new venture in neuroscience. He holds an engineering degree from Stanford
University and an MBA from the Haas School of Business