COURSE NUMBER: MBA295I.1
This course is cross-listed
with the Full-Time MBA Program
COURSE
TITLE: Workshop for Startups
(Note: this course has
historically focused on launching new startup ventures, and those types of ventures
will likely represent the majority of projects in this class. For this semester
the instructors are also willing to accept a limited number of corporate
startup ventures, with the understanding that such projects will require
specific advance approval.)
UNITS
OF CREDIT: 2
INSTRUCTORS: Mark Coopersmith, John Danner
E-MAIL
ADDRESSES: markcoop@haas.berkeley.edu , danner@haas.berkeley.edu
MEETING
DAY(S)/TIME: Tuesdays, 6:00-9:30PM
(Course will meet 10 times
over the 15 weeks of the semester, exact dates TBD.)
PREREQUISITE(S): MBA 295A
or consent of the instructor; must have a general understanding of the
entrepreneurial and startup process and requirements of launching a business, and actively be investigating or
developing a business; must be willing to share sufficient business details
with classmates, instructor and mentors as appropriate for such a workshop
class; teams comprised of 2, 3 or more students taking the course are strongly
encouraged.
CLASS FORMAT: Highly interactive curriculum including much peer
discussion, collaboration and input. Short
lectures; guest speakers and panels; in-class working groups and
problem-solving sessions; student/company presentations with in-class analysis,
critique and working sessions; extensive incorporation of outside mentors and
resources; student breakout groups.
The pedagogy includes much
hands-on application of teachings: new topics are introduced; students are
expected to apply them immediately; expert feedback is provided by instructors
and mentors; improvements are made; and then additional concepts are
added. The process is highly actionable,
iterative, and connected with real markets, as startups evolve in real time.
READINGS: Targeted excerpts from: Kawasaki -"The Art of the
Start"; Komisar “Getting to Plan B”; Ries –
“The Lean Startup”
BASIS
FOR FINAL GRADE:
Grades will depend on
the student's progress in developing his or her team project, level and quality
of participation in class discussions, working sessions and presentations, and
the quality of their peer‐to-peer advising and consulting for other
students’ projects along with how well the student incorporates and/or responds
to input from instructor, mentors and fellow students.
Venture progress – 40% of
final grade. At the start of the class you will be required to describe the
current state of your vision/venture/company and your goals for making progress
on your startup during the semester. Your progress grade will be based on the
actual work you perform and report to class in achieving goals and adapting to
the changing circumstances facing your venture. Fast iteration, evolution and
development of products and business models; customer discovery and
development; team building; and ability to concisely present your venture will
all contribute to this assessment.
Participation – 40% of
final grade. Your grade for participation includes topical presentations about your
company and your efforts in starting the company. You will be required to
prepare presentations to the class on a number of major subject areas, and
especially those that are most relevant/critical to
your venture, such as Product Demo/Concept, Positioning, Business Model, and
Financing. You will also be evaluated on the quantity and especially the
quality of your in‐class questions and comments in instructor-led
discussions and also providing feedback to your fellow students in broad class
sessions and breakout groups. Attendance will be a component of this portion of
the grade.
Consulting – 20% of final
grade. During the semester, each student will act as a consultant to another
student and venture in the course. This means that you will have the opportunity
to offer insights and advice to another student and their venture. In a similar
vein, all students will also be clients receiving advice from fellow students.
You will be judged on the quality of the advice you provide and how you deliver
it (how actionable is the advice, how comprehensive and well thought out, how
creative?). You will also be evaluated on your ability to be a good client,
including how you receive the advice and integrate or act upon it.
ABSTRACT
OF COURSE'S CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES:
This course takes the study
of entrepreneurship well beyond opportunity recognition and business
planning. We will actively investigate and undertake actions and
activities that create successful and scalable ventures. Students explore
methods to build and evolve new ventures with activities and learnings based around businesses that each of them is
actively developing. Disciplines covered include customer and market research,
team development, product development, positioning, business experimentation,
customer discovery and development, go-to-market activities, financing
strategies and other activities related to their own venture and to the
ventures of others in the class. Fast iteration and accelerated development are
actively investigated incorporating “lean-startup” methodologies and
activities.
This workshop is intended
for students who have their own venture project already under development.
Teams of 2, 3 or more class participants are strongly encouraged. Students may
be from any graduate degree program across campus and must have already
invested substantial thinking and work into the development and evolution of
the concept and business plan, intellectual property, product or service
demonstrations and related materials. The venture may be in startup mode or
further along in its evolution, but in any case ventures should be well beyond
the “opportunity recognition” and initial “concept development” phases. In past
courses students have, for example, launched and evolved products, attracted
customers, generated revenues and obtained funding during the semester.
Deciding mid-semester that
you don’t want to pursue your venture may impact your grade, but “failing fast”
and developing a more promising “Plan B” may occur with some ventures over the
semester. How well the student navigates these issues and responds to
adversity, failure and changing conditions will count substantially toward
their grade. This class is – after all – about experiencing the entrepreneurial
process at a fundamental level. Students must be willing to discuss their
project in-depth and openly with others in the class including students,
mentors and instructor(s). You should not take this course if you are not
willing to share details about your venture.
This course is structured
around the major elements of the business plan as a framework, and there are a
number of related deliverables, although it is not a requirement of the course
to produce a formal business plan. The course is conducted as a highly
interactive workshop, exploring issues in real-time that are faced by student
entrepreneurs in converting their ventures and concepts into successful
companies. Each class member is expected to contribute actively in the
discussions and presentation critiques. Students will also act as consultants
to one another.
Guest speakers, mentors and
other participants will frequently be incorporated in the class to add start-up
experience, domain expertise and perspective. Attendance at the Berkeley
Entrepreneur Forums and other entrepreneur and startup oriented activities both
on and off campus will strongly reinforce the material presented in the
class. One or two class meetings may be held off-site in an
entrepreneurial environment such as a new venture accelerator, a startup, or
shared workspace.
BIOGRAPHICAL
SKETCHES:
Mark Coopersmith
A leader and innovator in
consumer products, technology, media and branding, Mark has spent more than 20
years launching, building and restructuring high-growth global businesses. Over
his career he has led the $300mm Global Technology Brands group at consumer
products company Newell Rubbermaid and co-founded and built a $150mm consumer
products and online commerce division for Sony. He was the founding CEO of
pioneer online payments company WebOrder (now
part of Motorola/Google); and earlier in his career was a strategy and M&A
consultant with Ernst & Young. Mark has advised global enterprises such as
Intel, DirecTV, T Rowe Price and Sony, and has also worked with and served on
the boards of many innovative earlier stage companies. Mark is currently
working with several earlier stage ventures and may use current examples in his
teaching. Mark teaches Entrepreneurship
at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, where he also mentors many students
and their ventures including as an advisor at SkyDeck.
He is an alumnus of UC Berkeley, where he earned his B.A. and MBA degrees.
John Danner
John teaches innovation, entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship
in several programs at UC Berkeley, including at Haas and the School of
Information, and also is a visiting professor at Princeton University. He is the creator of "The Other F
Word" course at Haas, which he and Mark Coopersmith will be co-teaching in
spring 2014, and is a sought-after advisor to corporations, government
agencies, and startup ventures. John has
a JD from the University of California at Berkeley’s Boalt
School of Law, as well as Masters degrees in Education
and Public Health. He received his undergraduate degree cum laude from Harvard. He is director of The Berkeley Innovation
Consortium; Director, Berkeley Hills Associates LLC. He is the former CEO of a
startup 21C3 Inc.; former Co-Owner, The WindRiver Group; former Publisher, HealthWeek
and Managed Care; and former Attorney, Morrison & Foerster.
He has served as Executive Secretary at the US Dept of Education. He was
Executive Assistant to Governor Bill Clinton while he was governor of
Arkansas.
Between the two of them Mark and
John have five (yes five) degrees from UC Berkeley. They have been quoted in
publications ranging from the New York Times to The Economist to USA today, and
have graced media outlets ranging from the TED Global stage to Fox Business to
NPR and CNN.