COURSE NUMBER: MBA295M.1
This
course is cross-listed with the EWMBA 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:
MBA 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.