This is a first-year gateway course and is not available for second-year bidding. Second-years must wait until the add/drop process begins in January to add this class.

COURSE NUMBER: MBA295A.1

COURSE TITLE: Entrepreneurship

UNITS OF CREDIT: 3 Units

INSTRUCTOR: David Charron and Kurt Beyer

E-MAIL ADDRESSES: charron@haas.berkeley.edu; kurt_beyer@haas.berkeley.edu

MEETING DAY(S)/TIME: Thursday, 8:00-11:00 AM

PREREQUISITES: None

CLASS FORMAT: Mixture of cases, lectures and guest speakers

REQUIRED READINGS: Our text will be Timmons & Spinelli, New Venture Creation: Entrepreneurship for the 21st Century; articles and cases will be available in the course reader.

BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE: Unlike other Entrepreneurial courses that focus on the creation of a business plan, this course will have students and teams generate and deliver a series of documents, including product specifications, pitch decks, term sheets, financial plans, cap tables and operational plans that simulate more accurately the startup process. These deliverables, combined with formal investor presentations, class participation, and peer reviews, will constitute the basis for the final grade.

ABSTRACT OF COURSE'S CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES:

Entrepreneurship is one of the most rewarding yet challenging endeavors. It is a commitment to building a fast growing company that creates a product or service that addresses market needs and reshapes the future. This course is designed for students who are committed to starting a new venture as well as those who want a better understanding the tools, techniques, and theory behind this dynamic business process. The course focuses on the entrepreneur as a leader and manager of change. In practice this means that the class will simulate startup conditions from idea and team formation through investor presentations and the signing of seed funding documents. Through the process we will provide the critical tools and strategies addressing product development, target market analysis, financial modeling, fundraising, and customer development. Class theory and practice will be supported by live case examples from some of the most successful local entrepreneurs and alumni, taking full advantage of Berkeley's unique proximity to San Francisco and Silicon Valley.

Our goal is to integrate the skills and 10 capabilities central to the educational program at Haas with the innovative culture of the Bay Area.

CHANGES TO THE COURSE SINCE ITS MOST RECENT OFFERING: MBA295A has as its core deliverable the writing a business plan and delivering that at the end of the semester to a group of investors. However, the writing is de-emphasized in favor of raising financing. The financing simulations and activities are designed to be real-life and to parallel the completion of the final pitch/plan deliverable. Every student will emerge from the class understanding the integration of the financing with entrepreneurial activities.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

David Charron is currently a Senior Fellow at the Lester Center, the Entrepreneurship Program of the Haas School of Business, where he also served as Executive Director. At Haas he is a member of the professional faculty for the MBA program and also active in teaching executives. He is an entrepreneur, investor and consultant in the Silicon Valley with 25 years of experience in technology commercialization and entrepreneurship. He graduated from Stanford University in engineering and has an MBA from Haas.

Dr. Kurt Beyer currently teaches Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Berkeley's Haas Business School and advises entrepreneurs and startups through Morgan Stanley. Kurt's multifaceted experience includes CEO of a digital media startup, an assistant professor, and a Naval Aviator. Kurt’s book, Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age, was published by The MIT Press in 2009 and named one of the top ten science and technology books of 2010. Kurt received a BS from the United States Naval Academy, an MA from Oxford University, England, and a PHD from the University of California, Berkeley.