KU Entrepreneurship Programs

In this course the student examines the disciplines that comprise the critical success factors in entrepreneurship and develops a fundamental understanding of the basic skill set required to manage his/her own business. The course will emphasize the Entrepreneurial Process, in which each of the following topics will be introduced: the personal attributes that historically have produced successful entrepreneurs, evaluating business opportunities via Feasibility Analysis, writing a business plan, obtaining financing for a new venture, and preparing for the challenges of business growth. This course is a prerequisite for all subsequent courses in entrepreneurship.

In this course the student examines the disciplines that comprise the critical success factors in entrepreneurship and develops a fundamental understanding of the basic skill set required to manage his/her own business. The course will emphasize the Entrepreneurial Process, in which each of the following topics will be introduced: the personal attributes that historically have produced successful entrepreneurs, evaluating business opportunities via Feasibility Analysis, writing a business plan, obtaining financing for a new venture, and preparing for the challenges of business growth. This course is a prerequisite for all subsequent courses in entrepreneurship.

This course will provide the student with two learning opportunities: first, understanding the critical success factors of starting a new venture, growing it and harvesting it profitably; second, hands-on instruction regarding the development of a complete and compelling business plan. Students will work in teams led by graduate students to develop a business plan for the purposes of commercializing an innovative business concept or KU lab-sourced technology. The student teams will also present and defend their business plans at selected intercollegiate competitions for the purposes of improving interaction skills, presentation capabilities, and enhancing the profile of the KU School of Business. Prerequisite –ENTR 410

This course will focus on valuing and financing young high-growth potential private companies (start-ups). The objective is for the students to learn how to make investment and financing decisions (and how to distinguish good from bad investments) in an environment characterized by high degrees of uncertainty and information asymmetry. This topic will be addressed from two distinct perspectives: that of users of capital (entrepreneurs) and that of suppliers of capital (venture capitalists and other private equity investors). In addition, alternative sources of financing for start-up firms (SBA loans, SBICs, mezzanine financing, L/Cs, etc.) will be studied. Finally, we will study the ways to harvest the ventures (IPOs, acquisitions, LBOs). Prerequisites – FIN 415 and ENTR 410

This course focuses on the development of new business ideas for new or established organizations, creating an environment conducive to innovation, recognizing business opportunities, assessing the industry, potential customers, market segment, barriers to entry, and competitor set. The development of each of these subjects will lead to a feasibility analysis which each student will prepare for his/her chosen new venture. Additionally, the course will provide an understanding of how to translate the product/service idea to the business concept and marketing positioning. Lastly, students will acquire an understanding of the primary marketing tools available to the entrepreneur to create a cohesive, integrated marketing communications program. Prerequisites – MKTG 310 and ENTR 410

This course examines the unique aspects of owning and managing a small business – defined as a privately held, independently owned and operated business – with the owners having close control over operations and management decisions. Students will examine the start-up options of buying, starting, or franchising; operations and human resources management; the unique factors of the family business; marketing, including setting prices, choosing a location, developing competitive advantage, positioning, and promotion with limited resources; financial statements, accounting systems, financing, cash flow and the working-capital cycle; and exit through selling, bequeathing, or dissolving the business. Prerequisite – ENTR 410

The purpose of this course is to help the student apply models and theories learned in previous courses in practical application to actual entrepreneurial challenges. These challenges will be presented to the student in either a simulated online environment or via the development and solution delivery of an actual small business/entrepreneurial business challenge. The environment in which the students will operate will be determined by the inventory of real world projects available at the time of the course offering. Prerequisite –ENTR 410

This advanced course emphasizes the competencies and skill sets required to identify and pursue different entrepreneurial opportunities. Specifically, focus will be directed against identifying and evaluating the business opportunity as well as entrepreneurial capabilities required for marketplace success. The importance of resource allocation via business plan analysis will be emphasized. Financing the new venture, sourcing and structuring the required deal capital will be studied. Finally, attention to managing rapid growth and exit strategies will be provided. Students will build an effective and comprehensive business plan to commercialize a new, live venture sourced from local business incubators. Business Plans will be submitted to one of several national intercollegiate business plan competitions. If accepted by the business plan competition, the student teams authoring the accepted business plan will be invited to attend and present the plan at an interesting location, all expenses paid.

A course focused on the legal attributes of different forms of business organizations, such as partnerships, limited liability companies, and corporations. This course includes a study of the basic principles of agency law. It explores the rights and responsibilities of people and entities (such as partners, stockholders, directors, officers, contractors, employers, and employees) functioning in the organizational environment. Also considered are the interests of third parties, including the public, which brings into focus related topics, such as securities regulations, ethics, and corporate social responsibility. Not open to students with credit in BLAW 505.
Prerequisite: BLAW 301 or BLAW 701.

This course will focus on separating and identifying good opportunities from inferior opportunities. We will attempt to place a quantitative value on these opportunities by using different valuation techniques. Students will also study the next step in the entrepreneurial process: raising capital to take advantage of good opportunities. We will study the comparative advantages/disadvantages of funding the new venture via corporate venture capitalists and angels, as well as some innovative methods of venture financing, including venture leasing and venture debt.

This course is divided into three parts. Part I will focus on the private debt market and mezzanine financing. In Part II we will consider how small firms can use strategic alliance and joint venture to create value. Also, we will examine what government sources of funding are available to small firms. Finally, in Part III we will study the ways to harvest the ventures. More specifically, we will focus on IPOs, acquisitions and leveraged buyouts.

With the utilization of computer simulation, this course demonstrates the competitive advantages of disruptive innovation to the profitable entrepreneur. Case studies and significant in class discussion comprise the primary learning methods.

The course is designed to develop an understanding for the need of a disciplined process of development, and to follow the basic steps of opportunity identification, testing and implementation. It deals with the strategies, techniques, and methods used to develop and market a new product or service. The emphasis is on ‘learning by doing.’ The course will focus on the enhancement of innovative thinking, the identification and development of marketing opportunities, entry strategies, and developing the marketing mix for the new product. Prerequisite: BUS 710 or BUS 711 or permission of the instructor.

This course will focus on the role played by technology in the strategic management of firms, both in high-technology and low-technology industries. The use of technology as a major source of competitive advantage, both in terms of new products and processes, and the impact of technology on organizational forms will be discussed. The concept of technology strategy and the role of value creation will be elaborated. The course will make extensive use of cases to illustrate the key concepts.

This course will focus on the role of technology in management of operations of a company. Research and development, new product development, operations, and the linkages among them will be detailed. Key organizational issues such as business processes, core process designs, and organization of R&D and scientific laboratories will be discussed. Information technology as a source of organizational change and adoption will be summarized.

The primary course objective is to provide an experiential learning opportunity that complements and leverages students' in-class experience in those areas of students' primary subject interest/concentration. Business Consulting will present students with real business challenges requiring real time analysis, consideration of practical alternative strategies, exploration of sales and profit implications of the selected strategy and delivery of a fully rationalized recommendation to real clients.