Entrepreneurship Series: Developing that Great Opportunity – 01

About Course

How does a good idea become a viable business opportunity? What is entrepreneurship and who fits the profile of an entrepreneur? This introductory course is designed to introduce you to the foundational concepts of entrepreneurship, including the definition of entrepreneurship, the profile of the entrepreneur, the difference between entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial management, and the role of venture creation in society. You’ll explore where technology entrepreneurship and impact entrepreneurship align and where they diverge, and you’ll learn proven techniques for identifying the opportunity, assessing the opportunity, hypothesis testing and creating a prototype.

By the end of this course, you’ll know how to test, validate and prototype your idea, and also whether or not you fit the profile of an entrepreneur! You’ll also be ready to move on to the next phase of entrepreneurship in Entrepreneurship 2: Launching the Start-Up.

You will also discover that entrepreneurship has different applications and even different definitions in academia and in practice.
You'll learn how to determine a market need, develop a solution, evaluate your solution using a variety of methods, and pressure test your idea.
You'll learn market segmentation, how to determine user needs, how to use the competitive landscape as well as potential users to refine your idea,
You'll learn why there's no single formula for a successful pitch, the best techniques for formulating good surveys, and strategies for creating prototypes for physical goods, software, and services.

Course Content

Week 1: Introduction and Course materials
This module was designed to introduce you to the team of Wharton professors who are teaching this course and others in the Entrepreneurship Specialization. You will also discover that entrepreneurship has different applications and even different definitions in academia and in practice. By the end of this short module, you'll know what entrepreneurship means to you and others, and understand some of the common arguments about entrepreneurship as a field of study.

0.1 Introduction to the Professors and Wharton – v

09:00
0.2 What Is Entrepreneurship? –

06:00
0.3 Can You Teach Entrepreneurship? –

06:00
1.1 Course Introduction –

22:00
1.2 Profile of the Entrepreneur –

06:00
1.5 Types of Enterprises –

05:48
1.6 Technology Entrepreneurship –

14:28
1.7 Impact Entrepreneurship –

14:00
1.4 Venture Creation’s Role in Society –

08:52
1.3 Entrepreneurship in Established Firms –

20:00
PDFs of Lecture Slides
Draft Lesson
The Role of Venture Creation in Society: Interview: Andy Rachleff, Founder, Wealthfront, Co-founder, Benchmark Capital

15:21
Entrepreneurship in Established Companies: Interview with Scott Mills, EVP, Chief Administrator Officer, Viacom

32:00

Week 2: Opportunity Analysis
In this module, you'll learn how to discover, develop, and assess opportunities, so you can choose one that has the best potential for success. Starting an enterprise is uncertain by nature, but you can increase certainty and decrease some risk by evaluating potential opportunities using thoughtful processes proven to help you decide which opportunities are better positioned for growth. You'll learn how to determine a market need, develop a solution, evaluate your solution using a variety of methods, and pressure test your idea. You'll also learn several methods of evaluating opportunity, including using customers, the VIDE model, and the tournament method. You'll see these processes applied to real world examples of both opportunities which were ultimately successful and those that failed. By the end of this module, you'll be able to apply these evaluation process to your own opportunities, and/or use them to discover new ones with greater potential for growth.

2.1 Opportunities and Uncertainty

07:00
2.2 Push and Pull and the Sources of Innovation

13:43
2.3 Customers as Sources of Opportunities

17:00
2.4 Importance of the Idea (VIDE Model)

14:00
2.5 Assessing Opportunities

08:00
2.6 The Tournament Approach

08:00
From Idea to Opportunity: Interview with Amy Errett

25:00
PDFs of Lecture Slides
Audio Interviews with Founders of TemperPack and Of Mercer
From Idea to Opportunity: Interview with Amy Errett

24:00

Week 3: Markets, Need Finding and Planning
This module will help you define your market, identify your user, harness the wisdom of the crowd, and come up with an informed plan for your venture. You'll learn market segmentation, how to determine user needs, how to use the competitive landscape as well as potential users to refine your idea, and how to create a simple but powerful plan for your start-up that will allow you to avoid common mistakes and pitfalls. By the end of this module, you'll be able to refine your own pitch, develop a clearer picture of your user, and develop a useful model for your own enterprise.

3.1 Defining the Focal Market

13:11
3.2 Understanding User Needs

26:34
3.3 Competitive Analysis

09:30
3.4 Generating Ideas with Individuals and Groups

04:48
3.5 Planning: Assumptions

11:22
3.6 Planning: Discovery Driven Planning

17:00
3.7 Planning: Discovery Driven Planning Worksheet

08:39
PDFs of Lecture Slides and Better Desk Spreadsheet
Audio Interview with Founders of Minibar and Relay Rides
Talent Management and Development: Interview with Jackie Reses

16:00

Week 4: Pitching, Testing and Prototyping
In this module, you'll learn how to pitch your idea, test it, and create a prototype. You'll learn why there's no single formula for a successful pitch, the best techniques for formulating good surveys, and strategies for creating prototypes for physical goods, software, and services. By the end of this module, you'll be be able to identify the key components of a successful pitch, know how to use surveys effectively to test your idea, and come up with a plan for building a prototype of your own product or service.

4.1 The Elevator Pitch

06:00
4.2 Testing your Idea: Customer Interviews

10:00
4.3 Testing your Idea: Surveys

17:20
4.4 Creating a Prototype: Physical Goods

19:21
4.5 Creating a Prototype: Software

17:43
4.6 Creating a Prototype: Services

05:00
4.7 Summary and What’s Ahead

02:00
PDF’s of Lecture Slides
Audio Interview with Founders of Caviar
Launching a Start-up: Interview with Co-founders of Prayas Analytics

00:00

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About Course

What Will You Learn?

Course Content

0.1 Introduction to the Professors and Wharton – v

0.2 What Is Entrepreneurship? –

0.3 Can You Teach Entrepreneurship? –

1.1 Course Introduction –

1.2 Profile of the Entrepreneur –

1.5 Types of Enterprises –

1.6 Technology Entrepreneurship –

1.7 Impact Entrepreneurship –

1.4 Venture Creation’s Role in Society –

1.3 Entrepreneurship in Established Firms –

PDFs of Lecture Slides

Draft Lesson

The Role of Venture Creation in Society: Interview: Andy Rachleff, Founder, Wealthfront, Co-founder, Benchmark Capital

Entrepreneurship in Established Companies: Interview with Scott Mills, EVP, Chief Administrator Officer, Viacom

2.1 Opportunities and Uncertainty

2.2 Push and Pull and the Sources of Innovation

2.3 Customers as Sources of Opportunities

2.4 Importance of the Idea (VIDE Model)

2.5 Assessing Opportunities

2.6 The Tournament Approach

From Idea to Opportunity: Interview with Amy Errett

PDFs of Lecture Slides

Audio Interviews with Founders of TemperPack and Of Mercer

From Idea to Opportunity: Interview with Amy Errett

3.1 Defining the Focal Market

3.2 Understanding User Needs

3.3 Competitive Analysis

3.4 Generating Ideas with Individuals and Groups

3.5 Planning: Assumptions

3.6 Planning: Discovery Driven Planning

3.7 Planning: Discovery Driven Planning Worksheet

PDFs of Lecture Slides and Better Desk Spreadsheet

Audio Interview with Founders of Minibar and Relay Rides

Talent Management and Development: Interview with Jackie Reses

4.1 The Elevator Pitch

4.2 Testing your Idea: Customer Interviews

4.3 Testing your Idea: Surveys

4.4 Creating a Prototype: Physical Goods

4.5 Creating a Prototype: Software

4.6 Creating a Prototype: Services

4.7 Summary and What’s Ahead

PDF’s of Lecture Slides

Audio Interview with Founders of Caviar

Launching a Start-up: Interview with Co-founders of Prayas Analytics

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