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Cases in Entrepreneurship | Fall 2015 Tr 09:30-10:45Am @ Miller Hall “Ideation Lab” 111

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THIS SYLLABUS IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT THE INSTRUCTOR’S DISCRETION

MGT B493 | CASES IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP | FALL 2015

TR 09:30-10:45AM @ MILLER HALL “IDEATION LAB” 111

INSTRUCTOR: JON ATKINSON, MBA. E-MAIL: [email protected]

TELEPHONE: OFFICE: (504) 864-7938 PERSONAL CELL: (504) 994-0786 (EMERGENCY ONLY)

OFFICE HOURS (MILLER 345): BY APPOINTMENT PREREQUISITE COURSES: MGT -B245AND MKT -B280.

OVERVIEW

This class uses HBS (Harvard Business School) Case Method to explore various topics related to

starting, growing, and “exiting” scalable, high growth, businesses. Focus is given to high profile successes and failures across a variety of industries with the goal of unlocking the “secrets” of Silicon

Valley and other successful innovation clusters. How is value created and distributed by innovative, forward looking, often cobbled together, new businesses that ultimately have a meaningful impact on the everyday lives of large numbers of people? How and why do such businesses often fail spectacularly? How do aspiring entrepreneurs best equip themselves, build teams and management structures, and design products to compete in this winner take all environment?

The case method puts the student in the driver seat, solving real problems, faced by real companies, often with limited information and uncertain outcomes. This trains students to be

entrepreneurs or “intrapreneurs” increasing their confidence and making key decisions across a variety of

functional areas. The class follows the themes promulgated by the “How to Start a Start-up” lecture series developed by Sam Altman, founder of Y-Combinator (YC), for Stanford University. This series of

publicly available lectures features some of Silicon Valley’s best and brightest sharing in-depth lessons

about specific topics and challenges they have faced as founders, investors and mentors working with high growth companies. The Y-Combinator community has produced over $30 billion dollars of business value since 2005.

OBJECTIVES

This course is designed as an elective course in the management major with the following objectives in mind:
 Improve contextual awareness of how innovative companies develop, are structured, and generate value in the 21st century economy.
 Develop confidence making reasoned decisions under conditions of extreme uncertainty.  Understand how innovation driven businesses fit within the context of an industry and global market dynamics.
 Explore real start-up culture and how to avoid common pitfalls and misconceptions.  Apply scalable business concepts to personal passions and career paths across a variety of industries

Start-up culture is built around continuous learning and self-motivation to pursue personal excellence.
This class just scratches the surface of the available resources. Motivated students will find ample resources to do a deeper dive on topics of interest and opportunities to get plugged into the local

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entrepreneurship community through other Loyola programs. It is the hope that the content of this course will inspire some students to pursue their own world changing entrepreneurial journey.

COURSE MATERIALS AND TOOLS

Required “Reading:”

“Built to Sell” by John Warrillow – (Bookstore/Amazon)

Harvard Business Review Coursepack
Cut/Paste Text Link: https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/access/37602081

How to Start a Startup Lecture Series by Sam Altman
Cut/Paste Text Link:

http://startupclass.samaltman.com (Official Version)

Failure to purchase, read, and adequately prepare required materials prior to the assigned class will adversely impact your grade.

Suggested/Encouraged/Optional Reading:

“Remedial” Texts and Handbooks (Hint: Hopefully you have these already…):

“Start-up Owner’s Manual” by Steve Blank (Bookstore/Amazon)
“Business Model Generation” by Alexander Osterwalder (Bookstore/Amazon)

“Star Pupil” Advanced/Interesting Reading:

“Zero to One” by Peter Thiel (Full Text) (Amazon) “Articles” by Paul Grahm (Blog)

Proscribed Reading by Sam Altman (Various Sources by Lecture)

Recommended “Cliff Notes” (…Really. Someone else has already taken notes on this class for you… Please be a good creative citizen and pay something.)

“The first 30%: Distilled Wisdom from Start-up Experts” by “Rahul” (Link)

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Optional reading is entirely and by definition “optional.” These are materials that are available to you

at your discretion. Healthy curiosity regarding the subject matter of the course will improve the quality classroom dialogue for all participants, which has the potential to improve grades.

If you are serious about this space, it is highly recommended that you dive into these materials. There

is no wrong place to start. This is also not a definitive list. Use “the Google,” and don’t be afraid to

spend money on books, they are cheaper than paying a professor to tell you what to read.

CLASS COMMUNICATIONS

E-mail and Blackboard “Announcements” are used frequently to send reminders, schedule changes, etc. It is your obligation to check email and Blackboard daily and to ensure that your inbox does not fill up. E-mail is generally the best way to reach me.

GRADES

Grades are heavily based on classroom participation and overall preparedness for each class.
Students are also assessed on individual and group written work. As a symposium style class there are no

traditional “tests,” however the instructor reserves the right to use “pop quizzes” as a proxy for class

participation if students are not adequately prepared. There are no “extra credit” assignments. If you are doing poorly in the class, you should spend your time improving your performance on future assignments, not doing additional work. Personal improvement and demonstration of effort will be considered in final grades.

  • LETTER GRADE
  • RANGE

94.6 - 100 90 – 94.5
87.5 – 89.9 82.6 – 87.4
80 – 82.5
77.5 – 79.9 72.6 – 77.4
70 – 72.5
67.5 – 69.9
65 – 67.4
0- 65
AA- B+ BB- C+ CC- D+ DF

Please study the table below and following descriptions carefully, noting the percentage of your grade that will be determined by each component and the requirements for achieving full marks:

  • COMPONENT
  • % OF GRADE

Contribution to Class Discussion/Case
Preparedness
30%
Case Response/Write-Ups
Simulation
40%
5%

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Case Research Project
Case Discussion Leadership
15% 10%

PARTICIPATION, BEHAVIOR & ATTENDANCE (30% OF GRADE)

ATTENDANCE. Attendance is required. This course is discussion-driven and your success depends on inclass activities. Poor attendance reflects negatively on you and deprives the rest of the class of your perspective and insights. If you know about an unavoidable absence in advance (e.g. job interview), please let me know via e-mail. Please give your team members the same notice and courtesy regarding attendance/absences.

BEHAVIOR. My expectations of you are relatively simple: arrive on time, be well prepared and behave as you would in a lively business meeting. Side conversations and ringing cell phones are unacceptable in

class and will hurt your grade. Always be respectful of others’ opinions, even if you disagree with them.

Also, although it is acceptable to use your laptop or tablet for note-taking, use of social media, games or other software unrelated to class will result in your ejection from class.

PARTICIPATION. The character of this course naturally lends itself to active exchange between participants. To recognize those whose comments and questions benefit us all, a part of your grade is based on contributions made in class. Both quantity and quality are relevant and, although consistent contribution is ideal, a few points of genuine insight may go a long way. Sharing perceptions and ideas with others is crucial for learning and for understanding how the diverse opinions that you are likely to encounter in an organization are articulated and debated. You will find yourself presenting and testing new ideas that are not wholly formulated and assisting others to shape their ideas as well. You should be prepared to take some risks and be supportive of the efforts of others. Grades for participation will be based primarily on my discretion and will generally follow the criteria outlined below:

BELOW EXPEC-
TATIONS
MEETS EXPEC- TATIONS (B LEV-
EL)
INADEQUATE

(D/F LEVEL)

EXEMPLARY

(A LEVEL)
(C LEVEL)

Misses over 6 classes

  • Misses 3-5 classes Misses 1-2 classes
  • Misses no classes

ATTENDANCE

Proactively and

  • Few contributions
  • Student never

contributes to regularly contribto class discus-

class discussion; sion; Seldom vol-

  • utes to class dis-
  • Provides invaluable

“incite” to class discus-

sions

LEVEL OF EN- GAGEMENT

cussion; Initiates discussion on issues related to class fails to respond to direct questions unteers but responds to direct questions

Does not listen when others talk, interrupts, or makes inappropriate comments
Does not listen carefully and comments are often nonresponsive to discussion
Listens and appropriately responds to the contributions of others
Listens without interrupting and incorporates/expands on the contributions of others

LISTENING SKILLS

Contributions are off-topic or distract class
Contributions are sometimes offtopic or distracting
Contributions promote deeper analysis of the topic
Contributions are always relevant

RELEVANCE OF CONTRIBUTION

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from discussion Is not adequate- Has read the mate-
Is consistently well-

prepared; Frequently raises questions or comments on material outside the assignment ly prepared; Does not appear to have read the material in advance of class rial but not closely or has read only some of the assigned material in advance
Student has read and thought about the material in advance of class

PREPARATION

ASSIGNMENTS

All assignments must be posted to Blackboard and two printed copies brought to class. When posting to
Blackboard attend to the following standards:

1. Submit assignemnts in MS Word or PDF with the naming syntax “lastname/s-class-semester-

assignmentname” (e.g., “Johnston-B245-Fall2015-lecture8_AirBNB.docx”)
2. Use Times New Roman, 12 pt font, single-spaced, with 1” margins all around. 3. Follow standard stylistic guidelines (e.g., http://www.bartleby.com/141/) and have no spelling, grammatical, and typographic errors. All assignments should be organized clearly and logically with meaningful headings, sub-headings, and overall structure. Sloppy, poorly organized work that has not been proofread will be as unacceptable in class as it would be at work.
4. Comply with General Business Writing Guidelines and applicable format expectations
(word/page limits) for assignment

GENERAL BUSINESS WRITING GUIDELINES



Less is always more. Word count matters. Always write for skim value. Thoughtfully use blank space and “EMPHASIS” Minimize use of passive voice (Caesar was stabbed by Brutus (passive) vs Brutus stabbed Caesar (active)).

Never use personal pronouns (“I,” “we,” “us,” “me,” etc). “I think…” is irrelevant and redun-

dant.



Avoid hedging one’s opinion. Concisely commit and defend.

Focus on conveying complex ideas simplistically.

Failure to comply with these standards denotes a lack of effort that will be reflected in a student’s grade.

  • ASSIGNMENT
  • DESCRIPTION

 Minimum and Maximum of one page single spaced “write-up” designed to show mastery of case concepts, thoughtful consideration of alternative courses of action, and a recommended course of action based on the facts of the case. The case write up has three defined parts.

WEEKLY CASE

RESPONSE/

WRITE-UP

 Concisely summarize and define the primary problem or problems (no more than three) that the company or case protagonist is experiencing. It may be necessary to define an area of focus that is narrower than the case as whole.
 Cite the relevant insights from the case that are pertinent to any potential decision being made
(40% OF

GRADE)

 Develop potential courses of action and arguments for or against each based on case facts.

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 Students will be presented with an in-class simulation designed to mimic

SIMULATION EXERCISE

resource allocation in a start-up environment. Grades will be assigned based on simulation outcomes and student reflection.

(5% OF

GRADE)

RESEARCH CASE AND DISCUSSION LEADERSHIP

 Individually or in teams of two, students will prepare a case study based on independent research on a high growth, or high growth potential company not covered by the class. Students will then lead a 30-45 minute class discussion on the case they have written.
 The case should include the following elements (at a minimum):

(25% OF

GRADE)

o Business History/Narrative o Description of Product or Service o Market dynamics o Focus on a particular problem or set of Problems faced by the business o Supporting data
 Students may choose to develop their case based on local primary research,
(Founder interviews and primary data) or pull data from publicly available sources. Ease of access and availability of data will be factored in to the students final grade.
 Case studies can focus on both successful and unsuccessful companies as well as companies where the result is not yet known. The goal of the case

study is to frame and pose the appropriate questions, not provide answers.

 All sources should be properly cited. Any suspicion of plagiarism will result in a failing grade.

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COURSE CALENDAR

  • DATE
  • SESSION TITLE
  • DUE

Course/syllabus overview, introductions

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SCALABILITY

--

Review and Begin to Familiarize yourself with “remedial”

readings

Begin “Built to Sell” by John Warrillow

AUG 25

TOOLKIT “1” OSTERWALDER: BMC AND VALUE
PROP

--

“Built to Sell” by John Warrillow Chapters 1-5 Optional: Review “Business Model Generation” as Necessary

AUG 27 SEP 1

--

“Built to Sell” by John Warrillow Chapters 5-10 Optional: Start-up Owner’s Manual by Steve Blank p. 67 – 127

(Markets, Customer Discovery, Decision Making Units and Customer Archetypes)

TOOLKIT “2”

CUSTOMERS, SWOT,
& CONTEXT

--

-

Optional: “A New Way to Look at Competitors” by Steve Blank

SEP 3 SEP 8

BUILT TO SELL

Complete “Built to Sell” Chapters 10-14 and Appendix

Altman (http://startupclass.samaltman.com): Lecture 1;

“Because you can’t not do it” by Sam Altman and Dustin

Moskovitz

WHAT IS A
CASE?/WHY START A
START-UP?

  • -
  • Preview Webvan Case

--

HBR: “Webvan” by Andrew Mcafee Mona Ashiya

Case Write-up Due (Post to Blackboard and 2 Copies to Class)
SEP 10 SEP 15

CASE: WEBVAN GUEST LECTURE
(ERIK FRANK: YOUR
NUTRITION

--

Altman: Lecture 2: Team and Execution Preview AirBNB Case

DELIVERED)/
BUILDING A TEAM

--

HBR: “Airbnb” by Andrew Rachleff and Sara Rosenthal (Stanford

Case) Case Write Up Due (Post to Blackboard and 2 Copies to Class)
SEP 17 SEP 22

CASE: AIRBNB

--

Altman: Lecture 3: “Before the Start-up” by Paul Graham Review “Start-up Ideas” by Paul Graham

(http://www.paulgraham.com/startupideas.html)

Preview Chegg Case

START-UP IDEAS

-

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----

HBR: “Chegg: Textbook Rental Takes Flight” by Thomas R.

Eisenmann William A. Sahlman Evan W. Richardson Case Write Up Due (Post to Blackboard and 2 Copies to Class)
SEP 24

CASE: CHEGG
GUEST
LECTURE/USER ACQUISITION

Altman: Lecture 4 “Building Products, Talking to Users and Growing” by Adora Cheung

Preview IMVU
SEP 29 OCT 1

--

HBR: “IMVU” by Andrew Rachleff; Bethany Coates Case Write Up Due (Post to Blackboard and 2 Copies to Class)
CASE: IMVU
--

Altman: Lecture 5 “Competition is for Losers” by Peter Thiel WSJ Article: “Competition is for Losers” 9/12/14 by Peter Thiel

(Handout/Blackboard)
OCT 6 OCT 8

LIVE IN THE FUTURE

  • -
  • Preview Tesla

--

HBR: “Tesla Motors (in 2013): Will Sparks Fly in the Automobile Industry?” by Frank T. Rothaermel and Erin Zimmer

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    SpaceX's Starship Just Exploded -- But That's Still Good News Rich Smith Provided by The Motley Fool SpaceX's Starship Just Exploded -- But That's Still Good News SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is a man who regularly "makes history." He didn't quite do that this week -- but at least he made the evening news. In recent years, SpaceX has put the first privately built and operated spacecraft in orbit around Earth. It was first to send a privately built, orbital-class rocket to space, and then land its booster back on Earth (and later on a ship at sea). Its Falcon Heavy rocket, which debuted way back in 2018, remains the biggest, most powerful operational rocket on the planet. But now SpaceX and Musk want to fly something even bigger -- and it could change the economics of the space industry forever. To the moon, Alice (or in that general direction) That's why on Wednesday, Dec. 9, SpaceX conducted the first-ever high-altitude test flight of its Starship interplanetary rocket ship -- the vessel Musk hopes will soon carry U.S. astronauts to the moon, and a few years later to Mars. 窗体底端 In a demonstration that lasted just 6 minutes, 42 seconds start to finish, Starship "SN8" lifted off vertically, climbed to an estimated altitude of 41,000 feet (just under eight miles), then turned off its engines and executed a "belly flop" maneuver -- flipping horizontally to increase wind resistance and surface area (slowing the craft down and dissipating heat) as it plunged back to Earth. Just 11 seconds before impact, SN8 reignited its engines to swing itself back to vertical, and kept firing as it attempted to slow down and land on its tail.
  • Start-Up Investor Bets on Biotech Y Combinator Has High Hopes for Low-Cost Biotech Innovation

    Start-Up Investor Bets on Biotech Y Combinator Has High Hopes for Low-Cost Biotech Innovation

    NATURE | NEWS: Q&A Start-up investor bets on biotech Y Combinator has high hopes for low-cost biotech innovation. Richard Van Noorden 23 April 2014 Marla Aufmuth Elizabeth Iorns brought her expertise with biotech projects to Y Combinator, a start-up accelerator known for its investments in the technology business. Y Combinator, a company that backs technology start-ups, is famous for its early support of successful online services such as Airbnb and Dropbox. It historically has invested a few thousand dollars into web-based businesses that require only small grants to get up and running at their earliest stages. But the programme is now expanding its reach to back biotechnology start-ups, says company president Sam Altman. Altman spoke to Nature together with Elizabeth Iorns, hired last week as a part-time partner at Y Combinator, which is based in Mountain View, California, for her expertise in life sciences. A former cancer biologist turned entrepreneur, Iorns has herself benefited from Y Combinator funding — she co-founded Science Exchange, a firm in Palo Alto, California, that provides an online marketplace where scientists offer up spare capacity and instrumentation to do other researchers’ experiments. In 2008, Y Combinator founder Paul Graham wrote that funding biotechnology start-ups was too expensive. Why the change now? Sam Altman: Six years ago, the starting costs for biotech firms would not work with our model: it took millions of dollars to get anywhere. But the landscape has changed. We’ve noticed, over the past year, more and more promising biotech firms asking about Y Combinator.
  • Sam Altman, President, Y Combinator

    Sam Altman, President, Y Combinator

    April 23, 2018 Mr. Brent J. Fields Secretary U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission 100 F Street, NW Washington, DC. 20549-1090 RE: SR-IEX-2018-06 Dear Mr. Fields, Y Combinator (“YC”) is a startup fund based in Mountain View, CA that goes beyond just funding to partner closely with promising early stage companies, providing them mentorship, education, advice, training, and connections to valuable networks. Since 2005, Y Combinator has partnered with and invested in over 1,588 companies including Airbnb, Dropbox, Stripe, Reddit, Instacart, Docker and Gusto, and in the process helped create thousands of jobs. The YC motto reads: "Make something people want" – our companies live up to our simple creed and have created products and technologies beloved by millions.� Our mission is to enable innovation for everyone. We believe new technology, economic growth and wealth creation should be available for everyone. New ideas about how our society might better function are more important than ever before. In that spirit, YC is passionate about creating a financial environment where startups at every stage can thrive and pursue new innovations. The private financing market as a whole in the U.S. is booming— there has probably been more capital looking to invest in private technology companies in the past five years than any previous five-year period. Many of our companies have raised financing and gone on to become successful large businesses, some of which are eventually acquired. But a theme has emerged from our community of companies: there is a hesitancy to go public. As an investor in LTSE, we believe the creation of LTSE Listings on IEX would help to design the kind of ecosystem in the public markets that retains so much of what modern, innovative companies find valuable in the private markets.