EE614 Technology Ventures

Fall 2009

Goal: Introduce and explore the steps of starting a new venture from either an individual basis or from within a company.

Recommended Reading:

- The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything

- Thou Shall Prosper: Ten Commandments for Making Money

Things to expect:

Various assignments throughout the class to include some or all of the below

- Team exploration of ideas

- Opportunity analysis of ideas

- You’re a Blogger now

- Fun and adventures in branding

- Social media activities

- Participation in discussions on blogs and LinkedIn

- Taxes and death (will not talk about – just expect it)

Occasionally speakers.

- Dave Upton – various – angel capitalist

- Patrick Cash – Internet Marketeer

- Lyle Arrington, CPA

Some meetings might be held over the web!!

Rough outline (order may change):

- Overview

- Fueling a Startup

- Venture capitalists – what they want and why

- My story

- The Big Explore

- Opportunities vs ideas

- Testing the waters

- Stepping out

- Marketing and Branding (the new cool term MBAs like to use)

- Business plans – who needs them and why and how to write them

- Execution – the real deal

- Dirty Details and when and why to care

Taxes – the number two thing to plan for!
Business structures
Names
Accounting/finance for people smart enough not to get an MBA
Taking on money
Getting work done while sipping tea (or adult beverages)

- Exploration of Business Types

- Business Types

I’m so much cooler online (Internet Marketing)
Consulting and services (I get paid for nothing)
Manufacturing (yes – it still exists)

- Social Media for the anti-social (using SM as a marketing tool)

- Bringing it altogether – Developing a strategy

- Other topics as per popular opinion or demand by riotous IEMers

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Previous Syllabus – for those who wanted to know

Required Reads

The Art of the Start, Kawasaki
The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, Maxwell

Recommended Resources

The Go Getter, Kyne
Great story that tells what every employer and customer wants!
Good to Great, Collins
Technology Ventures by Richard C. Dorf and Thomas H. Byers, ISBN: 0-07-304466-0
In depth coverage of the subjects – but raw textbook format. Lots of good examples.
The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Business Law,
by Constance E. Bagley and Craig E. Dauchy. ISBN 0-314-22316-9
Practical and down to earth!
Launch Fever: Tim Taylor, ISBN: 0595266274
A walk though the journey from government NASA guy to entrepreneur.
Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey, ISBN: 0671708635
Classic book on setting priorities and dealing effectively with people.

Deliverables

Venture Teams (TBD)
Accountability Teams
- Each team will provide accountability to the other members of the team. Each member is expected to be an active participant.
- Each member is expected to be at all meetings.
- Periodically we will do a conf call or meeting with the team!
Individual
- August 29th – Do a QE of the book Art of the Start chapter 1. Email to me as QE1-YOURNAME.doc (example QE1-dalecallahan.doc).
- August 29th – Do a Leadership Evaluation of yourself (page 269 of the maxwell book) and email me your numbers. (I just want to total of each of the 21 laws – so expect to email me 21 numbers only. You do NOT need to read the book first – just do the evaluation.)
- Sept 19th – Develop a first draft of a business plan for Me, Inc (YOU) based on the outline of Kawasaki book page 69. Keep it short and relevant. You do not need to share personal financial details – but anything shared will be kept confidential. Deliver via email to me with title of the document being YOURNAMEPLANv1.Doc. (For example dalecallahanplanv1.doc)
- Sept 26th – Do a QE of the book Art of the Start chapters 2-4. Email to me as QE2-4-YOURNAME.doc
- Oct 17 – Provide your “final” draft of your plan named as YOURNAMEPLANv2.Doc
- Oct 31 – Do a QE of the book Art of the Start chapters 5-7. Email to me as before….
- Nov 28 – Do a QE of the book Art of the Start chapters 8-10. Email to me as before….
- Nov 28th – Redo the Leadership Evaluation of yourself (page 269 of the maxwell book) and email me your numbers. Also include any thoughts of where you might have grown over the term in the area of leadership.
Coaching – This is the volunteer meetings we will do individually. The material covered will NOT be grade impacting – but will certainly be related to what we do in the class.

Grading

Grading will be both objective and subjective
- Objective – Did you meet your dates and deliver? Any deliverable past due will loose 10% of the grade. Each day late will loose an additional 10%.
- Subjective – Was you work of quality? Were the presentations quality and powerful. Did you as an individual strive for the best or coast. Have you/your team improved?
Final grade will be split 50/50 between individual and team actions/deliverables.

Course Schedule (tentative)

August
- Friday
  - Overview
  - Workshop notes / Q&A – FAQ etc
  - Kawasaki chapter 1
- Saturday
  - Team activity
  - Goal setting and accountability teams
September
- Friday
  - kawasaki Chapter 2-4
  - Discussion
  - Speaker – TBA **
- Saturday
  - Team activity
  - Leadership topics
October
- Friday
  - kawasaki Chapter 5-7
  - Discussion
  - Speaker – TBA **
- Saturday
  - Team activity
  - Leadership topics
November
- Friday
  - Tanveer Patel
  - Pitches
- Saturday
  - TBD
December
- Friday
  - Drew Deaton
- Saturday