by Jonas Clark | Apr 16, 2018
Instructor: Howard Anderson, Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School and co-founder of Battery Ventures
“Sweet are the uses of Adversity,” said William Shakespeare. But then again, Shakespeare never had his ventures explode on him. Companies get into trouble all the time – they make the wrong products for the market, their sales fail to meet quota, their factories go on strike. But this course is not about the day-to-day problems that companies run into. It examines what action items a venture must do when its very existence is at stake. This is the situation where time is the critical element – there isn’t enough time to hire consultants, do research, hire new employees – it is when Top Management must make decisions often with insufficient data and a series of alternative options – all of which seem ‘sub-optimal.’ But one must be chosen.
by Jonas Clark | Apr 16, 2018
Instructor: Dr. Banu Ozkazanc-Pan, Director of Early Educator Innovation Lab & Accelerator, Associate Professor of Management, UMass Boston
Entrepreneurial ecosystems represent one of the most recent developments for fostering economic development as leaders globally aspire to build successful ecosystems in their cities and regions. Ecosystems are a community of entrepreneurs who are in relationships of exchange and mutual reciprocity, within the institutional and cultural environment of entrepreneur support organizations (ESOs), infrastructures, and resources. This course will examine the emergence of entrepreneurial ecosystems in different cities and the various roles, functions and goals of ESOs in these contexts. These organizations support the development of social and cultural capital in entrepreneurs and act as intermediaries in connecting them with the existing resources of an ecosystem. At the same time, ESOs may engage in gatekeeping behavior that replicates or even furthers inequalities in access to resources for certain groups of entrepreneurs, such as women and minorities. The course will focus on different organizational practices and policies for building inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems. Students will have the opportunity to visit local ESOs during the course to enhance their learning of ecosystems, ESOs and inclusive economic development.
by Jonas Clark | Apr 16, 2018
Entrepreneurship is innovation in practice: transforming ideas into opportunities, and, through a deliberate process, opportunities into commercial realities. These entrepreneurial activities can take place in two contexts: the creation of new organizations; and within existing organizations. This course will present an entrepreneurial framework for these entrepreneurial processes, supported by case studies that illustrate essential elements. Successful entrepreneurs and expert practitioners will be introduced who will highlight practical approaches to entrepreneurial success. Enrollment limited to 35.
by Jonas Clark | Apr 16, 2018
Exposes students to the concepts and techniques of management. Topics include marketing, strategy, finance, operations, organizational structure, and human relations. Guest lecturers describe aspects of actual organizations. Lectures and discussions.
