Successful entrepreneurs combine intellectual rigour with innovation to create solutions that have impact. It is a process that starts with a search for "big ideas" using tools such as research, observation, and appreciative inquiry. Next, entrepreneurs analyze situations and apply creativity techniques to develop solutions. Finally, solutions are tested against business drivers including customer value propositions, customer identification, channel selection, and resource needs. This course covers the three steps that form the foundation of all entrepreneurial success: big ideas, solutions, and testing. Because of its broad scope, the course is valuable to students from different academic backgrounds, entrepreneurship interests, and program level.

This course provides students with an introduction to the processes involved in moving an idea for a new venture from concept through to launch. The theoretical knowledge and practical skills needed to create a successful small entrepreneurial enterprise are developed. Topics include definition and evaluation of entrepreneurial opportunities, business planning, funding strategies and early-stage revenue models, legal issues and intellectual property protection. [Offered: F, W, S]

This course is taken concurrently with a student's first E Co-op term. This is a requirement for the venture creation theme consolidating current E Co-op workshops and seminars with the addition of online content. Topics include: Business planning and execution; Understanding customers and your value proposition; Refining your business model; Corporate legal issues; Hiring employees; Understanding your competitors; The local entrepreneurial ecosystem; Grants and funding. Requires a post-mortem/root cause analysis report to be submitted at the end of the term. (Note: This is a requirement for the venture creation theme consolidating current E Co-op workshops and seminars with the addition of online content. Students will be given permission if enrolled in an E Co-op term. Offered: F,W,S)

Once your "big idea" has been formulated, what is the best way to realize its potential? With whom should you partner? How do you protect your intellectual property? What is the optimal business model? The objective of this course is to provide an understanding of the commercialization process, with a specific focus on assessment of opportunities and development of an entrepreneurial business plan. Course content includes the importance of strategic partnerships, understanding the bases of competition, conducting industry and market level analyses, evaluating innovative ideas for commercial potential, business planning in a corporate context, intellectual property strategy, and strategic tools needed for launching new ideas.

Entrepreneurial success starts with finding a solution to a problem and then creating the right strategy to bring it to market. The final step in the process is explored in this course, the disciplined execution of strategy. A broad range of skills are required to do this including understanding founder and team dynamics, hiring and firing, cash flow management, project management, developing suitable equity structures and compensation, pitching, fundraising, internal and external communications, and people skills. This course explores the business skills and knowledge needed to take a new venture, whether it is a start-up or part of an existing organization, from strategy to market.

In this course, entrepreneurial students will learn the principles and tools of customer experience (CX) design and how developing an exceptional experience for the customer fits into an overall business strategy. Not only will students develop a conceptual understanding of user experience and user-centered design, they will also learn how to deeply understand the needs of the customer and develop engaging and innovative products and services. Topics include: visual design principles, design thinking, user experience research, experience mapping, sketching and storyboards, interactive prototypes, and usability testing. [Offered: F]

This course develops the theoretical knowledge and practical skills needed to develop a marketing strategy for early-stage ventures. Topics include managing product development, marketing and brand development, segmentation and targeting, competitor analysis, and positioning. [Offered: W]

Goal setting and project planning; team building; understanding your competitive landscape; understanding your customers; patents and patent searches taken concurrently with capstone projects.

Commercialization options and developing a business model; Legal issues; Creating a business case for the capstone project; presentation skills and "pitching"; post-mortem and root cause analysis taken concurrently with capstone projects. Includes the post-mortem/root cause analysis report to be submitted at the end of the term (Note: This is a requirement for the Corporate Entrepreneurship theme, supporting the efforts of capstone project teams to develop a commercialization strategy. This will consist of workshops, seminars and online content. Offered: W)

This course taken concurrently with a non-engineering capstone project, consists of workshops, seminars, and online content. Topics include goal setting and project planning, team building, understanding your competitive landscape and customers, patents and patent searches, commercialization options and developing a business model, legal issues, creating a business case for the capstone project, presentation skills and "pitching", post-mortem and root cause analysis.

This course will be taken by students in the Corporate Entrepreneurship track of the Minor in Entrepreneurship, and approved by the program co-ordinator in order to meet the experiential component requirements in the minor with special projects as assigned.

This course explores how innovative approaches can address social problems, create organizations that make positive change, have significant social impact, and be sustainable and economically viable. Topics include the principles of social entrepreneurship, design thinking applied to identifying significant problems, innovative solutions for social impact, and identifying opportunities for social change. Students develop skills and tools for refining and implementing their ideas as well as measuring the success and value of mission-driven organizations. Through case studies, lectures, and workshops, students also develop skills in strategic thinking with a socially conscious business mindset to create high-impact ventures. [Offered: F]

The one thing every new venture needs whether small or large, not-for-profit or for-profit, startup or part of an already mature business, is sales. This course is designed to help you create and grow a successful business venture through your personal marketing and sales efforts. Coursework examines key sales technologies, networking techniques, the use of marketing in sales, the sales process, and assessing the value of a particular sale from both the perspective of customer impact and the financial/strategic impact on the organization. [Offered: F]

Leaders make things happen. Leaders make things possible. This course explores the relevant concepts, theories and skills needed to lead successfully in any environment, from new ventures to change management in large corporations, government, and not-for-profits. Course topics include: leadership and followership, group and team dynamics, change management, interpersonal dynamics, and supporting leadership skills such as self-awareness, conflict management, and communications. Course topics will be enriched through a critical study of leadership exemplars in popular media. [Offered: W]

The course provides students with the opportunity to develop a range of soft skills and the business acumen necessary to maximize the likelihood of success in an entrepreneurial environment. Topics include communication and interpersonal skills, leadership, and negotiation skills. A range of applied approaches are used, including integrated cases, simulations, and interaction with the local business community. Most activities are team based.

Strategy development and implementation are examined as a means to guide decisions at each stage of the innovation and commercialization process. Insight is gained into the strategic issues faced by new ventures as they progress from seed/concept through market execution stages. Strategic analysis techniques are used to identify and analyse issues and as input into the design of the business concept and business model. The organizational structures, processes and policies used to build and maintain an entrepreneurial culture are key topics for the market execution stage.

Market-based management practices and the key relationships that enable businesses to attract, satisfy and retain customers, and grow their profits are examined. The contribution of marketing strategy to the creation of value for both customers and shareholders is emphasized. Particular attention is paid to the unique contexts of marketing knowledge-intensive products and services, new and rapidly growing markets and business markets. Familiarity is developed with the marketing activities typical for each of the seed/concept, product development and market execution stages of a new venture.

This course will provide entrepreneurs and enterprise intrapreneurs with an understanding of financing practices and principles relevant to entrepreneurial opportunities. Classes will feature a combination of theory and "real world" practices drawing from the instructor's experiences.

The creation of new ventures is a defining attribute of entrepreneurs. While the specific focus will be on creating new independent ventures, the theory and principles discussed in this course can be applied to creating new ventures within existing corporation and to new social ventures. The MBET program is an experiential program that combines knowing and doing. BET 604 provides the framework for doing. If affords the opportunity to apply what is learned in other BET courses to a new venture of each student's choosing.

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to how accounting information can be used by entrepreneurs and enterprise intrapreneurs to manage an enterprise, improve decision making, and implement organizational strategy as the venture proceeds from start-up to SME to maturity. The course is split into two parts: Financial accounting (external use of financial information) and Management Accounting (the internal use of financial information).

Digital media is becoming a critical component of business success. This is especially true for new, entrepreneurial ventures who, by their nature, seek to change the competitive landscape. This course provides an overview of the strategic, operational and development issues associated with integrating digital media into business operations. Topics include the impact of digital media on business models, and examination of associated strategic, marketing and regulatory issues. Practical aspects related to the management of implementation projects will also be examined.

Management of technological innovation requires an understanding of the interaction of technology with all aspects of the organization to build and maintain a sustainable competitive advantage. The focus of this course is the creation of new products and services from concept through to launch. Evaluating new technologies, product development and deployment strategies are key topics.

This course is designed to leverage the high-potential complementarities between MBET entrepreneurship students and University of Waterloo and Waterloo Region technology developers. The objectives are high-potential business models and licensing plans to facilitate the launch of technology-based commercial or social ventures and technology commercialization, enriched linkages between MBET and University of Waterloo researchers and technology developers, and experience in networking, opportunity assessment, partnership development, and working in and managing diverse teams.

Introduces students to the concept of social entrepreneurship from a multidisciplinary perspective. Participants are challenged to rethink the historical focus on the single bottom line by showcasing emerging trends in how to make money and social impact as mutually reinforcing concepts. The course provides access to the latest thinking on social enterprises; emerging legal structures and new approaches to financing social purpose work.