Multidisciplinary Theoretical Knowledge: The course provides students with a broad understanding of various fields essential for entrepreneurship and business modeling. The curriculum covers different areas each one is designed to bolster the students' knowledge base, facilitating the creation and management of innovative business models.
Strategic and Operational Skills in Entrepreneurship and Business Modelling: The course develops essential competencies and skills for effectively planning and implementing, business models and manage business activities entrepreneurially. These abilities are geared towards addressing the increasing emphasis on digitalization, sustainability, and new data-driven business frameworks. Students will acquire practical experience to independently navigate and manage entrepreneurial processes.
Soft Skills Development: The program emphasizes intellectual and managerial skills. Intellectual skills include critical analysis, independent and informed judgment, effective oral and written presentation, and decision-making under uncertainty with limited knowledge and time constraints. Managerial skills encompass teamwork, leadership, interpersonal relationships, and project management. These skills are fostered through in class lab activities that provide hands-on experience complementing theoretical learning.

The course learning outcomes are the following:

D1. KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING.
Students will learn the basic concepts of entrepreneurship and business model innovation, by mixing up theory and practice and by being exposed to real cases of successful start-ups.

D2. APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING.
By the end of the course, students will be able to comprehend and analyze an entrepreneurial process and to understand the main building blocks composing a business model.

D3. MAKING JUDGMENTS.
By the end of the course, students will become sophisticated analyzers of start-up firms able to articulate their own opinions on the consistency of a business model.

D4. COMMUNICATION SKILLS.
By the end of the course, students will be able to describe and criticize a business model and to pitch and entrepreneurial idea of their own.

D5. LEARNING SKILLS.
By the end of the course, students will have developed critical thinking abilities which are essential to the understanding of more complex texts and issues.

No specific prerequisite

The course provides students with the basic theories and concepts related to Entrepreneurship and Business Model Innovation.
The course is ideally divided into two parts. The first part deals with entrepreneurship. After clarifying what entrepreneurship is, we will focus on the techniques and the strategies for identifying opportunities and generating ideas. We will then move to the feasibility analysis to then outline the main structure of a business plan. We will then concentrate on the characteristics of the founding team and on some financial aspects related to the entrepreneurial process. A deepening on the factors determining the growth of the Start-Up firms concludes the first part of the course.
The textbook for the first part is: Barringer B.R., Ireland,D.R., Entrepreneurship. Successfully Launching New Ventures. Global edition (6th ed.), Pearson (SELECTED CHAPTERS, see below)
The second part of the course is practice based and deals with Business Model Innovation.
The textbook for the second part is: Osterwalder A., Pigneur Y., Business Model Generation. John Wiley & Sons.


PART 1 (Textbook: Barringer, B.R.; Ireland, D.R.; Entrepreneurship. Successfully Launching New Ventures. Global edition (6th ed. - 2019), Pearson

The Entrepreneurial Process (ch.1)
Opportunities and Ideas (ch.2)
Feasibility Analysis (ch.3)
The Business Plan (ch.6)
Assessing a New Venture’s Financial Strength and Viability (ch.8)
Building the Venture Team (ch.9)
Getting Financing (ch.10)
Start-Up Growth (ch.14)


PART 2 (Textbook: Osterwalder A., Pigneur Y., Business Model Generation. John Wiley & Sons. - 2010)

The Business Model Canvas (part 1)

Any changes to the methods described here, which may be necessary to guarantee the application of the security protocols related to the COVID19 emergency, will be communicated on the website of the Department, the Degree Program and the teaching.

Textbook for Part 1: Barringer, B.R.; Ireland, D.R.; Entrepreneurship. Successfully Launching New Ventures. Global edition (6th ed - 2019), Pearson

Textbook for Part 2: Osterwalder A., Pigneur Y., Business Model Generation. John Wiley & Sons - 2010

Course Overview
This course provides students with a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental theories and concepts related to Entrepreneurship and Business Model Innovation. It is designed to equip students with the skills and knowledge necessary to successfully launch and grow new ventures. The course is structured in two main parts: the first focusing on entrepreneurship and the second on business model innovation.
Part 1: Entrepreneurship
Objective: The first part aims to introduce students to entrepreneurship, including techniques for identifying opportunities, generating ideas, and conducting feasibility analyses. Students will also learn to develop a business plan, understand financial aspects of new ventures, and explore founding team dynamics and start-up growth.
Topics Covered:
1. The Entrepreneurial Process (Chapter 1)
o Introduction to entrepreneurship.
o The significance of entrepreneurship in the economy.
o Characteristics and mindsets of successful entrepreneurs.
2. Opportunities and Ideas (Chapter 2)
o Techniques for identifying business opportunities.
o Strategies for idea generation and creative thinking.
o Evaluating and refining business ideas.
3. Feasibility Analysis (Chapter 3)
o Assessing the viability of business ideas.
o Market research and industry analysis.
o Product/service feasibility and operational feasibility.
4. The Business Plan (Chapter 6)
o Components of a business plan.
o Writing and presenting a business plan.
o The role of the business plan in securing financing and guiding business operations.
5. Assessing a New Venture’s Financial Strength and Viability (Chapter 8)
o Financial statements and projections.
o Key financial metrics and ratios.
o Evaluating financial performance and sustainability.
6. Building the Venture Team (Chapter 9)
o Characteristics of effective founding teams.
o Roles and responsibilities within the team.
o Strategies for team development and management.
7. Getting Financing (Chapter 10)
o Sources of funding for start-ups.
o The process of raising capital.
o Understanding venture capital, angel investors, and other funding options.
8. Start-Up Growth (Chapter 14)
o Factors influencing the growth of start-ups.
o Strategies for scaling a business.
o Managing growth and expansion challenges.
Textbook: Barringer, B.R., & Ireland, D.R. (2019). Entrepreneurship: Successfully Launching New Ventures (6th ed.). Pearson. (Selected chapters: 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 9, 10, 14)
Part 2: Business Model Innovation
Objective: The second part of the course is practice-based and focuses on business model innovation. Students will learn how to design and innovate business models using the Business Model Canvas framework. This part emphasizes practical application and real-world examples to help students understand how to develop sustainable and innovative business models.
Topics Covered:
1. The Business Model Canvas (Part 1)
o Introduction to the Business Model Canvas.
o Components of the Business Model Canvas: Key partners, key activities, value propositions, customer relationships, customer segments, key resources, channels, cost structure, and revenue streams.
o Case studies and practical exercises in business model innovation.
Textbook: Osterwalder, A., & Pigneur, Y. (2010). Business Model Generation. John Wiley & Sons.
Conclusion
By the end of the course, students will have a thorough understanding of the entrepreneurial process and the skills to innovate and develop robust business models. They will be prepared to launch and grow successful ventures, equipped with both theoretical knowledge and practical experience.

Frontal lessons, Case-studies, Class discussions, Guest speakers, Work-groups and Business planning, brainstorming sessions in groups.
All lessons are recorded and stored online

The course is offered in both a 6CFU (ECTS) and a 9CFU version. Students that need 9CFU, will be asked also to analyse the business model of a real firm to pass the exam.

Attending students:

6CFU mode: Written exam on Part 1 (slides + notes) + Group Work evaluation

9CFU mode: Written exam on Part 1 (slides + notes) and Part 2 (slides + notes) + Group Work evaluation


Non attending students:

6CFU mode: Written plus oral exam on Part 1 (text-book only)

9CFU mode: Written plus (eventual) oral exam on Part 1 and Part 2 (text-books only)

This course explores topics closely related to one or more objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations:
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