MGT+582+HEMBA

New Venture Development for Huntsville Executive Master of Business Administration students Your instructor: Craig E. Armstrong, Ph.D. ([|LinkedIn profile]) You can find related materials on wikispaces.com toc =Your Texts= =Schedule=
 * [|Your syllabus]**

Session One - February 10
In class: Warm-up activity Slides: [|Entrepreneurs and Opportunities] Slides: [|How to pitch your idea] Slides: [|Notes from Zero to One]
 * 1) Topic: Entrepreneurs and Opportunities - identifying, shaping, evaluating, and pitching opportunities
 * 2) //**After lecture**//, complete before March 9 lecture...
 * 3) Quiz on Entrepreneurs and Opportunities (individual **5 points**, sent by email to class)
 * 4) Robert Reiss - opportunity exploitation for a product not a company (individual Read and respond = **5 points**) opportunity exploitation for a product not a company. Read this case study  and then submit case discussion answers using this google form . See also these helper slides
 * 5) Proof Eyewear - opportunity and investment evaluation (individual Read and respond = **5 points**) opportunity and investment evaluation (hosted on Blackboard) . View the video on Blackboard and then submit case discussion answers using this google form . See also this doc on how to be a shark tank shark.
 * 6) Opportunity register = individual **10 points**


 * Bonus materials for between now and March**
 * 12 Things About Product-Market Fit - guest post by Tren Griffin [|A16z.com article]
 * [|a16z Podcast: Startups, Pivots, Culture, and Timing (Oh Shit!)]. Save this to your devices in advance of your long flights for your trip. Features A16Z co-founder Ben Horowitz and Lytro CEO Jason Rosenthal. The hardest thing about pivots (major shifts in company/product direction) isn't just the actual pivot. It's the courage to make the decision... and being honest with yourself as a CEO. Especially since, no matter how great the team or board or even customers may be, it's lonely: You're the only one in the position to synthesize the knowledge; nobody else has the data and the insight put together in the same way.

Session Two - March 9

 * //**Before lecture**//, read Peter Thiel’s “Zero to One” and prepare your elevator pitch
 * //**During lecture**//, Pitch (individual in class = **10 points**). Develop ideas using ideation and creativity techniques.
 * //**After lecture**//, complete before April session...

**Lecture 1**
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 * How to Start a Startup (Sam Altman, Dustin Moskovitz) (individual Quiz = 5 points)**

**Lecture 2**
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 * Team and Execution (Sam Altman) (individual Quiz = 5 points)**

**Lecture 3**
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 * Before the Startup (Paul Graham)(individual Quiz = 5 points)**

**Lecture 4**
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 * Building product, talking to users, and growing (Adora Cheung) (Individual Quiz = 5 points)**

Lecture 5
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 * Competition is for losers (Peter Thiel, Y Combinator series) ( take this quiz; individual Quiz = 5 points)**

Lecture 6
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 * Growth (Alex Schultz) (individual Quiz = 5 points)**

**Lecture 7**
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 * How to build products that delight customers (WuFoo, Y Combinator series) ([|individual Quiz = 5 points])**

**Lecture 8**
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 * How to Raise Money (Marc Andreessen, Y Combinator series) (individual Quiz = 5 points)**

**Lecture 9**
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 * The Importance of Vision and Culture (Alfred Lin, Former COO, Zappos and Partner, Sequoia Capital; Brian Chesky, Founder, Airbnb) (individual Quiz = 5 points)**

**Lecture 10**
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 * How to Manage (Ben Horowitz, Y Combinator series) (individual Quiz = 5 points)**

**Lecture 11**
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 * Legal and accounting issues (Kirsty Nathoo, Carolynn Levy, Partners, Y Combinator series) (individual Quiz = 5 points)**
 * Read Ben Horowitz's "The Hard Thing about Hard Things" and complete these modules

Supplemental materials (not required)

 * a16z [|Podcast]: Scaling Companies… and Culture - Ben Horowitz and Lars Dalgaard - [|Transcript]
 * [|My own notes from Ben Horowitz's The Hard Thing about Hard Things]

In class
[|Design Sprint slides]
 * Design sprint for your ideas in same venture teams. (Team projects = 10 points)**