The new year (and quarter) is a great time to pick up entrepreneurship courses. Maybe you’re interested in learning what it takes to start your own tech company. Perhaps you want to develop an entrepreneurial mindset to apply to a discipline outside engineering. Or maybe you’re an engineering student looking to satisfy your Technology in Society requirement (see ENGR 145). The Stanford Technology Ventures Program sponsors a number of courses for Stanford students that fit all of these needs and more.
Below you will find our course descriptions for Winter 2011, along with links to course websites and instructor bios. You can even check out the selected instructor videos. For course information covering the entire academic year, you can also view the STVP Courses page. Start-up something awesome in 2011!
ENGR 145 Technology Entrepreneurship — 4 units (2 sections)
Instructor: Chuck Eesley
Limited enrollment.
[quote_right]”With all of the problems that need solving, the world needs more graduates trained to develop an entrepreneurial mindset of turning problems into real opportunities.” —Assistant Prof. Chuck Eesley[/quote_right]How do you create a successful startup? How does an entrepreneur form a team and gather the resources necessary to create a great enterprise? This class mixes mentor-guided team projects, in-depth case studies, research on the entrepreneurial process, and the opportunity to network and ask questions of Silicon Valley’s top entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. This course is for undergraduates of all majors who seek to understand the formation and growth of high-impact start-ups in areas such as information, green/clean, medical, and consumer technologies.
MS&E 178 The Spirit of Entrepreneurship — 3 units
Instructors: Heidi Roizen and Tina Seelig
This course teaches students to think like a successful entrepreneur by learning how to analyze key parts of various startup business models. The course uses the speakers at the Entrepreneurial Thought Leader seminar (MS&E 472) as the source of the companies to be explored. Students meet before and after each Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders seminar to prepare and debrief, respectively.
Watch co-instructors Heidi Roizen and Tina Seelig discuss aspects of entrepreneurship and creativity.
ENGR 245 Technology Entrepreneurship & Lean Startups — 4 units
Instructors: Steve Blank and Ann Miura-Ko
Limited enrollment. View the ENGR 245 course website.
ENGR 245 offers students the chance to apply emerging entrepreneurship principles, including the “lean startup” and “customer development” frameworks, to prototype, test, and iterate a product. Students will also discover if a profitable business model exists for the product. Students will work and study in teams or, in rare cases, alone. A proposal is required during first week of the quarter, and can be for software, a physical good, or a service of any kind. Projects are treated as real startups, so students are encouraged to prepare for intense work.
Watch co-instructors Steve Blank and Ann Miura-Ko discuss lean startups, financing, and the product development process.
MS&E 270 Strategy in Technology-Based Companies — 4 units
Instructor: Riitta Katila
Limited enrollment. View the MS&E 270 winter course website.
This course provides an introduction to the basic concepts of strategy used within high-technology firms. MS&E 270 examines decisions and actions that shape the long-term future of these organizations by establishing, sustaining, and enhancing the basis for their competitive advantage. Topics covered within the course include competitive positioning, resource-based perspectives, “co-opetition” and standards setting, and complexity/evolutionary perspectives.
MS&E 271 Global Entrepreneurial Marketing — 4 units
Instructors: Thomas Kosnik, Donna Novitsky, and Lynda Kate Smith
Limited enrollment. View the MS&E 271 course website.
Students will learn skills needed to market new technology-based products to customers around the world. The course includes case method discussions on examples from startups and global high-technology firms. The coursework covers targeting markets and customers, product marketing and management, partners and distribution, sales and negotiation, and outbound marketing.
MS&E 280 Organizational Behavior and Management — 3-4 units (2 sections)
Instructor: Rosanne Siino
Limited enrollment; priority to MS&E students.
This course examines organization theory and explores concepts and functions of management. Additional topics to be covered include behavior of the individual, work group, and organization. Work within the course will emphasize case studies and related discussion.
MS&E 472 DFJ – Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders Seminar — 1 unit
Instructors: Tom Byers, Thomas Kosnik, and Tina Seelig
Required web discussion. Course may be repeated for credit.
The DFJ Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders Seminar is a weekly speaker series that presents innovators from across the business, finance, technology, and philanthropy sectors, to share their insights with aspiring entrepreneurs. Through MS&E 472, students have the opportunity to learn real world knowledge from prominent leaders and entrepreneurs.
DFJ-ETL Speaker Lineup for Winter 2011
- Jan 12: Wendy Kopp, CEO and Founder and — Teach for America
- Jan 19: Aaron Levie, Co-Founder and CEO — Box.net
- Jan 26: Brent Constantz, Founder — Calera
- Feb 2: Susan Desmond-Hellmann, Chancellor — UCSF
- Feb 9: Jack Dorsey, CEO and Co-Founder — Square
- Feb 16: Mark Forchette, President and CEO — Optimedica
- Feb 23: Bill Gross, Founder, Idealab and CEO, eSolar
- Mar 2: Guy Kawasaki, Author of Enchantment; post-lecture interview by Jesse Draper of The Valley Girl Show
Enjoy these popular clips from previous Entrepreneurial Thought Leader seminars.
Additional STVP Entrepreneurship Opportunities
Mayfield Fellows Program
Application Period: Jan. 1 — Feb. 4, 2011
[quote_right]”The Mayfield Fellows Program has done exactly what it promised to do and more. I am a better entrepreneur, teammate, and a better person.” – MFP Alumni[/quote_right]The Mayfield Fellows Program (MFP) is our nine-month work/study program designed to develop a theoretical and practical understanding of the techniques for growing technology companies. The program combines an intense sequence of courses on the management of technology ventures, a paid summer internship at a startup company, and ongoing mentoring and networking activities. Applications are due by noon on February 4, 2011.
Learn more about MFP and read testimonials from program alumni.
Want to Study Entrepreneurship in Italy?
As part of the Bing Overseas Study Program, you can apply to study in Florence with MS&E Professor and STVP Co-Director Tom Byers. This special undergraduate entrepreneurship course will be offered at the Stanford campus in Florence during the 2011 autumn quarter. Program applications must be submitted by January 23, 2011.
Learn how to apply.
