TR 3002 - New Venture Creation

Objectives of the course

The objectives of New Venture Creation - NVC are to provide you with tools, skills and insights that will help you to effectively execute the following tasks that you face as a global entrepreneurial leader:
1) Learn about the players in the Circles of Influence in Silicon Valley.
2) Move from idea to opportunity to business plan for a high potential global venture.
3) Write an executive summary to convince players in the circles of influence to meet your team.
4) Prepare the “bottoms up” analysis of the market opportunity; business model; cash flow projections, and financial forecasts. This analysis shows how much capital to raise, and how to deploy that capital to launch your new venture.
5) Prepare a Powerpoint-based business plan that can be read by or presented to an investor.
6) Attract talent to work with you in an entrepreneurial venture when you have no cash to pay them.
7) Attract members of an advisory board that will provide mentorship, guidance, and credibility to you as an entrepreneurial team and your new venture.
8) Develop initial plans to create, defend and leverage intellectual capital related to your innovation.
9) Interact with an attorney from a Silicon Valley law firm. Explore how that law firm might to help you incorporate your business, Create, defend and leverage intellectual capital, and if appropriate to find funding for your venture.
10) Screen, Target and interact with at least one other service provider in the Circles of Influence to gain his or her support for your venture. Service providers include:
     a. Big4 Accounting Firms: Ernst & Young, Deloitte, Price Waterhouse Coopers, KPMG;
     b. Silicon Valley Bank;
     c. A product design firm like IDEO;
     d. A corporate identity firm like 1185 Design;
     e. A Public Relations firm;
     f. A Marketing Consulting firm;
     g. A recruiter;
     h. An outsourced manufacturer
     i. An IT service provider
     j. A university-based technology licensing program (like Stanford OTL)
11) Prepare to interact with the Circles of Influence that exist in Singapore when you return there.
12) Give and receive coaching from mentors, peers, and others in your new venture community.
13) Help other entrepreneurs who are in the NVC portfolio to achieve their objectives by passing on intelligence that may be useful to them, and by being an evangelist for their ventures when you meet players in the Circles of Influence that will be especially helpful to them.

In the ten weeks of NVC, you will:
•    Be exposed to best-of-class lessons from entrepreneurs, investors, and thought leaders.
•    Develop your skills as global entrepreneurs.
•    Develop your own global entrepreneurial network.

Learning Approach

You will work with the NCSV students in your batch, students from Stanford University, and entrepreneurial colleagues from Silicon Valley. Your instructors are Tom Kosnik, Jackie McGrath, and entrepreneurs, VCs, and supporters from the circles of influence in Silicon Valley. You will also learn by coaching from your peers, guided by faculty and mentors.

Students will learn in a variety of modes:
1.    Read and discuss books to provide a conceptual framework for their entrepreneurial experience
2.    Watch DVDs and discuss lessons learned for them as global leaders and entrepreneurs
3.    Receive short lectures from Professor Kosnik
4.    Recruit new team mates (Stanford Students) and members of their advisory boards
5.    Give and receive peer coaching to achieve a breakthrough goal for improving their skills as global entrepreneurial leaders
6.    Write an executive summary and a business plan
7.    Present the business plan to a panel of venture investors and entrepreneurs

Course Schedule

In-class essions meet once a week for approximately 2 hours. In most cases, the meeting time is Wednesday night, 7:00-9:00pm. The calendar for in-class sessions in provided at http://gnvc.nusea.org/calendar.htm.

Course Readings / Movies

Compulsory Readings

Blanks, Steven Gary (2006) The Four Steps to the Epiphany (2nd edition)
Dorf and Byers (2007) Technology Ventures (2nd edition)
Thich Nhat Hanh (2007) The Art of Power
Ries and Trout (1997 paperback or 2005 20th Anniversary edition) Marketing Warfare

Optional Recommended Readings

Nesheim, John L. (2000) High-Tech Startup

Movies

An Office and a Gentlemen
Annapolis
Dead Poets Society
Miracle
Other People's Money
Painted Veil
Patch Adams
Pay it Forward
Pirates of Silicon Valley
The Last Samurai
The Science of Sleep

Course Faculty, Teaching Assistants, and Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders (ETL)

NVC Faculty:
• Tom Kosnik, Fenwick and West Consulting Professor, Stanford Technology Ventures Program, and International Advisor, NUS Entrepreneurship Centre
• Our coaching instructor, Ms. Jackie McGrath

There are three volunteer co-creators of NVC who have created the course website and help Tom Kosnik with surveys of class preferences, emails of the weekly assignments, and aggregation of assignments from the venture teams that are handed in each week.
• Loo Hoey Lit
• Wong Hong Ting
• Sun Wei

Members of the teaching team can be contacted at globalnewventurecreation@gmail.com

Grades and grading Weights

NUS Students will earn four units of academic credit from the National University of Singapore. They will receive a letter grade.

Your overall grade will be based on the following:	% of Total Grade
Executive Summary of Business Plan	10%
Powerpoint and Excel workbook for Business Plan plus	55%
presentation of business plan to investor panel
Evaluation by investors of ability to build trust	15%
Evaluation by employees of ability to build trust	10%
Completion by venture team of Learning Leader Awards	10%
Total	100%

There will be bonus point for any individual who attends 80% of all sessions, and more bonus points for those who attend 90% and 100% of classes.