Spring 2009 Syllabus
Mondays, 4 – 5:30 pm
Genetics and Plant Biology 100
1 Unit
Instructor: Robert J. Majteles
Office: F457 Haas • phone: 652. 7244
Course Description
About L&S 5
Introduction to Entrepreneurship is designed for freshmen and sophomores who wish to learn about entrepreneurship, its importance to our society, and its role in bringing new ideas to the market. Students will come to understand the entrepreneurial business process and how they might become involved in it in their future careers.
The course will explore the structure and framework of entrepreneurial endeavors, both inside and outside the business world. Questions to be addressed will include: What is entrepreneurship? What is opportunity recognition and selection? How can you create and define competitive advantage? How can you think about people in the entrepreneurial context? How can you garner support (financial and other) for an entrepreneurial venture? What do you do when nothing works as planned? And how do you focus on doing right and doing well?
L&S 5 is expected to be highly interactive and dynamic. Almost every class will feature a guest speaker who will have a structured conversation with the instructor and the students on the themes and topics derived from the syllabus. The format is expected to be conversational and interactive rather than lecture-oriented. Students will be expected to submit questions for the guest speakersin advance of the classes they will participate in. The guests will be entrepreneurs — founders and leaders of business and non-business enterprises and backers and investors in those enterprises.
Instructor
Robert J. Majteles is the founder of Treehouse Capital LLC, which he founded in order to make investments of time and money in interesting people doing worthy things. Treehouse’s portfolio of private and public technology companies has been very successful in a wide array of markets and circumstances. Prior to launching Treehouse in 2001, Majteles was a successful CEO of three different technology companies and generated superior investment returns for his shareholders. He has also been an investment banker and a merger and acquisitions attorney. Majteles received a law degree from Stanford University in 1989 and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University in 1986. He is also a lecturer at both the graduate and undergraduate levels at the University of California, Berkeley.
Grading
The class will be graded on a pass/fail basis. The requirements to pass are as follows: Class attendance (no more than three unexcused absences will be permitted) and the submission in advance of classes of questions to be asked of invited guests. Students can miss no more than three (3) weekly assignments and still pass the course. The final exam will consist of a combination of multiple choice questions and one essay segment.
Important note: This class does not count towards the Haas business major, nor will it give students an advantage in the Haas application process.
Syllabus & Class Schedule
I. What is Entrepreneurship?
Class 1: Introduction and Introductions
Date: Jan. 26, 2009
Assignment: One paragraph student introduction, including personal goals for the class
Class 2: The Power of Creative Destruction
Date: Feb. 2, 2009
Guest speaker: Joan Blades, MoveOn.org and MomsRising.org
Suggested reading: "Creative Destruction's Reconstruction: Joseph Schumpeter Revisited"
Assignment: Question(s) for guest speaker
Class 3: The Entrepreneurial Life
Date: Feb. 9, 2009
Guest speaker: Pete Vlastelica, Yardbarker
Suggested reading: “A Day In The Life Of An Entrepreneur”
Assignment: Question(s) for guest speaker
No Class : Feb. 16, 2009
II. Opportunity Recognition and Selection
Class 4: Looking at the World in New Ways
Date: Feb. 23, 2009
Guest speaker: Dave Evans, Evans & Associates
Suggested reading: "Where Great Ideas Come From”
Assignment: Question(s) for guest speaker
Class 5: Finding and Following
Date: March 2, 2009
Guest speaker: Rob Chandra, partner at Bessemer Venture Partners
Suggested reading: “Opportunity Recognition as Creative Thinking”
Assignment: Question(s) for guest speaker
III. Competitive Advantage
Class 6: Winning
Date: March 9, 2009
Guest speaker: Mike Fleiss, Next Entertainment
Suggested reading: Michael Porter’s Competitive Forces Model
Assignment: Question(s) for guest speaker
Class 7: Positioning
Date: March 16, 2009
Guest speaker: Jeff Housenbold, Shutterfly
Suggested reading: “Positioning (Marketing)”
Assignment: Question(s) for guest speaker
No class: March 23, 2009
IV. People
Class 8: Entrepreneurship is a Team Sport
Date: March 30, 2009
Guest speaker: Hiten Shah, KISSmetrics.com
Suggested Reading: “Entrepreneurial Teams”
Assignment: Questions for guest speaker: three things you love about the class/three things you would like improved
No class: April 6, 2009
Class 9: The Lifecycle of an Enterprise
Date: April 13, 2009
Guest speaker: Sylvia Paull, Gracenet
Suggested Reading: “Find Your Business Life Cycle”
Assignment: Question(s) for guest speaker
Class 10: What Happens When Everything Goes Wrong? What Can Go Wrong?
Date: April 20, 2009
Guest speaker: Alisa Yaffa, Entrepreneur
Assignment: Question(s) for guest speaker
IV. Money
Class 11: From the Entrepreneur’s Perspective
Date: April 27, 2009
Guest speaker: Jonathan Hull, Writer and Entrepreneur, WereYouThere.com
Suggested reading: “Creative Financing for Start-Ups”
Assignment: Question(s) for guest speaker
No class: May 4, 2009
V. Conclusions
Class 12: Doing Right and Doing Well
Date: May 11, 2009
Final Exam
Date: TBD
