Zell Entrepreneurship Program The Zell Entrepreneurship Program is for outstanding IDC Herzliya students who have the ambition and ability to launch an entrepreneurial venture. The program was established thanks to a generous contribution from world-renowned entrepreneur Sam Zell, of Chicago. Admission criteria for the Zell Entrepreneurship Program include high academic standing and experience in and familiarity with business entrepreneurship. Outstanding students, who have demonstrated academic, leadership and entrepreneurial abilities and are approaching their final year of studies at IDC Herzliya, are invited to apply to the program. After potential participants applications and letters of recommendation are carefully examined, some candidates will be invited to an interview. A group of eligible candidates will be invited to participate in a summer program. Finally, approximately 20 students will be accepted into the program. The program, which is taught in English, aims to provide a practical platform for participants to launch a business. Over the course of an academic year, the program provides students with the practical tools and theoretical knowledge that are necessary to establish and manage a start-up and to develop and realize a business vision, from the inception of an idea to fruition of a company producing value. The program includes the following components: Venture creation: The core of the program is the venture creation course. During summer vacation, students divide into teams of three or four and select an idea for a venture. Throughout the year, the teams work toward establishing their ventures examining potential ideas, analyzing the business environment, developing business and marketing plans, building business models and actually opening their own businesses, if time permits. Each team is assigned a mentor a businessperson from a field relevant to the venture. The students have access to a board of advisors, composed of businesspeople and professionals, to which they can turn with questions and for assistance in promoting their ventures. In addition, effort is made to provide additional resources, such as access to databases and market research, introductions to investors, and more. Courses: As they work toward establishing their ventures, students take courses and workshops with an entrepreneurial orientation in entrepreneurial finance, accounting for entrepreneurial ventures, positioning, branding and market communications, legal and tax aspects of entrepreneurial ventures, psychological aspects of entrepreneurship and business presentation. The courses are designed to help students advance their ventures. Entrepreneurship workshop: The aim of this workshop is to introduce students to the different stages and aspects of launching entrepreneurial ventures by introducing them to entrepreneurs and ventures and to their stories of success and failure. The workshop consists of lectures and meetings with entrepreneurs, investors and professionals who specialize in various stages and aspects of developing a venture. The workshop also includes a 10-day study trip abroad, during which students take a management workshop at a U.S. university with a leading business administration program, learn from the experience of world-renowned entrepreneurs, visit leading companies, and meet the program s founder and benefactor, Sam Zell. During the trip, students who are interested and qualified are interviewed for six-month to yearlong internships at companies affiliated with Mr. Zell and other U.S. corporations.
Adv. Liat Aaronson, Zell Entrepreneurship Program Executive Director For more information, please see www.idc.ac.il/ec (under the heading Zell) or email zep@idc.ac.il
Program of Studies Zell Entrepreneurship Program Course Course Lecture Credits Comments Code Name Hours Pre-Term Workshops 2509 Leadership Dr. Amir Kfir - 5001 Fundamentals of Finance TBA - 5012 Innovation Dr. Iris Ginzburg - 5015 IP Law Dr. Neil Wilkoff - 5222 Business Presentation Ms. Lior Student - 5224 Group Dynamics and Team Building Dr. Etay Shilony - Core Courses 5004 Venture Creation A and B - Biweekly faculty-team meetings Adv. Liat Aaronson 2*** 4 - Working on ventures 5006 Entrepreneurial Finance TBA 2*** 4 - Team meetings 5009 Strategic New Product Development A and B - 12 4-hour sessions Dr. Eyal Maoz 4*** 4 - Team meetings 5222 Business Presentation Ms. Lior Student 2* 2 5335 Accounting for Entrepreneurial Ventures Dr. Yossi Bachar 2* 2 5000 Legal and Tax Aspects of Entrepreneurial Ventures Dr. Ayal Shenhav, Adv. 2** 2 Adv. Liat Aaronson 5011 Entrepreneurship Workshop - Workshop includes guest lecturers Adv. Liat Aaronson 1.5*** 3 and a 10-day study trip abroad in the second semester 5334 Positioning, Branding and Market Communications Mr. Michael Emery 2** 2 5777 Psychological Aspects of Entrepreneurship Dr. Etay Shilony 2** 2
Total Semester Hours 27 * First Semester Course ** Second Semester Course *** Yearlong Course Program Requirements 1. Students in the Zell Entrepreneurship Program must complete all of the required courses for the program (27 semester hours). 2. Students may not have a second major (due to the amount of time they must devote to the Zell program in order to succeed). 3. Business administration students from the Raphael Recanati International School must take all of the courses for the Zell program as well as 13 semester hours (or the number of semester hours needed to reach the 120 semester hours required to earn a degree) of third-year courses from the business administration program. Students are not required to take the Business Administration seminar (course 482). 4. Government students from the Raphael Recanati International School must take all of the courses for the Zell program as well as two government seminars and additional third-year government courses so that they reach the 124 semester hours required to earn a degree.
Course Descriptions 5004 Venture Creation A and B Adv. Liat Aaronson This course is designed to provide students with a practical platform for launching an enterprise. Students work in teams, with the guidance of business advisors, to move a venture from inception of an idea to a viable business. In this course, students utilize the practical tools and knowledge they acquire from other courses in the program. In addition to a mentor, students have access to various resources, such as databases, market research, an advisory board, professionals from relevant areas, loans to launch selected ventures (depending on availability of funds) and more. 5006 Entrepreneurial Finance A and B TBA The course is designed for budding entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. The course focuses on both business and project valuation and methods of financing new ventures. During the course, students learn valuation tools such as the DCF and APV methods and the real options approach to valuation. The course also addresses dilemmas such as: funding sources; use of information; representation problems; motivating employees in uncertain conditions; investment contracts between venture capital funds and entrepreneurs; and more. This course uses a combination of case study analysis and theoretical lectures to study entrepreneurial finance. The cases deal with successful and unsuccessful entrepreneurial companies and are analyzed financially and strategically. The course requires mastery of accounting basics and basic financial tools, as well as the ability to present an idea and facilitate a discussion skillfully. 5009 Strategic New Product Development Prof. Eyal Maoz The basic purpose of the course is to explore various issues and problems that managers face in making decisions regarding the development, design and marketing of new products and services. The course is intended to acquaint students with the stages of the new product development process, such as opportunity identification, product design, test marketing, market penetration and trade (emphasis is placed on the first stage). In addition, the course demonstrates the utility of analytical models and methods in solving marketing problems involving new products (with the focus on the use of these models). 5222 Business Presentation Ms. Lior Student This workshop teaches students some of the leading methods used around the world to communicate effectively and disseminate messages. In this interactive workshop, students learn how to maximize their communication abilities: to give group presentations; to overcome stage fright; to soften audience opposition; and more. 5335 Accounting for Entrepreneurial Ventures Dr. Yossi Bachar
Entrepreneurs are users of financial information, rather than those that prepare that information. With this in mind, the purpose of the course is to provide students with a thorough understanding of financial accounting concepts and techniques, as they are relevant for comprehensive and managerial-oriented use of published financial statements. Emphasis is placed on financial and funding issues, transaction analysis, evaluation and interpretation of the financial reports, and the impact of various accounting methods on the reported results of the company. The main goal of the course is to equip students with knowledge and tools that will assist them in decision making in their professional career. Exam 5000 Legal and Tax Aspects of Entrepreneurial Ventures Dr. Ayal Shenhav, Adv., Adv. Liat Aaronson The course introduces students to the major legal issues that may confront an entrepreneur when starting a new business or a new venture within a growing business. The course is divided into two parts. The first part focuses on the study and analysis of the legal constraints and risks associated with entrepreneurial activity, such as the proper form of incorporation, legal structuring of entrepreneurial transactions, personal liability of entrepreneurs and the governmental regulatory environment. The second part focuses on legal aspects of entrepreneurship in various types of businesses, such as real estate development, start-up companies, finance, technology, health and entertainment. Exam 5011 Entrepreneurship Workshop Adv. Liat Aaronson This workshop exposes students to different stages and dilemmas in launching and managing entrepreneurial ventures by introducing them to various entrepreneurs and ventures and their stories of success or failure. The workshop consists of lectures and meetings with entrepreneurs and professionals who specialize in the different stages and aspects of launching and developing a venture. The workshop includes a study trip abroad that is approximately 10 days. During the trip, students learn from the experience of world-renowned entrepreneurs, visit leading start-up companies and participate in a workshop at one of the top American universities. Grade is based on participation 5334 Positioning, Branding and Market Communications Mr. Michael Emery The course builds upon first semester work on market positioning. It raises the question of how to articulate a company s positioning in its name, brand promise, visual images, marketing communications, advertising, and strategies of market awareness and penetration. 5777 Psychological Aspects of Entrepreneurship Dr. Etay Shilony Entrepreneurial management is a very complex field with great constraints. It usually is performed in an environment of competition, rapidly changing markets and global financial influences. In many cases, the entrepreneur finds himself under pressure and in a lonely position in which all the responsibility is on his shoulders. Clearly, in such competitive circumstances, a brilliant venture is not enough. The entrepreneur also must be able to present and convince, recruit financial resources, facilitate change and lead, make decisions, establish a suitable administration for the venture, and manage relations and interpersonal dynamics with partners, managers and employers correctly. The course surveys psychological and human relations at
various stages of managing a venture. The course provides students with tools to understand and manage these processes. In addition, the course aims to provide basic management tools for the entrepreneur, whether as a leader or team member. Exam Exam Schedule Dates and times of exams are not included in the printed version of the student handbook. Instead, students can find this information on the IDC Herzliya website under Services. The entire exam schedule can be accessed by clicking on Handbook. Students can find their personal exam schedule by clicking on My IDC.