THE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS BA 4308: ENTREPRENEURSHIP ROOM: SOM 2.901 THURSDAY 7:00 9:45 PM FALL 05 PROFESSOR DAVID L. DEEDS Office: 4.204 SOM Office Hrs: TH 6:00-7:00 & by appt. Phone: 972.883.5904 E-Mail: David.Deeds@utd.edu Texts: Entrepreneurship, Hisrich, Peters & Shepherd, 6 th Edition Handouts and.pdf s Course Objectives The main objective of this course is provide the student with an understanding of the entrepreneurial process, the role of entrepreneurship in the US economy and the problems and challenges facing an entrepreneur in the process of creating a business. The course will use the development of a business plan as the focal point. Groups of students will develop a business plan piece by piece. Each group will make 3 presentations and write 3 papers during the semester. In addition, after each set of presentation each student will write a brief (1-2 pg.) paper evaluating the presentations of the other groups (NOT THIER OWN) and choose one in which they would invest (NOT THEIR OWN). Grading Group Project 3 Presentations 20% 3 Papers 20% # of Investors 10% Project Total 50% Individual Assignments 25% Mid Term Exam 10% Final Exam 15% 100% Course Policies Attendance in this class is not optional. The impact on your grade of missing classes is as follows: 0 2 Absences No impact on grade 3 4 Absences 1 letter grade penalty on final grade (A to B) 5 6 Absences 2 letter grade penalty on final grade (A to C) 7 + Absences Fail Course ( final grade = F ) You are expected to have read all the assigned materials and cases prior to the start of class and be prepared to discuss the ideas, concepts and issues they raise. You should also be prepared to present any financial calculations required to address the issues of the case. If I find that people
are not prepared for class I will institute pop quizzes that will be factored into your Individual Assignment grade. These quizzes cannot be made up if missed. Late assignments will be penalized 2 letter grades and will not be accepted more then a week after the due date. No excuses. No exceptions. Guidelines For The Group Project Students will work in teams of 3 or 4. The group project is 50% of your grade, a major teaching tool of the course and a semester long project. The project requires a wide range of knowledge including knowledge of finance and accounting. A broad range of backgrounds and knowledge among the group members is beneficial. Choose your group members carefully. Selection of an opportunity to pursue for the project is critical. The idea must meet a couple of basic criteria. It must be a large enough opportunity that it will require at least $500,000 in investment capital and it must have the potential to generate at least $10,000,000 in revenue. That means that bars, restaurants, sports facilities, most retail models only qualify if they are scalable by franchising or expansion to multiple locations. This expansion must be part of the business plan being created by the group. The plan can be for the acquisition of an existing, small business, but it must entail significant growth of the business in terms of size and revenues. As a general rule that means at least a 5 fold increase in revenues and gross revenues in excess of $10,000,000. A great entrepreneurial opportunity is one that brings something new, valuable, and difficult to imitate to the market and creates a position where the industry forces (supplier power, buyer power, barriers to entry, substitutes and rivalry) are favorable to the new venture. New ventures that go head to head with established firms in tough industries lose. Each group will write 3 papers and give 3 presentations on various aspects of their proposed business. Paper & Presentation #1: Industry Analysis and Description of Venture This paper should be at least ten pages in length. The first section should provide a detailed analysis of the industry in which the venture will operate. This section will include the future outlook and trends, analysis of competitors, market segmentation and industry forecasts. The second section will provide a detailed explanation of the idea for your start-up, a detailed description of the strategy your firm will employ to differentiate itself, a mission statement, several well developed objectives (short term and long term) and a description of the characteristics of the venture (size, office requirements, equipment requirements, background of entrepreneurs, etc.) Paper & Presentation #2: The Marketing and Organizational Plan This paper should be at least ten pages in length. It should provide a detailed analysis of the target market(s), including a discussion of the overall market, the specific markets, the competitive factors and the macro-environmental trends. In addition this paper should provide a detailed marketing plan including the marketing strategy - image of the firm, communication tools, advertising and promotional activities, marketing budget, pricing strategy, sales forecasts and detailed marketing budget. The second section will provide a detailed description of the ownership and structure of the organization. This section will include the form of ownership, identification of partners and shareholders, organizational chart, delineation of responsibilities and authority, job descriptions and qualifications, and background of management team and board of directors. Paper & Presentation #3: Assessment of Risk and Financial Plan 2
This paper should be at least six pages in length, plus pro-forma financial statements. The first section of this paper should present a critical assessment of the ventures weaknesses, critical risks and contingency plans. The second section should provide a detailed discussion of the financial resource requirements of the firm, sources and uses of the financial resources, your strategy for obtaining the resources, equity positions and structure of the investment deal including projected returns and pro-forma financial statements (Balance Sheet, Income Statement, and Cash Flows) for 3 years. Individual Assignments Each student will complete 4 individual assignments. These assignments are listed on the syllabus. The specific assignments will be handed out during class. These are individual assignments (hence the name) not to be done in groups and turned in individually. If 2 or more assignments are too close in content, etc. I reserve the right to assign those students another assignment or fail them on that particular assignment. 3
Schedule Week 1 Chap. 1 The Nature & Importance of Entrepreneurs 8/18/05 Chap. 2 The Entrepreneurial and Intrapreneurial Mind Chap. 3 - The Individual Entrepreneur Week 2 Chap. 5 The Business Idea 8/25/05 Chap. 6 Legal Issues for Entrepreneurs Chap. 7 The Business Plan Case: The Beach Carrier 1. What is the nature of the product? What are its strengths and weaknesses? 2. What are the limitations to the assumptions Ricci has made in determining the market potential? What risks do these present? 3. How can Ricci protect her product design? 4. What are the pros and cons of the mail order marketing strategy? What are the pros and cons of alternative distribution methods? 5. What are some of the manufacturing issues Ricci will face? 6. Is the financing sufficient to fund the roll out of the Beach Carrier as planned? IA #1 Due 5 business cards from contacts with an paragraph for each explaining the value of the contact Week 3 Guest Speaker - Brendan Coughlin 9/1/05 Chap. 13 Entrepreneurial Strategy IA #2 Due Opportunity Analysis assignment Business Idea Description Due Week 4 Reading Porter What is strategy 9/8/05 Reading Porter Competitive forces Case: Oklahoma National Bank 1. What factors have contributed to ONB s success? 2. What is the nature of the competitive environment? 3. Are ONB s goals and objectives appropriate? Reasonable? Achievable? 4. What potential problems do you see in ONB s rapid growth? Week 5 Presentation #1: The Industry & The Idea 9/15/05 Industry & Idea Paper Due From All Groups Week 6 Presentation #1: The Industry & The Idea 9/22/05 Chap. 8 The Marketing Plan Chap. 9 The Organizational Plan Week 7 9/29/05 Mid-Term Exam Week 8 Guest Speaker - Robert Robb 10/6/05 Chap. 14 Strategies for Growth 4
Week 9 Presentation #2:The Marketing & Organizational Plan 10/13/05 Marketing & Organization Plan Paper Due From All Groups Week 10 Presentation #2:The Marketing & Organizational Plan 10/20/05 Chap. 10. The Financial Plan Chap. 11 & 12 Financing New Venture IA #3 Due Estimating Cash Requirements Week 11 Chap. 15 Accessing Resources for Growth 10/27/05 Chap. 16 Going Public Case: NeoMed Technologies 1. What are the external environmental factors and internal strategic issues affecting NeoMed at the time of the case? How are these factors influencing the company s situation? 2. How are the NeoMed leaders maintaining the company morale? What other steps should they take? 3. What are NeoMed s options at this point in time? Which of these options would you choose and why? Week 12 11/3/05 Guest Speaker Venture Investor IA #4 Due - Investment Analysis Week 13 Presentation #3: Assessment of Risk and Financial Plan 11/10/05 Assessment of Risk & Financial Plan Due From All Groups Week 14 Presentation #3: Assessment of Risk and Financial Plan 11/17/05 Closing Lecture Week 15 12/1/05(?) Final Exam 5