Course subject: Bus, Entrepreneurship & Tech (BET)

This course provides insight into the role of strategy in the setup and growth of new ventures. It will discuss the strategic issues faced by new ventures and explore ways to shape and evaluate the viability of new ventures by understanding key industry, market and competitive factors. Different strategic analysis techniques will be used as a means to identify and analyze issues and as input into the design of the business strategy. This course will also explore how cognitive aspects influence entrepreneurial decisions and also discuss frameworks to generate and recognize new opportunities.

This course will provide entrepreneurs and enterprise intrapreneurs with an understanding of financing practices and principles relevant to entrepreneurial opportunities. Classes will feature a combination of theory and "real world" practices drawing from the instructor's experiences.

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to how accounting information can be used by entrepreneurs and enterprise intrapreneurs to manage an enterprise, improve decision making, and implement organizational strategy as the venture proceeds from start-up to SME to maturity. The course is split into two parts: Financial accounting (external use of financial information) and Management Accounting (the internal use of financial information).

This course is designed to leverage the high-potential complementarities between MBET entrepreneurship students and University of Waterloo and Waterloo region ventures. The objectives are: 1. High-potential business models and licensing plans to facilitate the launch of knowledge-based commercial or social ventures and technology commercialization. 2. Enriched linkages between MBET students and University of Waterloo and Waterloo region entrepreneurs. 3. Experience in networking, partnership development, opportunity assessment, stakeholder validation, and working in and managing diverse teams. 4. An opportunity to reflect on the opportunities and challenges faced by a venture that you know well, but about which you can be objective.

This course gives students an opportunity to develop and exercise the skills to help businesses explore strategic opportunities and threats using the same frameworks used in start-up environments. It includes identifying problems, assessing opportunities and developing creative solutions in an existing corporate context. The course will involve a mix of theory and practice in the form of lectures, group work, cases, guest speakers, and an innovation consulting team project with an established firm.