LEAN ENTREPRENEURSHIP. Academic Year

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1 LEAN ENTREPRENEURSHIP Academic Year Instructor: António Lucena de Faria Course Description: This course will present a new approach to starting a business that can significantly increase the chances of success. The main concept is simple but very powerful: before starting a business we have to develop its customers. This course is based on the Business Model Canvas approach proposed by Alex Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur. It will also have students discover the concept of Lean Startup divulged by Eric Ries; and the central concept of Client Discovery and Validation introduced by Steve Blank. After selecting an idea and designing the Business Model, each group of students will embark on a journey of defining and testing the different hypothesis that support the Business Model. Along the way it s possible that the original idea will change as a result of lessons learned through interaction with potential customers. The course will end with a presentation by each team to a group of investors. Course Content: This course is structured around five different phases: 1) The Ideation Phase, dedicated to discussing how to find and evaluate business Ideas; 2) The Design Phase, during which we will create the Business Model related to each team s idea; 3) The Validation Phase, composed of different steps dedicated to validating the components of the Business Model and adjusting in accordance with the results of the tests; MRSyllabus_E0211.v1

2 4) The Planning Phase, during which we will put together a 1-Page-Business Plan; 5) The Pitching Phase, consisting of creating and delivering the Investment Pitch. Course Objectives: The main learning objectives are: Improving the ability to spot and evaluate opportunities for a new business venture Thinking in a creative and critical way and solving problems in highly unstructured circumstances Acquiring the concepts and attitude necessary for business entrepreneurship Examining a business model as a whole, rather than concentrating separately on its functional aspects Learning the importance of validating the idea and the team before creating a business Communicating effectively through presentations and in writing Experiencing the benefits of effective teamwork and of peer-group review and feed-back throughout the planning phases of a new business venture. Grading: Grades will be assessed in conformity with the hypothesis validation work done by each team, the 1-Page-Business Plan, the pitch deck quality and the actual pitch to investors, as well as with the quality of individual class participation. There will be no final exam. However, it is possible that there will be individual and group in-class graded exercises. Grades will be as follow: Group (70%) Team s Micro-Site/Blog: 20% (grade attributed by the end of term) 1-Page-Business Plan: 15% (grade attributed by the end of term) Pitch Deck: 15% (grade attributed after the final presentation) Investment Pitch Presentation: 20% (grade attributed after the final presentation) Individual (30%) Individual class participation and in class performance: 20% (grade attributed by the end of term) Individual contribution to the team s work (peer evaluation): 10% (grade attributed after the final presentation) Página 2 de 6

3 COURSE ACTIVITIES: THE BUSINESS PLAN DEVELOPMENT Course participants are required to form teams of four students whose talents, skills and knowledge are complementary. We will discuss how to form teams in class. Classes will be highly interactive and students are expected to bring their own contributions to class. Extensive team work outside of class is an essential part of this course. Other factors which are extremely relevant to your team s functioning are the management and coordination of group effort by appropriate means (telephone, , Skype, meetings, etc.). Each team will create and update a Micro-Site/Blog and produce an original 1Page- Business Plan (BP) and an Investment Pitch Deck (PD) as its major final product and will make periodical presentations of its progress in class. The content and organization of the BP and PD will be discussed in class. Important Note: If your business development plan has been the subject of class projects in other classes, it is your responsibility to inform the instructor, and to explain how the work performed for this class will be original. Intermediate submission requirements: Each team will have to submit weekly the result of the validation work that was assigned in class. Teams will be required to present the results of their validation work to the class. Feedback will be provided after each presentation of the results of the weekly validation work. Failing to submit the results of the validation work at due dates will negatively affect the final evaluation of the team s performance. In order to pass this course, you must: achieve a composite mark of at least 10; and make a satisfactory attempt at all assessment tasks. Investment Pitch Presentation: Teams will make a formal presentation of the final Investment Pitch during the exam weeks. Bibliography: Main Textbook: Alex Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur, Business Model Generation, Pub Wiley & Sons, BM in the course outline Additional reading: Eric Ries, The Lean Startup. LS in the course outline. Página 3 de 6

4 Other readings and materials will be distributed along the course. The Internet links mentioned in the class presentations and Steve Blank s blog ( are important additional resources. Plagiarism: The University regards plagiarism as a form of academic misconduct, and has very strict rules regarding plagiarism. Please consult the Student s Office in relation to this matter. Students Responsibilities and Conduct: Students are expected to be familiar with and adhere to university policies in relation to class attendance and general conduct and behaviour, including maintaining a safe, respectful environment; and to understand their obligations in relation to workload, assessment and keeping informed. A regular and punctual attendance at lectures and seminars is expected in this course. Students are expected to conduct themselves with consideration and respect for the needs of other fellow students and teaching staff. Conduct which unduly disrupts or interferes with a class, such as ringing or talking on mobile phones, is not acceptable. Students should take note of all announcements made in lectures, tutorials or on the course web site. From time to time, the University will send important announcements to your university address without providing you with a paper copy. Students will be deemed to have received this information. It is also the student s responsibility to keep the University informed of all changes to his contact details. Página 4 de 6

5 COURSE OUTLINE Topics Readings Work Due 1 Course Overview, Ideation and Business Model Canvas BM, Pages 1-72 LS, Pages Customer Development, Lean Startup, P-S-M and Competitors Analysis Why the Lean Startup Changes Everything, HBR May 2013 LS, Pages Team s Business Idea and Business Model 3 Customer Segments and Value Proposition LS, Pages Team s Micro-Site and Blog 4 Channels and Revenue Sources Traction, Chapter 1 and 2 Building a Sales & Marketing Machine, forentrepreneurs.com Interviews and Landing Page 5 Activities, Resources, Partners Cost Structure and Financing LS, Pages The E-Myth Revisited, Part II Minimum Viable Product 6 Go-to-Market Strategy Marketing Campaign Toolkit, HubSpot 1-Page-Business Plan Final Report and Investment Pitch The Best Startup Pitch Deck & How to Present to Angels / VCs, J. Skyler Fernandes Pitch Deck and Final Report Biography: Antonio Lucena de Faria started his first business when he was 15 years old. His only job started in 1985 and lasted less than two years during which he was a Consultant for Arthur Andersen & Co. in the Minneapolis, USA office. In 1987 he founded Methodus Sistemas S.A.; a Consulting and Software Development company specialized in Financial Services, and has been the President of the Board since then. In 1999 he started PortalFinanceiro.com S.A. and MTDS, SGPS. S.A. and was the President of both companies. In 2000 he was one of the founders and the CEO of forumb2b.com, a partnership between Methodus, EDP and GALP. In 2002 António was one of the three founders of Selplus S.A. In 2008 he created FundManager Lda; a software company Página 5 de 6

6 specialized in Real Estate Fund Management. In 2010 he was the founder of ActionFlow.com and was the first Portuguese invited to pitch a project at DEMO in Silicon Valley, California. In 2012 he was the founder of Fábrica de Startups and is currently the President and CEO of this startup accelerator. António is also the organizer of the Energia de Portugal project, a partnership between Expresso, Fábrica de Startups, EDP, CGD and SAGE. Currently António is also member and coordinator of the Conselho Nacional de Empreendedorismo e Inovação (CNEI). Antonio has a degree in Economics from Universidade Católica Portuguesa and a MBA from the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, USA. During his twenty five years of professional experience, António participated in several management courses including at HEC, Jouy an Jousas, France, London Business School, London, UK, Babson College, Boston, USA and Harvard Business Scholl, Boston, USA. alucenafaria@fabstart.pt Página 6 de 6