ET5216 Venture Capital Investments and Practices (4 AU)

This course trains students to understand how to value a start-up, a corporate venture, or a project. Emphasis is placed on developing a systematic framework in Venture Capital (VC) concepts and related techniques pertaining to venture capital investment as a profession. More specifically, the course helps students to develop an advanced level of skills on valuing a venture. It guides students in going through venture capital investment term sheets systematically, which covers important facets of the financing: economic issues such as the valuation given to the company (the higher the valuation, the less dilution to the entrepreneur). It also covers control issues such as the makeup of the company’s Board of Directors, the approval or “veto” rights the investors enjoy; and post-closing rights of the investors, such as the right to participate in future financings and rights to get periodic financial information.

 The course also examines several real-life venture capital and private equity investment deals.  Students will identify the best practices and draw lessons from actual cases to deepen their knowledge and skills in VC investment.

 Pre-requisite:  ​ET5213​ Managing New Ventures (3 AU)

ET5218 Innovation and Commercialization of Technologies (3 AU)

An integral component of the course is the exploitation and commercialisation of technologies. The course provides a platform to examine trends and key issues in commercialising inventions and technological innovations. Students need to understand the latest technological research and development and identify technology commercialisation possibilities. This course places emphasis on the successful transfer of technologies from a research environment for commercialisation. It teaches how successful and sustainable products or services go to the global market in a knowledge-based entrepreneurial wealth-creation process. Challenges and opportunities posed by emerging technologies in the Fourth Industrial Revolution will also be examined.

 Pre-requisite: Nil

BU5302 Law of Intellectual Property and New Media (3 AU)

The knowledge-based economy is underpinned by laws which protect information assets, shapes transactions and provides security for the various parties of interest to electronic transactions. Topics covered include protection and management of intellectual property, validation and protection of electronic agreements, data security and privacy, cyber-crime and the laws that apply to virtual worlds. This course is designed to give an understanding on the relationship between law and intellectual capital and new forms of media as well as how businesses work within the rules affecting the knowledge-based economy. The approaches to this subject will involve both critical thinking and practical work.

Pre-requisite: Nil

ET5215 Entrepreneurial Business Development (3 AU)

This course aims to introduce students to a framework of business development strategy, equip students with theories and tools to develop strategies, engage students in the application of these theories and tools to real-life business cases. This course focuses on strategic decisions, which will have a long-term impact on the organisation.

 The course enables students to discover how adopting entrepreneurial marketing thinking will help them to:

1. Gain an understanding on the functional role of marketing in the wider context of a business and entrepreneurship setting.
2. Answer crucial questions of “What am I selling, to whom and why, and how can I be a market leader?” 
3. Appreciate marketing strategies applied conceptually and in real-world enterprises.

 Pre-requisite: Nil

ET5217 Design & Systems Thinking for Entrepreneurs (4 AU)

From high-tech electronic products to low-tech children’s toys, human-centered design leads to the creation of great products or services through a deep understanding of human needs. The key to any start-up success is the quick and accurate identification of its customer base, and the value to its target market. Design behaviours – collaboration, empathy towards others, prototyping new ideas, and continuous improvement – are important when delving into any new experience.

 On another note, entrepreneurs spend most of the time interacting with all kinds of systems, which are often complex mixes of technology, people, and issues. Even in a simple system there can be several subtle cause-and-effects that we have to deal with if we want to change or improve things. Learning about systems thinking means learning about these behavioural properties and characteristics.

 This course consists of two parts:

• Part A discusses the roles that innovation and design play in entrepreneurship, and specially design thinking and its application to developing new products, services and the organisation of businesses are introduced; and
• Part B focuses on systems thinking, which enables entrepreneurs to develop, and take advantage of, the potential to a more holistic way of managing and growing startup teams, ventures, and the businesses.

 Pre-requisite: Nil

ET5134 Enterprise Strategy (3 AU)

This is an immersive experiential learning module which provides a platform for students to experience the process of managing a business. Students are exposed to some of the major business decisions that entrepreneurs face when growing their ventures and competing with other companies in the same industry.

Students will be grouped into teams to compete with one another. As students work through the organisation's life cycle in the simulation, external forces and managerial dilemmas are added. Students will apply the various tools, case-studies, and theories from previous modules and subsequently tackle new tasks, take on additional responsibilities and make difficult decisions.

Pre-requisite: ET5211 Entrepreneurial Mindset and Technology Innovation (3 AU)

ET5122 E-startups and Social Media Strategies (3 AU)

This module aims to provide students with the essential knowledge on social media marketing, especially for start-ups. For this purpose, various social media tools that start-ups may explore will be introduced. The concept of social commerce will be covered. Students will also learn how to carry out strategic planning with social media. Topics such as social media metrics and social models and monetization will be covered to give a holistic understanding of social media marketing.

Pre-requisite: Nil

BU5503 Innovation Marketing (3 AU)

In a rapidly changing, dynamic, uncertain, and engaging world, which quickly renders various products and services obsolete, organisations need to continuously innovate and come out with new solutions when new opportunities or challenges arise.  This is pertinent and urgently needed in an increasingly connected and competitive world, where technological innovations continue to proliferate our world and the digital revolution generates fast impacting values demanded by customers. This course aims to enable students to learn practical skills and knowledge on market innovations for sustainable success.

This module complements with the suite of existing marketing and other business subjects offered by Nanyang Business School. It provides a good avenue for students interested to pursue their career with organisations engaged in innovations or who wish to have their own start-ups.

Pre-requisite: Nil

ET5135 Business Venture Implementation (3 AU)

There are two parts to this module.

PART A: This module allows students to learn the importance of opportunity recognition and creation, and to learn how to evaluate new venture concepts. This module is a continuation of earlier modules students covered in MiE and SMiE. Students will be exposed to the ups and downs that start-ups face and the challenges of operating new business ventures. They will appreciate and learn from the lessons of under-performing or ‘turn-around’ companies.

PART B: The objectives of the module are to cultivate a proactive mindset in students, to tap on the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Singapore through meeting and mingling with venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, business leaders, angel investors, government officers, and intellectual property lawyers. The module will provide opportunities for forums and discussions, where students get to explore and test potential business ideas with like-minded people. In addition, students will understand the importance of networking and professionalism at work.

Pre-requisite: ET5211 Entrepreneurial Mindset and Technology Innovation (3 AU)

Co-requisite: ET5214 Financing Entrepreneurial Ventures (3 AU)

AB0603 Social Entrepreneurship (3 AU)

Social entrepreneurship is rapidly emerging. These entrepreneurs help solve social and environmental challenges which are ignored or missed by businesses and pursue predominately donor-driven models of the nonprofit sector.  This field includes “social intrapreneurship,” where employees in companies develop new income opportunities for their firms by addressing social and environmental challenges in a profitable and scalable manner. In this evolving social entrepreneurship landscape, the traditional lines blur among nonprofits, government, and business. Through use of case studies and class discussions, lectures, guest speakers, and a field project, students will gain better understanding on the opportunities and challenges in this landscape. Students will learn what a social enterprise is and its similarities and differences with other types of business, engage in problem/ opportunity assessment, and learn about the trade-offs between social and financial returns on investment.  

Pre-requisite: Nil