Module

Voraussetzungen

Inhalte

No doubt, Silicon Valley is one of the world’s leading hubs for technological innovation. Pioneering companies like Google, Facebook or PayPal were founded by visionary entrepreneurs with growth ambition. Yet, despite the myth of a solitary genius tinkering in her garage, such entrepreneurial activities and innovations are only possible if diverse actors work together in manifold ways. Here, a major challenge becomes apparent: Although such entrepreneurial activities require manifold, comprehensive resources to work on innovative ideas, develop new products and grow an organization, in most cases, entrepreneurs do not possess all necessary resources. Hence, resourcing becomes an outstandingly important challenge for entrepreneurs—and in particular, the mobilization of financial resources. Investors are hesitant to invest in newly founded ventures, as their survival and success is highly uncertain. In this course, we discuss diverse approaches to resource acquisition from a research-based perspective, for example discussing the role of entrepreneurial ecosystems in providing such financial resources, and of networks in acquiring them. This module strongly focuses on research.

Lernziele

Successfully completing this course means, that students are able to work through and critically evaluate scientific papers and theoretical concepts. They have an analytical understanding of typical challenges entrepreneurs face in acquiring resources, especially financial resources, and are able to apply the theoretical concepts discussed in the seminar to a wide range of practical problems. They can not only identify, understand and see through common challenges, conflicts, and troubles throughout the entrepreneurship process, but also discuss, evaluate, and question research findings and scientific debates. Furthermore, students are able to write concise and theoretically grounded essays.

Prüfungsleistung

• Presentation, 15 minutes (30%) • Essay I, max. 5 pages (Mid-term; 35%) • Essay II, max. 5 pages (End; 35%)

Bemerkungen

Module with limited number of participants - Registration two weeks prior to the commencement of lectures!