Program Director Contact Details:
Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Name: Gary Hancock
Phone: +61 8 8313 0125

Teaching Staff:
Name: Shane Cheek

Short Bio:
Shane has 15 years experience in technology commercialisation and venture capital. He is Managing Partner of Acumen Ventures, an early stage venture capital fund, and Managing Director of Method Advisory, a boutique corporate advisory firm based in South Australia.

Previously, he was an Investment Manager with Playford Capital, an Australian based venture capital fund.

Prior to this he was State Manager with the Australian Institute for Commercialisation where he provided corporate advisory and commercialisation advice to high growth companies in industries including automotive engineering, medical devices, environmental sciences, geospatial imaging and mining technology.

For several years he worked in university technology transfer and business development roles and founded a technology commercialisation company which specialised in the energy, utilities and waste processing industry.

He holds an undergraduate business degree from the University of South Australia and a Master of Science & Technology Commercialisation from the University of Adelaide. Shane is an Adjunct Faculty member of Carnegie Mellon University and lectures Entrepreneurship at the University of Adelaide.

Email: shane@acumenvc.com

Phone: +61 401 095 999

Opening intensive:
Monday 17th, Tuesday 18th & Wednesday 19th March 2014
9am-4pm
Napier 210

Closing intensive:
Monday 14th, Tuesday 15th & Wednesday 16th April 2014
9am-4pm
Napier 210

The overall aim of this course is to enable students to:

1. identify and analyse a range of strategic tools and resources for entrepreneurship
2. understand the range and benefits of resource acquisition;
3. have a sound understanding of the entrepreneurial model for careers.
4. understand the different types of strategies depending on the context, in particular the innovative and entrepreneurial contexts

At the end of this course, students should have an appreciation of the following:

5. the concepts of strategy, and formulation of strategy in the innovative and entrepreneurial contexts;
6. identifying strategic resources and ascertaining the most appropriate means of accessing the resources needed
7. preparing a strategic plan that is suitable for a innovative venture that is operating in an entrepreneurial environment

Text book: 
The Startup of You by Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha – available as Kindle ebook on Amazon.

Library Resources
The University of Adelaide’s Barr Smith Library provides a range of learning resources including texts, journals, periodicals, magazines, and access to online databases and information services. It also offers a virtual library which is accessible via the University’s website. The University Library web page is: http://www.adelaide.edu.au/library/ 
From this link, you are able to access the Library's electronic resources.

MyUni is the University of Adelaide's online learning environment. It is used to support traditional face-to-face lectures, tutorials and workshops at the University. MyUni provides access to various features including announcements, course materials, discussion boards and assessments for each online course of study (see: https://myuni.adelaide.edu.au)

This course is offered in blended learning mode with the face-to-face component offered as intensives.

As a guide, a 3 unit course comprises a total of 156 hours work (this includes face-to-face contact, any online components, and self directed study).

Assessment Number	Assessment	Length	Weighting	Due Date	Learning Outcomes
1	Individual Assignment: Personal Resource Network	1500wds	30%	Friday 4th April	1,3,6,7
2	Individual Assignment: Entrepreneurial Career Plan	1500wds	30%	Friday 25th April	1-4,6,7
3	Individual Assignment: Entreprenurial Pitch Deck	12 Slides	30%	Friday 9th May	5-7
4	Class Participation		10%
	TOTAL		100%

Students should attend all classes in order to pass the course. There is considerable experiential learning in workshops during the intensive classes that build your knowledge and thus enable you to be
successful in this course.  

Course results are subject to moderation by the ECIC Board of Examiners

Assessment 1: Individual assignment - leveraging personal networks to acquire resources
Weighting: 30%
Due Date: Friday 4th April 5pm
Submission Details: Online through My Uni

Task:
The overall task is to use your personal networks to access resources for an entrepreneurial business idea of your own. There are two components to this task:

Map your personal networks in the form of a mind map. Mind-mapping will be discussed in class. Hand-drawn mind-maps are acceptable, but there are numerous mind-mapping software products, some of them available as freeware, which you should consider using.

This component of the assignment should be completed before the second intensive study session commences. Bring a copy of your mind-map to the first class.

Students will develop a project plan to work on something that could lead to a Plan B. Students should orient it around a skill or experience that is different but related to what they’re doing now. Perhaps they have a business idea they want to pursue, or a skill that they want to learn, or a relationship they want to form, or some other curiosity or aspiration they want to explore (either via a class, internship, job, club or on their own). Students will see how many resources they can identify for this idea through their personal networks. Students may wish to set up social networking sites, such as Facebook or LinkedIn to focus these networks. Aim to identify as many potential resources as possible that can be obtained without involving any financial payment – without, of course, acting illegally or unethically!

Your written assignment should report on the results of your project, identifying what resources were initially identified as required, what resources you were able to obtain through your networks, the anticipated costs, and which networks proved the most valuable in finding resources.

Scope:
This assignment will assess your understanding of the course topics of: personal networks; leveraging networks; and bootstrapping new ventures.

Length and Presentation:
Approximately 1500 words covering the following:
1. A brief outline of your new business idea
2. What resources you initially believed this idea would require, together with a very rough estimate of their cost.
3. How you went about seeking resources using your personal networks and the results obtained. Include an explanation of how you decided which networks to use and how you chose to go about seeking resources through these networks.
4. What key actions and steps will be required to fulfil the project goal?
5. A copy of your personal network mind-map as an attachment (not part of the word limit)
The bulk of your report should be spent on items 3 and 4.

Criteria by which your assignment will be marked:
Detailed marking criteria will be supplied on the MyUni site prior to the second intensive study period.
· Completion of a mind-map of personal networks. This is a hurdle requirement. The mind-map itself is not graded, but it must be completed in order to pass this assignment.
· Clear explanation of the original business idea and overview of the resources required and rough costs. Ability to communicate a business idea clearly is crucial to attracting resources.
· Identification of a wide range of personal networks, including any new ones established during the period of the assignment.
· Evidence of a proactive approach to using networks to find resources.
· Clear story of how networks were used to seek resources, including reasons for prioritising particular networks or not using others.
· Depth of reflection on the experience and what was learned from it.
Bonus marks may be awarded for success in attracting genuine resources for a genuine new business venture.



Assessment 2: Individual, Entrepreneurial Career Plan
Weighting: 30%
Due Date: Friday 25th April 5pm
Submission Details: Online through My Uni

Task:
Popular career planning advice says you should decide where you want to be in 10 years and then develop a plan for getting there. Popular life advice says you should [ind your passion and then pursue it. These philosophies have serious strengths, but also huge drawbacks.

But these approaches presume a static world. In fact, you change, the competition changes, and the world changes. They presume that fixed, accurate self-knowledge can be easily attained through introspection. In fact, your identity is not found solely through introspection but rather emerges through experimentation.

Entrepreneurial career planning and adapting is about being flexibly persistent: always ready to adapt, but also persistent in driving towards set goals. Flickr and PayPal are two examples of companies that adapted significantly, and Sheryl Sandberg’s adaptive career is an example of flexible persistence.

Make the assumptions and hypotheses in your plan explicit. You’ll never have complete certainty; identify areas of incomplete knowledge about yourself or your industry and make plans that will help you [ill those gaps.

Prioritize learning. Start-up companies prioritize learning over profitability in the early days, so you should likewise prioritize learning (soft assets) over cash salary (hard assets) for the majority of your career. In the long run, you’ll likely lead a more meaningful life, as well as make more money.

Learn by doing. Actions, not plans, will generate the lessons that help you adapt to the next phase of your journey.

Think two steps ahead. What next move will maximize the quantity and quality of follow-on opportunities?

You will be required to prepare: Plan A, an alternative Plan B, and an unchanging, certain Plan Z.

Plan A: What you’re doing now. Your current implementation of your competitive advantage.

Plan B: You pivot to B when your plan isn’t working or when you discover a better way toward your goal.

Plan Z: You shift to Z if something goes seriously wrong. It’s the lifeboat you can jump in if your plan fails and you need to re-load before getting back in the game.


Scope:
This assignment will assess your understanding ability to articulate a Plan A, Plan B and Plan Z in your career.

Length and Presentation:
Approximately 1500 words explaining the strategy you have developed for your Plan A, B and Z. Further advice on presentation format will be provided in class and on the MyUni website.

Criteria by which your assignment will be marked:
Detailed marking criteria will be supplied on the MyUni site prior to the second intensive study period.
· Clear explanation of the Plan A, B and Z.
· Clear identification of potential pivot points from Plan A to Plan B. Demonstrate an understanding of when it is time to change.
· Correct use of spelling, grammar and punctuation. Formatting as per University guidelines.





Assessment 3: Entrepreneurial Pitch Deck
Weighting: 30%
Due Date: Friday 9th May 5pm
Submission Details:
Upload to MyUni in PDF or Powerpoint format only.

Task:
Using the pitch deck structure provided in slides 228-229 of the course slides, construct a pitch deck overview of a business opportunity/startup provided in a case study format (to be provided by the lecturer).

Slide 1: Title Page
Slide 2: Problem Statement
Slide 3: Vision/Mission
Slide 4: Product/Solution
Slide 5: Market Size
Slide 6: Distribution/Acquisition
Slide 7: Revenue Model
Slide 8: Product Roadmap/Timeline
Slide 9: Traction/Milestones
Slide 10: Projections/Metrics
Slide 11: Team/Advisors
Slide 12: Funding or Resource Requirement (“the ask”)

Scope:
This assignment will assess your understanding of the course topics and your ability to apply them to a real business presentation, working alone.

You will NOT be required to present the pitch deck. Therefore you should design your slides to be read by an individual, rather than by a crowd in presentation format.

Length and Presentation:
12 Slides EXACTLY (no more, no less)

Criteria by which your assignment will be marked:
Criteria used to assess the assignment are:
· Ability to apply analysis techniques using data from the case study
· Ability to interpret analysis and draw reasonable conclusions regarding strategy, resources and fit between the two.
· Ability to use appropriate communication methods to present information.

You are not expected to do any additional research beyond the data presented in the case study, however you may find it useful to refer to articles that have been covered in the course.


Assessment 4: Class Participation
Weighting: 10%
Due Date: Ongoing
Submission Details: Class participation for all online & face to face aspects.

All text based assignments must be submitted via MyUni.
Please refer to step by step instructions: http://www.adelaide.edu.au/myuni/tutorials/files/AssignmentStudentSubmission.pdf

There are a few points to note about the submission of assignments:

• Assignment Submission:  Assignments should not be emailed to the instructor; they must be lodged via the MyUni Course site (unless specified to do both). Note that assignments may be processed via TURNITIN, which is an online plagiarism prevention tool.
• Cover Sheet:  Please submit, separate to your assignment, the completed University of Adelaide Assessment Cover Sheet providing details of yourself and your team members (if applicable), your assignment, the course, date submitted, etc. as well as the declaration signed by you that this is your (your team’s) work.  Note that the declaration on any electronically submitted assignment will be deemed to have the same authority as a signed declaration.
• Backup Copy of Assignments:  You are advised to keep a copy of your assignments in case the submitted copy goes missing.  Please ensure that all assignment pages are numbered. If your assignment contains confidential information, you should discuss any concerns with the Course Lecturer prior to submission.
• Extensions of Time:  Any request for an extension of time for the submission of an assignment should be made well before the due date of the assignment to the Course Lecturer.  Normally, extensions will only be granted for a maximum of two weeks from the original assignment submission date.  Extensions will only be granted in cases of genuine extenuating circumstances and proof, such as a doctor’s certificate, may be required.
• Failure to submit: Failure to submit an assignment on time or by the agreed extension deadline may result in penalties and may incur a fail grade.  Note that a late penalty of 5% of the total available marks for that assessment item will be incurred each day an assignment is handed in late (Unless otherwise stated in 'Assessment Related Requirements' or 'Assessment Detail' above).  Assignments handed in after 14 days from the due submission date will fail even if a 100% mark is granted for the work.

Resubmission & Remarking
Resubmission of an assignment for remarking after reworking it to obtain a better mark will not normally be accepted.  Approval for resubmission will only be granted on medical or compassionate grounds.