Introduction to Entrepreneurship
What does it take to spot an opportunity, build something from nothing, and persuade others to believe in your vision? BMG 214: New Venture Creation answers that question — not through theory alone, but through the lived experience of creating a real business venture from the ground up.
The course moves through four themes: defining entrepreneurship and generating ideas using frameworks like the Business Model Canvas and Timmons Model; understanding financials and conducting real market research, including direct customer interviews; translating ideas into action through marketing, forecasting, and funding strategy; and finally, pitching a complete business plan to an audience with live Q&A.
The "Founder Lab" teaches the feeling of being an entrepreneur through a simulated ecosystem of resourcing, market, disruptions, competition and many other characteristics of a real business startup experience.
Assessment centers on a group business plan that evolves over the term — from initial proposal through market analysis, written summary, slide deck, and final comprehensive plan — alongside individual quizzes and a creative project. Every major submission includes accountability mechanisms like Decision Journals, Primary Research Logs, and AI Audit notes that document how thinking developed over time.
Students are encouraged to use AI as a working tool, the way a real entrepreneur would — but the judgment, iteration, and original reasoning must be their own.
The goal isn't to produce a business plan. It's to produce entrepreneurs who know how to think.
What does it take to spot an opportunity, build something from nothing, and persuade others to believe in your vision? BMG 214: New Venture Creation answers that question — not through theory alone, but through the lived experience of creating a real business venture from the ground up.
The course moves through four themes: defining entrepreneurship and generating ideas using frameworks like the Business Model Canvas and Timmons Model; understanding financials and conducting real market research, including direct customer interviews; translating ideas into action through marketing, forecasting, and funding strategy; and finally, pitching a complete business plan to an audience with live Q&A.
The "Founder Lab" teaches the feeling of being an entrepreneur through a simulated ecosystem of resourcing, market, disruptions, competition and many other characteristics of a real business startup experience.
Assessment centers on a group business plan that evolves over the term — from initial proposal through market analysis, written summary, slide deck, and final comprehensive plan — alongside individual quizzes and a creative project. Every major submission includes accountability mechanisms like Decision Journals, Primary Research Logs, and AI Audit notes that document how thinking developed over time.
Students are encouraged to use AI as a working tool, the way a real entrepreneur would — but the judgment, iteration, and original reasoning must be their own.
The goal isn't to produce a business plan. It's to produce entrepreneurs who know how to think.
- Teacher: Steve Karpenko