Entrepreneurship: Product Development and Commercialization

Catalog description

Building upon the Business Model Canvas of Osterwalder and Pigneur and the Lean Launchpad framework of Blank, Engel, and Dorf, this course provides students the skill sets necessary to progress from basic entrepreneurial ideation and validation to formalized product development with the concomitant required business models. Mechanisms are developed for identifying markets, assessing competition in those markets, and the associated market entry strategies. Included is the identification of key resources: financial, human, and intellectual capital; as well as the associated acquisition strategies. Key partnerships are identified in the categories of strategic alliances, "coopetition," joint new business development efforts, and key supplier relationships. Associated with this is the investigation of the choice between physical and web/mobile channels in getting products from company to customers, and the associated strategies of customer retention and growth. Revenue and pricing models, both in the business-to-customer and business-to-business contexts are discussed in detail.