Engineering Entrepreneurship Fellows I

Catalog description

This course is the first of a three-part sequence for twelve SEAS students previously selected to the new Engineering Entrepreneurship (EENT) Fellows Program. This 1 CU spring semester course teaches management and leadership skills for technology-intensive startups with specific focus on product and market strategy, venture financing and cash flow management, team recruiting and organizational development, and the challenges of managing growth in emerging ventures. Upon completion of this course, students will be prepared to undertake the second of the three-part EENT Fellows Program in which they will be immersed in an intensive entrepreneurial experience as a summer intern at a substantial high-tech startup company. During the internship students will support strategic initiatives and will have access to the founder(s) and/or key top-level personnel. During the summer, they will each maintain a journal of their intern experience and will also visit other students at their respective startup companies to share and learn from one another’s experiences. The internship is then followed in the fall semester by the third part of the EENT Fellows Program, a 1 CU course in which students prepare and present real-life case studies based on their summer internship experience. Effective verbal presentation skills are a focus of this fall course. Key personnel from the startup companies participate in these case study preparations and presentations. Throughout the year long EENT Fellows Program each student will be mentored by a venture capitalist as well as an EENT alum with startup experience. Throughout the Program a series of events will also be organized to encourage students to connect with each other and create a strong sense of community.