Course presentation (Academic year 2023-2024)

Course outline

This course introduces students and prospective entrepreneurs to the ingredients required to successfully create and finance a start-up company or non-profit. Throughout the course particular emphasis is placed on two critical aspects of global business practice:

1) the global nature of modern business practice and supply chains and how those affect global well-being;

2) the impact on sustainability of global supply chains throughout the lifetime of a product, including its initial conception and design, manufacturing, distribution, consumption and end of life process.

Students will learn how to build a balanced team, define their product or service, understand their target market and competition, identify and connect with their customers, build a business plan and create a company pitch to raise financing for their startup. Students will also learn the ingredients required for a successful financing campaign. Students will apply all of these concepts in a two months team project in which they will create a company.

The course is divided into two parts: Part one covers the “need to know” for setting up a startup business. Part two will allow students to meet the protagonists of successful startup stories as well as other players of the startup ecosystem (investors, business angels).

Course learning outcomes

Upon completion of this course, students will know how to design and to raise a sustainable startup company or non-profit. Specifically, students will:

• understand that the purpose of a business is to create value for all stakeholders;

• understand the key elements of a successful startup, emphasizing the team, the market, customers, competition and the product/service;

• learn how to create a business plan, financial plan and a meaningful and compelling company pitch;

• understand the expectations of investors so that you can ensure that your company is optimally prepared to raise an institutional funding round;

• understand the role of technologies in shaping the company business model;

• conceive the startup business as “sustainable by design”;

• understand the ethical dilemmas that arise in a fast changing, global business environment, especially as they affect local communities, and learn strategies to deal with those dilemmas;

• apply all the concepts learned to create a company and finance it.

Course program

1. Enterprise, start-up and entrepreneur (1 cfu - ING-IND/35)

2. Business Idea and Business Model (1 cfu - SECS-P/13)

3. Communicating your idea and obtaining funding (1 cfu - SECS-P/08)

4. From a business idea to the startup establishment (1 cfu - IUS/04 and IUS/07)

5. Creating value and supporting the growth of a start-up (1 cfu - SECS-P/13)

6. Lab of business creation (1 cfu - INF/01)

7. Companies' experiences (3 cfu - SECS-P/13)

Exams

The evaluation is based on:

1. In class attendance: 25% 

2. Final quiz on the course program: 25%

3. Presentation (pitch) and discussion of the group project work (startup  business plan) that shows the use and the knowledge of the course topics and tools: 50%. Students have to register their project work proposal by filling the form here. The project work has to be delivered  at least 5 days before the exam date. Check on the news the info about the project work presentation.

Registration at the exam via InfoStud is mandatory.

Instructors

Prof. Francesco Bellini (Coordinator and main contact)

Prof. Nicola Cucari

Prof. Emanuela Fiata

Prof. Luca Fraccascia

Prof. Francesca Iandolo

Prof. Antonio La Sala

Prof. Annalisa Postiglione

Prof. Chiara Petrioli

Prof. Antonio Renzi

Tutoring

At the end of the lesson during the teaching semester or during the office hours.

Lessons

• Monday from 18:00 to 20:00 - Business Innovation Hub - Building Faculty of Economics 

• Friday from 10:00 to 14:00 - Business Innovation Hub - Building Faculty of Economics

Teaching material

• Lesson slides

• Bibliography for each lessons

• more to come...(material is available for registered students on Google Drive here below)

Teaching material and updates will be available on  Google Classroom channel.