EPS7556 Foundations of Family Entrepreneurship

3 CreditsThis course provided a broad overview of topics that are relevant to understanding the nature and dynamics of entrepreneurial families. The course will cover such topics as; defining family entrepreneurship versus family business, identifying the pervasiveness of family entrepreneurship and its economic and social contributions, governance and succession in entrepreneurial families, the management of change and transgenerational value creation, conflict management, and the development and allocation of financial and human assets.

For more information please view this video.

Prerequisites: None

EPS7534 Franchising, Licensing & Distributorship Collaborative Business Models
1.5 Elective CreditsIf you have taken and passed EPS7571, you cannot register for EPS7534, as these two courses are equivalent

This course focuses on the process, challenges and opportunities in franchising, which is a $2T part of the U.S. economy and a multi-trillion dollar market worldwide. _Franchising_ is a very specific term referring to a business that licenses its brand, operating model and provides support to franchisees who pay a number of fees and then invest their own capital to build the corporate brand. The course is practical in approach and touches on a large number of issues in seven weeks. Previous exposure to franchising, M&A or small business is not assumed.

For more information: https://babson.webex.com/webappng/sites/babson/recording/ac84a20eebe8103abbfa005056812cb9/playback

Prerequisites: EPS7200 or EPS7800

EPS3504 Future Trends and Entrepreneurial Ventures
4 General CreditsThis course is designed to provide a strategic decision-making, future-oriented perspective in Entrepreneurship for undergraduate students interested in Entrepreneurial Thought & Action methods used by start-up, early-stage ventures, and corporations that practice innovation. We explore Entrepreneurial Thought & Action techniques for looking at the future including scenario planning, key-trend impact analysis, systems thinking, and experiencing the gestalt of the future. Students will develop an understanding of the future that applies to her/his own entrepreneurial leadership vision, identify Key Future Factors (KFF) that allow entrepreneurial leaders to address customer needs currently unmet, identify trends and systems key to developing opportunities scalable into large markets, and develop an action approach to scale an opportunity with an assessment of future trends and markets.

Prerequisites: None

EPS7539 Future Trends in Entrepreneurial Ventures
3 CreditsChanging industry and market forces create scalable, emergent markets for new ventures. Entrepreneurs and Corporate Innovators who can grasp future trends have a distinct advantage in being able to focus their efforts where opportunities and markets converge. In this course, we will scan the future in Three Areas (Business and Economic, Technology, and Organization) that are further expanded into twelve dimensions. The goal of this course is to create an understanding of how to develop entrepreneurial and innovative vision and action in order to scan, identify, and test future customer needs; design products and services to meet those needs; and build support from the entrepreneurial eco-system including investors and business partners. Students will develop an understanding of the future that applies to her/his own innovation leadership vision; identify Key Future Factors that allow innovative leaders to address customer needs currently unmet; and develop an action approach to scale an opportunity with an assessment of future trends and markets.

EPS3532 Global Entrepreneurship

(Formerly International Entrepreneurship)
4 General CreditsThis Global Entrepreneurship course will explore the many dimensions and challenges of global venture creation and growth. The course offers a framework for understanding the entrepreneurial process in global contexts and exposes students to key issues and problems specific to international ventures. As the world becomes increasingly global, this course hopes to (1) encourage students to consider exploring entrepreneurial activities outside the domestic setting, (2) prepare them to see through a different set of lenses in order to better and more accurately identify vast global opportunities, and (3) equip them with various skills to better meet and tackle complex global challenges.

EPS7504 Global Entrepreneurship

(Previously titled International Entrepreneurship)
3 Elective Credits

Generating economic growth, fueling social development, and increasing individual wealth in developed and emerging economies around the world, entrepreneurship has drawn the attention of a wide range of stakeholders (e.g., government, academic, corporations, non-profits, etc.). International entrepreneurial opportunities abound as a result of technological advances, environmental challenges, and increased market access. International Entrepreneurship explores and analyzes these opportunities and challenges of launching and leading ventures in an international context. To accomplish this, the course uses a variety of frameworks, analytical models, and decision-making tools to better understand the entrepreneurial process and leadership in the context of cultures, economies, governments, and legal systems, primarily outside the United States. The primary assignment is an international venture plan completed by teams.

MSM6110 Global Entrepreneurship Experience

3 CreditsAt Babson, we consider a global mindset necessary for the 21st century. In addition to learning from the diversity of students in the program, in this course students will explore entrepreneurial ecosystems in a context different than the one in which they grew up. Groups of approximately 25 students will travel with instructors to other regions of the world to engage with locals on topics of entrepreneurial concern. Travel for this course occurs for 8-12 days during winter term and the course includes pre-departure preparation sessions, as well as post-return reflection exercises.

EPS3505 Great Entrepreneurial Wealth: Creation, Preservation, and Destruction
4 General CreditsThis course will explore the stages of great entrepreneurial wealth creation, preservation and destruction. Topics will cover geographical and sector concentrations of great wealth formation, along with socio and economic conditions prevailing at the time of generation. Particular emphasis will cover the detailed paths of notable entrepreneurs from the past century, along with the ethical dilemma and social contributions attributed to each of them. The course also discusses the rise and fall of great family dynasties in the section of wealth destruction.

Current practice of wealth generation, preservation and destruction methodologies will be reviewed, covering hedge funds, family offices and entrepreneur impropriety. Participants of this course will be expected to enhance skills in identifying market opportunity and wealth generation techniques as well as gain greater insight on interpersonal and market forces that contribute to wealth evaporation. Ethical dilemma, including a thorough discussion of high-profile industry scandals, will be explored along with factors contributing to fraud and investor impropriety.

Prerequisites: None

EPS9504 Health and Biotech Venture Ecosystems

1.5 Intensive Elective Credits

Health and Biotech Venture Ecosystems is an intensive 2-day course which prepares life science entrepreneurs for patient driven collaboration in the development of new life science products and services.

Boston is considered the leading life science cluster in the world. Much of this can be attributed to an ecosystem strategy where industry, academia, and government share the same combined interest to advance patient advocacy. There is also a philanthropic ecosystem of altruism which fuels early-stage innovation which includes patient advocacy organizations, high-net worth individuals, and common patients and families which can help to validate and supercharge a new venture.

In this course students explore an opportunity space and ideate a new product or service using a patient driven business development process that socializes their innovation in the innovation ecosystem. Guest speakers from leading life science organizations will help students to learn how to generate trust within the communities they serve by collaborating with the leading patient advocates within their ecosystem. Students will learn how to explore the business drivers for their specific venture idea by working with stakeholders such as hospitals, health plans, key opinion leaders, and advocacy organizations. They will learn first-hand from industry leaders who will share the best practices associated with patient driven business development. Students will also learn from other global health ecosystems to understand how they collaborate with other ecosystems to promote success.

The students will be expected to interact with outside organizations to make progress. Students will connect with alumni or other experts as they need additional project support. Student are assessed based on their resourcefulness, project progress, and completion of course readings and activities. Students will have the opportunity to share their projects with the broader global health community through the Healey Center for Global Healthcare Entrepreneurship at Babson.

Day 1 will include classroom instruction of entrepreneurship fundamentals, group design thinking, and early-stage business ideation. Students will have a minimum of one-week to explore their opportunity space. Day 2 will include business iteration, marketing and sales strategy, and the culmination of the course is a presentation to an early-stage investor or corporate innovation manager.

Prerequisites: EPS7800 or equivalent

EPS3529 IDEATE
4 Advanced Management Credits

The ability to consistently recognize new ideas and seize opportunity develops over time, with experience and with knowledge. And when you don't have the knowledge and experience, it can seem very difficult to come up with new ideas and to know whether that idea has market potential that can develop into a viable and sustainable business. Welcome to IDEATE - a course designed to overcome your existing barriers to idea generation and help you develop a "practice" in ideation that will serve you well beyond this course.

Coming up with good business ideas can seem excruciatingly difficult. Ideation is challenging to most because 1) we don't give ourselves enough time to generate new and valuable ideas, 2) we don't continuously practice proven techniques, 3) we lack confidence in our creative abilities, and 4) we fear failure and rejection. As a result of these confounding challenges, the focus on just idea generation is too limiting. During this course we also focus on the development of your entrepreneurial mindset, your creative ability, and your courage to take action.

This course is not about the execution of ideas (there are many of courses for that), but rather about the generation of lots and lots of ideas with the associated mindset, skillset, and toolset to do so.

Prerequisite: (FME1000 and FME1001) or (EPS1000 and MOB1010)