This document provides an overview and summary of the first class of the High-Tech Business Venturing course. It introduces the course topics, structure, assignments and evaluation criteria. The class covered introductions to the course syllabus and people involved, objectives of applying an entrepreneurial process to identify opportunities from new technologies, and an overview of forming student teams to pursue opportunities related to the DEAP polymer technology from Danfoss PolyPower.

1. High-­‐Tech
Business
Venturing
(HTBV)
Class
#01:
Course
kick-­‐off
February
7,
2014

2. Welcome!

3. Today’s
topics
• IntroducDon
to
the
course
– Syllabus
– People:
Instructor
&
mentor
– ObjecDves
– Approach
– Topics
– Course
overview
– Assignments
&
evaluaDon
• Technology
entrepreneurship
• Team
formaDon

4. IntroducDon
to
the
course
• Syllabus:

5. People
Marcel
Bogers
• Associate
Professor
of
InnovaDon
and
Entrepreneurship
(University
of
Southern
Denmark)
• MSc
in
Technology
and
Society
(Eindhoven
University
of
Technology)
• PhD
in
Management
of
Technology
(Ecole
Polytechnique
Fédérale
de
Lausanne)
Ken
Holm
Thomsen
• IDEA
Entrepreneurship
Centre
• MA
in
Business,
Language
and
Culture
(University
of
Southern
Denmark)
• InternaDonal
Master
in
Entrepreneurship
and
EducaDon
(Aarhus
University)

6. ObjecDves
• From
technology
to
business
opportunity
– Entrepreneurial
process
– Internal
venturing
or
startup
• IdenDfy
and
develop
entrepreneurial
opportuniDes
– Idea
generaDon,
feasibility
analysis,
business
plan
• PracDcing
entrepreneurship
– Entrepreneurial
team
– Entrepreneurial
role

7. StarDng
point:
Technology
• Danfoss
PolyPower
• The
DEAP
(Dielectric
Electro
AcDve
Polymers)
technology
can
be
used
for
actuaDon,
sensing
and
energy
harvesDng,
challenging
known
standards
and
designs.”
(www.polypower.com/Technology/Overview)

8. Approach
• Applied
business
venturing
• Focus
on
business
opportunity
and
venture
design
• IteraDve
and
experienDal
– “Genius
is
one
percent
inspiraDon
and
ninety-­‐nine
percent
perspiraDon.”
(Thomas
Edison)
– “There
are
no
facts
inside
your
building.”
(Steve
Blank)
• Experimental
process
driven
by
hypotheses,
data,
customer
needs

9. Topics
• Opportunity
discovery
&
enhancement
• CompeDDve
intelligence
&
market
research
• Feasibility
opDmizaDon
through
business
modeling
• Planning
operaDons
resulDng
from
pursuing
opportunity
• Outlining
resource
mobilizaDon
for
entrepreneurial
iniDaDves
• Assessing
value
promise
of
entrepreneurial
opportuniDes

10. Course
structure
(1) (2) (3) (4)
(a)
Introduction
to course
Feasibility
analysis
Venture
design
Mobilizing
resources
and funding
(b)
Introduction
to
technology
Coaching
session
Coaching
session
Coaching
session
(c)
Coaching
session
Presentation
of business
opportunity
Presentation
of business
model
Presentation
of business
plan

11. Assignments
&
evaluaDon
• Progress
reports:
– Recent
progress
– Current
plan
&
next
steps
– Open
quesDons
&
issues
to
be
discussed
• PresentaDons:
– Business
opportunity
– Business
model
– Business
plan
• Business
plan
&
oral
exam:
– Group-­‐based
business
plan
(20-­‐30
pages)
– Individual
oral
exam

12. Business
plan
1. Cover
page
2. Table
of
contents
3. ExecuDve
summary
4. The
need
5. Proposed
soluDon
6. The
industry
7. MarkeDng
plan
8. OperaDons
plan
9. OperaDng
economics
10. Management
team
11. Overall
schedule
12. CriDcal
risks,
problems,
and
assumpDons
13. Financial
plan
14. Appendices

13. Technology
entrepreneurship
• Entrepreneurship
involves
creaDng
something
new
and
assuming
the
risks
and
rewards
• Entrepreneur
&
business
developer
(intrapreneur)
• Role
of
technology
or
ideas
– Most
ideas
are
not
new
or
unique
– The
entrepreneur
is
the
source
of
value
• Startups
as
experiments
– Validated
learning

14. Role
of
planning
• “While
the
most
visible
output
of
the
text
will
be
a
business
plan,
the
most
valuable
output
will
be
the
venture
simulaDon
you
will
have
created
to
support
your
decision
making.”
(Knoi,
2012)
• What
needs
to
be
learned
– Risk
– Return
– Feasibility
• Technical,
compeDDve,
operaDonal,
financial
• What
needs
to
be
communicated
– LegiDmacy
– Understanding
– Professionalism
– Ability

15. Entrepreneurship
versus
management
versus
strategy

16. Entrepreneurship
versus
management
versus
strategy

17. Entrepreneurship
versus
management
versus
strategy

18. Team
formaDon
• Based
on
background
– Founding
teams
with
more
diverse
experience
and
external
knowledge
relaDonships
idenDfy
more
and
more
varied
(distant)
market
opportuniDes
(Gruber
et
al.,
2013)
• Based
on
behavioral
profile
– Different
roles
and
responsibiliDes

19. Background
• Send
an
email
with
following
informaDon:
– Name
– Bachelor
degree
– Countries
lived
in
– How
long
in
Denmark
– Languages
– Why
did
you
choose
HTBV?
– How
(well)
do
you
know
the
DEAP
technology?

20. Personal
profile
• You
receive
a
link
on
your
email
• Complete
the
test
• Ca.
15
minutes
• We
will
form
the
groups
and
inform
you
later

21. Next
week:
Class
#02
• Date:
Friday,
February
14
• Time:
09:15-­‐12:00
• LocaDon:
U303
• Topics:
– IntroducDon
to
technology
• Michael
Hamann,
General
Manager
and
President
of
Danfoss
PolyPower
– Opportunity
idenDficaDon
– Value
of
business
planning