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Technology Ventures
SVKMs Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (SBM)
MBA II Year 2014-2016
Trimester: VI (Jan-Apr, 2016)
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Instructor: Dr.Nilay Yajnik
Email:nilayy@nmims.edu
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Objectives
The course will provide the fundamentals of entrepreneurship in the IT sector. The focus
will be on identifying opportunities and ideas , building the team and the venture ,
managing growth and the dilemma of the founders.
Teaching Methodology:
The course will involve learning through case studies , lectures and through various multi
media tools.The course will be highly interactive in nature and the participants will be
expected to cross learn as well.
Evaluation Criteria:
Final Examination : 40%
Project work
: 30%
Assignments
: 20%
Class participation : 10%
Total

: 100%

Session Details: Each Session is of 1 hour and 30 minutes

Session No.
1, 2

4, 5

6, 7, 8

Topic
Introduction and Overview
Internally oriented idea generation:
Read:A Test for the Faint Hearted by Walter Kuemmerle
Prerecorded talks from Stanford Tech Ventures site: Mark Zukerberg (Facebook)
and discussions on his talk.
Observation oriented design generation :
Read: Tim Brown Design Thinking
Case: Technology Driven Idea Generation: Trexel
HBS Article:Attracting Talent and Building the Ecosystem
Prerecorded talks from Stanford Tech Ventures site: Drew Huston (Dropbox)
and discussions on his talk.
Opportunity Evaluation .How to Write A Great Business Plan by William
Sahlman HBR
Start Up Teams (Book 1 , Chap 12)
Babson College Case: Apprio New Venture on a Cloud

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9, 10

Prerecorded talks from Stanford Tech Ventures site: Mark Marc Andereessen
(netscape) and discussions on his talk.
Entrepruerial Marketing:
Read Steven Blank:The 4 steps to Epiphany
IT Entrepreneurship: Issues and Challenges
HBS Case/Article:Assembling the Start Up Team
Article: Hickman, C., and C. Raia. "Incubating Innovation." Engineering Management
Review 31 (2003): 3.

11 ,12

Browse:, Guide to Starting a Corporation by Greguras

View Stanford Office of Technology Licensing site
Prerecorded talks from Stanford Tech Ventures site: Jack Dorsey (Twitter and
Square) and discussions on his talk.
The Founders Dilemma
Case Discussion
Read: "Steer Clear of the Tempest: A Startup
Tragedy in Three Acts"
by Joe Hadzima (This article originally appeared in the "Starting Up" column of
the Boston Business
Journal.) http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/sloan-school-of-management/15-975special-seminar-in-management-the-nuts-and-bolts-of-business-plans-januaryiap-2005/study-materials/art16.pdf
HBS Case:Hypothesis Driven Start Up The Lean Start Up
HBS Case: Lather , Rinse , Repeat: Feedburner by Noam Wasserman
Prerecorded talks from Stanford Tech Ventures site: Guy Kawasaki (Garage Tech
Ventures) and discussions on his talk.

13

Pre-Founding Dilemmas
HBS Case : Dropbox: It Just Works by Thomas Eisenmann
HBS Article: Experimenting in the Entrepreneurial Venture

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15, 16

Founding Team Dilemmas

Case Discussion
Read: "Paying the Founding Piper: It's Not As
Simple As Writing a Check"
by Joe Hadzima
(This article originally appeared in the "Starting Up" column of the Boston
Business
Journal.) http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/sloan-school-of-management/15-975special-seminar-in-management-the-nuts-and-bolts-of-business-plans-januaryiap-2005/study-materials/art26.pdf
Beyond the Founding Team
HBS Case: Evan Williams: Blogger to Odeo by Noam Wasserman

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Final Project Presentations by Groups and Participation and Learning by the

other Groups.

References:
Book 1.:Technology Ventures:From Idea to Enterprise by Byers , Dorf , Nelson , Third
Edition , McGraw Hill
Book 2.: The Founders Dilemma: Anticipating and Avoiding the Pitfalls That Can Sink
A Start Up by Noam Wasserman , Princeton University Press , 2012
Book 3:Bill and Dave:How Hewlett and Packard Built The Worlds Greatest Company by
Michael Malone , Penguin Portfolio
Book 4:iCON Steve Jobs:The Greateset Second Act In Business by Young and Simon ,
John Wiley and Sons Inc
Internet references: www.nasscom.org , www.csi-india.org , www.itaa.org ,
Stanford University Ecorner
MIT Entrepreneurship Center
http://techventures.stanford.edu/
Other Readings: Read business newspapers (ICT sections) both national and
international, watch business TV channels and keep your mind alert on any news on the
IT Entrepreneurship, Gartner Reports