1 - 10 of 26 results for: STRAMGT

Get the strategy right, and the chance for success is great. Nowhere is this more evident than in today's world of major challenges. Strategy is at the heart of problem solving and achieving objectives, yet few people can define strategy, much less understand how to conceptualize, design, and execute effective strategies that yield the best outcomes. This course will meet once a week to focus on interesting and engaging case studies, each of which illustrates a key ingredient of strategy. Some are well-known historical events, while others are less obvious, but all have a strategic lesson to share. They are quite diverse, from the planning of a high-risk rescue in the Colorado Rockies, to a product crisis in a Fortune 50 company, to a little-known failed military mission of WWII, to a commercial airline disaster. The ability to think through challenging and varied scenarios is both instructive and mind-stretching. There will be some pre-reading on each case study and there may be a field trip for students to put their lessons into practice. The course is designed to be highly interactive; all to enable students to unravel the mystery and power of strategic thinking. Students will also have the opportunity to select and analyze a case reflecting interests of their own. This course can help students not only prepare for a career in a range of fields, but also as they meet the challenges of their current coursework. Problem-solving skills are central in every walk of life; this seminar can help students build a stronger foundation for sound decision-making.

This course is an advanced applications economics course. The course has two main components, game theory and competitive strategy. Game theory is the field of study of interactive strategic decision making. In recent years it has become a prominent approach in both research and in practice. We will apply game theoretical models to a variety of industry, market and other relational settings. Beyond the use of game theory in competitive strategy in general, we will spend a significant part of the course studying competitive advantages in depth. In particular, we will cover the various types of competitive advantages and barriers to entry, attributes of an advantage, the creation and dynamics of advantages and more.

Americans spend nearly 7% of their income on food items and another 5% on food services annually (US Census). Food spend is at the intersection of two of the most important industries in the US: health care and agriculture. Food production today supports the food consumption causing our extraordinary burden of disease; 75 cents of every dollar of the $4.8 billion spent annually on health care is for diet-related disease. The health care system accounts for over 17% of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP). Agriculture and agriculture-related industries contributed 4.8% to the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) in 2012. This course focuses on the shifting landscapes across these industries and subsequent market opportunities in food, health, and nutrition. The course is designed for students with a broad interest in the food or health systems and/or who are interested in careers in related fields. We will examine the food system from three points of view: the consumer, nutritional science, and policy. The class will focus on solving for consumer needs from the perspective of a health-promoting entrepreneur. The class will involve lecture, discussion, and prominent guest speakers who are entrepreneurs themselves or industry leaders.

This seminar showcases the diversity of entrepreneurs and the different entrepreneurial paths they pursue, Twenty-five entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, with an emphasis on woman and under-represented minorities, will share their personal and professional journeys. Case studies, readings and videos, will complement in-class discussion with the speakers in exploring the entire entrepreneurial process from finding an idea and forming and building a team, to being an effective leader, raising money, assembling a board, and overcoming setbacks and challenges. The class will help you understand your own capabilities and interest in being an entrepreneur.

This is an integrated lab course in Entrepreneurship designed to teach students the process of creating a new viable venture - from idea to launch. It is a dynamic and interactive course organized around projects undertaken by teams of 3 to 4 registered students from the MSx and MBA programs, together with other graduate students within Stanford who bring expertise of particular relevance to the idea being pursued. This course is designed not only for students with immediate entrepreneurial aspirations, but also for any student considering starting an entrepreneurial venture at some point in his or her career. The course is a two quarter class, with admission to the class by team and idea. In the winter quarter, teams will research, craft, and morph their idea into a viable business concept. In the spring quarter they will further refine their concept and develop a strategy and plan to attract financial, human and other resources. At the end of the spring quarter, teams will present their plan to a panel of experts and potential investors to simulate the funding process. The new course builds on a predecessor course S356 "Evaluating Entrepreneurial Opportunities" and encapsulates new and important research and findings as they relate to the process of new venture creation. The teaching method is primarily learning by doing (LBD) through a structured process and supported by relevant lectures. Learning is further enhanced through meetings with the instructor, coaching by experienced mentors and review by peers. Field research as well as prototype product development are integral to the course. Since admittance to S321/S322 is by team and the quality of their idea, team formation takes place during the autumn quarter. Informal student mixers and seminars will be held to facilitate team formation and idea generation. Each team of 3-4 students should preferably consist of 1 or more MSx students and graduate students from the MBA program or other Schools - Engineering, Medicine, Law, Science, Education - to bring diversity and depth to the team. The application-selection process is described on the S321/S322 website.

This course is for students who may want to undertake an entrepreneurial career by starting and/or joining the senior management team of a social venture. It covers all phases of a venture - ideation and venture creation, resource acquisition, managing growth and harvest/exit. The instructors believe, for the most part, social ventures (which include both for-profit and non-profit structures) should be treated and managed like profit maximizing ventures, and many topics and themes encountered in this course will be similar to those covered in other entrepreneurial courses, such as Formation of New Ventures. Of course there are important differences related specifically to social ventures, some of which are critical to understand properly to effectively start and manage a social enterprise. We will highlight these differences throughout our sessions, so while that the lessons learned in this class can be generalized to all ventures, we do not advise you to take this class unless you really want to learn about social ventures. All the cases used in class and class discussions will be about early stage companies and organizations in the social venture space. Guests, both social entrepreneurs active in the field, and social impact investors, are heavily featured in class discussions and are an important part of the classroom experience.

The Social Ventures Practicum is an experiential learning course for student teams actively working to launch a social venture (nonprofit or for-profit or tbd).n nDesigned as a follow-on to ideation courses such as STRAMGT 356: Startup Garage or the Design for Extreme Affordability sequence, this course will focus on the business planning needed to launch your venture.n nIn weekly sessions through Winter Quarter, teams will work through topics unique to social ventures (e.g. mission, theory of change, impact measurement) as well as topics common to any venture, e.g. product/service market fit, business/economic model, financial planning, early stage financing, logistics, sales/distribution, and board/talent development. Each team will receive significant one-on-one coaching from the instructors, as well as opportunities to share their work with peers and learn from/present to guest speakers.n nTeams will emerge with a solid business and impact model, ready to raise their first round of seed funding. This course will prepare students for the Stanford Social Innovation Fellowship, Echoing Green, and other similar post-graduate funding opportunities.n nThe course will assume a level of familiarity with key social impact frameworks, so students are encouraged to take another social innovation course or to have prior experience working with mission and theory of change.

This 3 unit course is a case study based course designed for those students interested in entrepreneurship and/or investing. The partnership (and interaction) between the entrepreneur and the investor is a very important dimension in the growth of many start-ups. This course examines the entrepreneur and investor relationship from both the entrepreneur's and the investor's perspectives.n nFrom the point of view of the entrepreneur -- we look at how an entrepreneur can select the most suitable investor and match the investor to the growth trajectory of their company. Students will learn how and when to approach investors as well as the positioning of their company to the investment firms' portfolio strategy. Each year we have a range in students'€™ entrepreneurial experience and their enthusiasm. Many students begin the course with a business idea (an original idea for this course or a business idea used in another GSB course). Other students will use a 'borrowed'€™ business idea from a recent start up to test the waters of the entrepreneurial experience. The course gives all levels of entrepreneurs the opportunity to understand the current investing environment in class and in the field. Students have enjoyed connecting with members of the entrepreneur & VC community as they interact with the guest speakers and complete the course projects.n nFrom the point of view of the investor -€“ we look at the rapid evolution of the investor sector; in particular, why entrepreneurs have many more investor alternatives today compared to several years ago. It is important for entrepreneurs (and future investors) to understand investors' motivation and process. We will explain how investors are differentiating their firm in an "entrepreneur's market", look for their next opportunity, their investment selection process and how investors plan to work with the entrepreneur after the investment. nnThe course is geared for multiple audiences: the student who is considering an entrepreneurship or investment career path, the student who 'experimenting'€™ with entrepreneurship for the first time or the entrepreneur who is seriously exploring a start-up idea (and perhaps has already formed a team). Each student audience will benefit from the candid guest speakers discussion as to what happens behind the scenes (e.g. in the investors' partners meeting) and at the negotiating table between the entrepreneur and investor.nnThe course is case study based with engaging class discussions led by your two teachers who collectively have over 70 years of experience as venture capitalists. The course includes frequent guest speakers (both entrepreneurs and investors) who will give alternate and candid off the record details about their experiences. nnClass participation is integral to a successful exchange of ideas; therefore, we encourage class participation and it will count as 50% of your total grade. The other 50% of the grade is based on individual papers, a short presentation to the class, and your individual contribution to a presentation project to an investor panel. Notably, this year's course allows students to choose their role as the entrepreneur, investor or angel adviser for the final presentation to the VC panel (in contrast to previous years' requirement, this year students will be graded for their individual contribution rather than as a team for the final group project).

In this course, students will investigate opportunities and challenges of entrepreneurial ventures trying to make a positive impact in public education. The course requires a basic level of understanding of the U.S. K-12 public school system. The first session will analyze the structure of the public education as an industry, with a special emphasis on understanding the achievement gap. Subsequent sessions will explore challenges in increasing efficacy, ensuring financial sustainability, and scaling for entrepreneurs who have sought to change student outcomes, solve pain points, and innovate. The course will feature a variety of ventures (including schools, education technology, training, and supplemental services) and organizational models (for-profit, not-for-profit, and benefit corporation). This course is suitable for students aspiring to be entrepreneurs, leaders in entrepreneurial organizations, leaders in educational organizations, Board members, donors or investors. (Note: this is not a "how-to" course on starting an entrepreneurial venture.)