COMM 497 201 New Enterprise Development

Course title: New Enterprise Development

Course code: COMM 497 Credits: 3
Session and term: 2024W2 Class location: HA235
Section: 201 Class times: Mon-Wed 11.00 am - 12.30 pm

Course duration: Jan 6 - April 8 Pre-requisites: All of COMM 390, COMM 395
Division: Strategy and Business Fourth year status
Economics

INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION
Instructor: Momo Deretic, PhD, MBA
Phone: 604-822-0861 Office location: ANGU 284B
Email: deretic@sauder.ubc.ca Office hours: TBA

Teaching Assistant: Bryce Downey

Email: brd836@student.ubc.ca

ZOOM MEETING
TBA

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This is an overview course for students who want introduction to the fundamentals of
entrepreneurship and the process of starting a new business venture. It provides an experience-
based exposure to the challenges facing any would-be entrepreneur in the real world. The
course is in part based on Steve Blank’s approach to customer discovery “lite” and the concept
of minimum viable product.

COURSE FORMAT

The course will use a combination of lectures, readings, videos, class discussion, and guest
speakers. Attendance is expected to accomplish the learning objectives below. Lectures and
discussions will assume that students have pre-read the corresponding readings as listed in the
course schedule below. The course is weighted toward team work. The instructor already
created the teams in Canvas for this purpose. There are ten teams in class.
Please note that the class delivery is planned to be held in person, unless there is a change in
provincial public health guidelines that would require the switch to online instruction.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the end of this course, students will be able to do the following:

 COMM 497 201 New Enterprise Development

Understand and apply the fundamental concepts and components of planning a new start up.
These include:
1. recognizing viable business opportunities
2. discovering customers through primary market research
3. creating a viable business model and executable plan
4. developing financial projections and identifying sources of capital
5. Improve their critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGS)

At UBC Sauder, we are committed to responsible business practices that can have
transformative impacts on society. One of the ways we are reinforcing our commitment to
responsible business is by showcasing relevant content in our courses via the lens of the United
Nations Sustainable Development Goals. In this course, we will touch on topics that relate to the
following goals:

Goal 8: Decent Work and

Economic Growth
In weeks 1 and 2, we promote the importance of
entrepreneurship for the growth and development of any
economy, and particularly in under-developed and undeveloped
countries.

Goal 9: Industry,
Innovation and
Infrastructure
In weeks 10 and 11, we cover the IP laws and the importance of
having the institutions to protect this newly created value.

ASSESSMENTS
Summary:

Group:

Initial writeup 10%

Final report and presentation 50%

Individual:

Entrepreneur interviews 15%

Class participation 10%
Participation in a start-up prediction market 15%
Total: 100%

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Note: Team effort is worth 50% of the grade. It will be weighted by the individual team member
evaluations. Students are required to fill out and upload team member evaluation form and
game feedback form to course Canvas by the end of the class. The forms are already posted on
Canvas.

Details of Assessments

A. INITIAL LIST OF IDEAS (TEAM)

On Wednesday, January 22, each team will submit the list of initial ideas to the instructor. The
ideas on the list should include description of the problem, your solution, potential market
segments (who can benefit from the solution), and current solutions (competition).

B. INITIAL WRITE-UP: 10% (TEAM)

On Wednesday, January 29, each team will upload a soft copy of the write-up (one page plus
initial business model canvas) to Canvas site before the start of the class.

C. FINAL REPORT AND POSTER BOARD PRESENTATION: 50% (TEAM)

This assignment is the focal point of the entire class. Each venture team will prepare a
presentation and soft copies of the slide deck and the final report. Student teams will present
before panel of experts, the instructor, and other students in class on a last day of class
(Monday, April 7).

The grades will be distributed between the slide deck and poster board (20%), oral presentation
(10%) and report (20%).
Teams will upload the files with final slide deck and the report to Canvas before the start of the
class on Monday, April 7.

Note: For all group assignments, it is enough for one member of the group to submit the
assignment, there is no need for multiple submissions.

D. INTERVIEW WITH AN ENTREPRENEUR: 15% - (INDIVIDUAL)

Students should upload the soft copy of the interview and the questionnaire to Canvas before
the beginning of the class on Monday, March 31.

E. CLASS PARTICIPATION: 10% (INDIVIDUAL)

Class participation is the contribution to the quality of learning in class by giving comments and
asking questions. As you cannot contribute If you do not attend, attendance will be recorded for
each class. Please refer to grading rubric for details.

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F. PARTICIPATION IN AN ONLINE PREDICTION MARKET:15% (INDIVIDUAL)

Each student will participate in an online prediction market experiment as a trader and a
member of their entrepreneurial team. The purpose of the experiment is to develop the
evaluation skills of students in selecting the entrepreneurial ideas with the view to their success
or failure. Students will make their trading decisions based on the information they have about
their own projects and on the presentations of other teams regarding other projects. The market
will open on Monday, February 5, and close on Wednesday, April 10.

LETTERS OF REFERENCE

I provide reference letters for outstanding students who have taken any of my classes. To
qualify for a reference letter, you must satisfy the following criteria:

1. You must have received at least a grade of 85% in my class, This implies that you must
have finished my course and received a final grade. I will not consider requests for
reference letters until all final grades are available.
2. You must have demonstrated superior communication skills through active participation
in my class.
3. Your records must indicate consistency in your performance.
4. You must have been enrolled at UBC for at least 2 years. (I make exceptions for
exceptionally good exchange students.)

NO DISTRIBUTION OF RECORDINGS

There is no distribution of recordings of class. Classes are designed as and are intended to be
in-person. Your attendance is expected. If you are unable to attend, the policy regarding missed
classes described in this syllabus applies. It is your responsibility to ensure that you have the
materials you need for missed classes. It is strongly recommended that you make arrangements
at the start of the semester for materials in case you miss class. For instance, you may wish to
exchange contact information with a classmate who can provide you with notes in the event you
miss class. If you believe you are an exceptional case that merits special consideration, please
promptly reach out to your instructor to advise them of your circumstances.

LEARNING MATERIALS
Required

There are 6 readings and 2 YouTube videos provided on Canvas site. The readings have been
cleared for copyright.

Optional

Osterwalder, A., and Pigneur, Y., “Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries,
Game Changers and Challengers”, Wiley, 2010.

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You can download the first 72 pages for free from:

http://www.businessmodelgeneration.com/book/

Other required learning resources

Canvas for accessing additional reading, class video recordings, etc.

COURSE-SPECIFIC POLICIES AND RESOURCES

Missed or late assignments, and regrading of assessments

 Late assignments will incur a per-day mark reduction of 20% of the marks otherwise
obtained.
 Requests for regrading of assignments or exams must be submitted within one week of the
assessment being returned to the class. The request must identify the reason(s) why you
believe your assignment should be reviewed. The outcome may be an increase, no change,
or decrease in the assigned grade.

Academic Concessions

 Any academic concession requests will be reviewed by the instructor on a case-by-case

basis. (Please refer to policy on academic concessions is contained in Senate Policy V-135;).
Depending on the type of valid academic concession, the instructor may consider
appropriate accommodation(s), such as an extension of a deadline, or reweighting of the
grade .In all instances, the academic standards of the course must be maintained.

ACADEMIC ACCOMMODATIONS
Centre for Accessibility
The Centre for Accessibility (CfA) facilitates disability-related accommodations and programming
initiatives designed to remove barriers for students with disabilities and ongoing medical
conditions. If you are registered with the CfA and are eligible for exam accommodations, it is
your responsibility to book your exam writing with the CfA using its exam reservation system: for
midterm exams or quizzes, at least 7 days in advance; and final exams, 7 days before the start
of the formal exam period.

Other Course Policies and Resources

Attendance: Students are expected to attend class regularly, as required in the UBC Sauder
BCom Statement of Professionalism and Code of Conduct. Students who miss more than 20%
or more of their lectures or tutorials, measuring from the second week of class, regardless of
whether absences are excused or unexcused, maybe considered unable to meet the outcomes
of the course and may be excuded from the final examinations or assessments (including
presentations), removed from the class with a “withdrawal” or “fail” standing or given a mark of
zero for participation.

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POLICIES APPLICABLE TO UBC SAUDER UNDERGRADUATE COURSES

At UBC Sauder, professional behaviour aligns with the school’s guiding values – rigour, respect and
responsibility – and is upheld in the UBC Sauder BCom Statement of Professionalism and Code of
Conduct.

Respectfulness in the classroom

Students are expected to be respectful of their colleagues at all times, including faculty, staff
and peers. This means being attentive and conscious of words and actions and their impact on
others, listening to people with an open mind, treating all UBC Sauder community members
equally and understanding diversity. Students who act disrespectfully toward others will be
asked to leave the class and be marked as absent for the day. They may also be removed from
a team, lose credit for in-class assessments and activities, or be asked to complete a group
assignment individually.

Respect for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

The UBC Sauder School of Business strives to promote an intellectual community that is
enhanced by diversity along various dimensions including status as a First Nation, Metis, Inuit,
or Indigenous person, race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, political
beliefs, social class, and/or disability. It is critical that students from diverse backgrounds and
perspectives be valued in and well-served by their courses. Furthermore, the diversity that
students bring to the classroom should be viewed as a resource, benefit, and source of strength
for your learning experience. It is expected that all students and members of our community
conduct themselves with empathy and respect for others.

Electronic Devices
During lectures, students are not permitted to use any electronic devices unless directed by
instructor.

UNIVERSITY POLICIES AND RESOURCES

UBC provides resources to support student learning and to maintain healthy lifestyles but
recognizes that sometimes crises arise and so there are additional resources to access
including those for survivors of sexual violence. UBC values respect for the person and ideas of
all members of the academic community. Harassment and discrimination are not tolerated nor is
suppression of academic freedom. UBC provides appropriate accommodation for students with
disabilities and for religious observances. UBC values academic honesty and students are
expected to acknowledge the ideas generated by others and to uphold the highest academic
standards in all of their actions. Details of the policies and how to access support are available
on the UBC Senate website at https://senate.ubc.ca/policies-resources-support-student-
success.

Academic Integrity

The academic enterprise is founded on honesty, civility, and integrity. As members of this
enterprise, all students are expected to know, understand, and follow the university policies and
codes of conduct regarding academic integrity. At the most basic level, this means submitting
only original work done by you and acknowledging all sources of information or ideas and
attributing them to others as required. This also means you should not cheat, copy, or mislead

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others about what is your work; nor should you help others to do the same. For example, it is
prohibited to: share your past assignments and answers with other students; work with other
students on an assignment when an instructor has not expressly given permission; or spread
information through word of mouth, social media, or other channels that subverts the fair
evaluation of a class exercise, or assessment. Violations of academic integrity (i.e., misconduct)
lead to the breakdown of the academic enterprise, and therefore serious consequences arise
and harsh sanctions are imposed. For example, incidences of plagiarism or cheating may result
in a mark of zero on the assignment or exam and more serious consequences may apply if the
matter is referred to the President’s Advisory Committee on Student Discipline. Careful records
are kept in order to monitor and prevent recurrences.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

For this course, students may use generative artificial intelligence (AI), including ChatGPT, for
specific assessments or coursework, where it is expressly specified by the instructor. In these
cases of permitted use, students must disclose any use of AI-generated material as per the
assessment guidelines and keep a record of how it was used. At a minimum, this will include
proper attribution, including in-text citations, quotations and references.

COPYRIGHT

All materials of this course (course handouts, lecture slides, assessments, course readings,
etc.) are the intellectual property of the instructor or licensed to be used in this course by the
copyright owner. Redistribution of these materials by any means without permission of the
copyright holder(s) constitutes a breach of copyright and may lead to academic discipline. Audio
or video recording of classes are not permitted without the prior approval of the Instructor.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
UBC’s Point Grey Campus is located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the
xwməθkwəy̓ əm (Musqueam) people, who for millennia have passed on their culture, history,
and traditions from one generation to the next on this site.

Week Class Topic Readings Deliverables

beginning

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Week 1
Jan 6 Introduction

Entrepreneurship: An Overview Reading #1

Class notes 1
Week 2 Business Model and
Jan 13 business model canvas tool
class notes 2

Generation of start-up ideas Youtube video #1

Reading #2
Week 3 Lean start up and minimum
Jan 20 viable product

Submit the list of ideas

Evaluation of start-up ideas
Class notes 3

Week 4 In-class work on initial ideas

Jan 27
Submit initial write-up
Overview of the Prediction Market
game

COURSE SCHEDULE

Week 5 Market research

Feb 3
Class notes 4

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Market research-cont.

Secondary market research Reading #3

Week 6 Class notes 5
Feb 10
In-class work on market Class notes 6
research

Spring Break
Week 7
Feb 17

Week 8 Entrepreneurial finance

Feb 24
Financial projections
Class notes 7

Financial projections- cont.

Week 9 Guest speaker – TBA

Mar 3
Sources of funding of Reading #4
start-ups
Class notes 8

VC finance
Week 10 Class notes 9
Mar 10

Week 11 Revenue models/valuation

Mar 17 Class notes 10

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IP
Class notes 11
Video #2
Week 12 How to present to VCs

Mar 24
Soft copy of interview +
Entrepreneur interviews questionnaire

Week 13 Guidelines for the final

assignment
Mar 31

In-class work on final

presentations

Week 14 Poster Board

Presentations
April 7

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