Students will do The Chase: an exercise to find interesting entrepreneurial initiatives around the world. You are expected to:
Identify a new and interesting entrepreneurial initiative that comes from the domain or field of expertise of your bachelor degree (business)
This entrepreneurial initiative could be a new venture, an internal project in an existing company, a new project in the public sector, an NGO, a foundation, etc… but it must be less than 4 years old.
Write and submit (before session 27) a report (maximum 2 pages).
The main objective of the report is that you reflect on specific situations of the story of that initiative (e.g., how they explored the problem, created the idea, created the team, validated the solution, defined the business model, executed the go-to-market strategy, raised funds…) and connect them with concrete and relevant concepts and situations seen during the course. These concepts could have appeared in cases, workshops, readings, simulations, slides, something discussed in class, coaching, deliverables…). This assignment aims to encourage reflection about how the concepts covered during the course and creativity, therefore the structure is completely open and you can comment on what you consider most relevant.
Any type of initiative, including both successful and unsuccessful ones, can be a source of interesting insights and can be the subject of this “Chase”.
Students are encouraged (not required) to use the first 10 minutes of each session to comment on “The Chase”. In this way, the individual discoveries will be shared in the class and can serve to improve the participation grade. The sooner you start thinking about and working on your Chase, the more likely you are to share your findings with the class. You can do so from Session 3 onward.
This exercise is a brief report: focus on quality, not quantity; demonstrate knowledge as well as critical and original thinking about the course topics. If applicable, students are welcome to use personal experience for this exercise.
The Chase is a brief report, with no pre-defined structure by design – ie, the focus and style is your decision. As per the syllabus, “focus on quality, not quantity; demonstrate knowledge as well as critical and original thinking about the course topics. If applicable, students are welcome to use personal experience for this exercise”.
Points you should be paying attention to:
Incorporating concepts from the course – in 2 pages, you will only be able to use some. Mention/incorporate the concepts as relevant, based on the company’s reality and your chosen approach.
Analysis – you do not just throw facts or copy information, you also analyze it and evaluate it when needed.
Presentation and writing quality – as in any report, you should be clear and engaging.
If you are using external sources (includig Chat GPT or similar) please remember to mention it in some format (footnotes, bibliography etc.) – if you are using many you can use an additional page to reflect those. Interviewing the entrepreneurs or someone related to the company is a very valuable resource to – should you have the chance; remember to mention it if you do it.
