Execution – Running Your Own Company

Course number

KTH: ME2802, SSE: 8063, KI: 2XX052, KFK: n/a, SU: FE6602

Schedule

Autumn 2010
Spring 2011

Dates

Autumn: 1 Sep - 13 Oct, 2010
Spring: 24 Jan - 9 Mar, 2011

Worth: 7.5 ECTS-credits

Taught at

Stockholm School of Economics

NB: BSc-participants need to be admitted to the BSc-programme at SSE

Taking a venture from the drawing board to the marketplace is what Execution is all about. We challenge you to have your first sale, customer or user before examination.

Whether you have a business plan or not this is a course for you who are genuinely interested in realising your already existing business idea. The course is constructed as a safe and controlled environment where students are encouraged to take actions and step into reality. The outline of the course is built on experience from active entrepreneurs, not rarely alumni to the course, and follows the typical stages for new venture creation.

You will not need a formal company registration when you enroll, we will do that in the course.

Intended learning outcomes

After this course you should be able to: 

  • analyse the potential of a business opportunity by applying different models
  • exploit a feasible business opportunity by applying different models of entrepreneurship execution 
  • describe the process and phases of launching a venture, its context and common pitfalls 
  • analyse and discuss the process of recruitment, team building and management in new ventures 
  • understand different sources of financing a new venture
  • understand the concept of "bootstrapping" and how to apply it to ventures in different contexts 
  • know how to approach key customers and gain visibility for a new venture 
  • argue for the importance of execution, decision making and action oriented management in entrepreneurship and innovation processes.

Structure

In order for you as a student to be able to take SSES courses they are all scheduled after your daily classes (or workday), with some margin time to ensure you can commute to campus, pick up a coffee and arrive on time.

This course runs on Mondays and Wednesdays in two to three hour sessions for some seven weeks, but for a detailed timing check out the schedule in the box to the right. Teaching will incorporate lectures, debates, and exercises, as well as presentation from leaders in the field.

Assessment

  • Field project
  • Individual pre-class case analysis and class participation

Teacher(s)

Karl Wennberg

Course Director

Assistant Professor, SSE
Tel: +46 (0)8 736 93 56
karl.wennberg@hhs.se

Dr. Karl Wennberg completed his PhD in 2009 at the Stockholm School of Economics. His research investigates the interaction between social influences and economic performance for entrepreneurial action. This has been published in the Journal of Business Venturing, Management Science, Small Business Economics, and in his forthcoming book "The Birth, Growth and Demise of Entrepreneurial Firms" (Edward Elgar, fall 2010). Karl has taught at the Stockholm School of Economics and at Imperial College London and is active as advisor for public policy makers and private firms.