Together the five of us have established SSES, our joint school devoted to offering our students education, training and inspiration in applied entrepreneurship. So, if you are a student of ours: a special welcome! If not, check out our events and seminars.

Ideation – Creating a Business Idea

Course number

KTH: ME2814, SSE: 8061, KI: 2XX050, KFK: SSES03, SU: FE6604

Schedule

Spring 2013 
Autumn 2013
Spring 2014

Dates

Spring 2013: 21 Jan - 6 Mar
Autumn 2013: 2 Sep - 16 Oct
Spring 2014: 20 Jan - 5 Mar

Structure

The course runs after 5 pm on Mondays and Wednesdays in 2-3 hour sessions

Worth: 7.5 ECTS-credits

Taught at

Royal Institute of Technology

Swedish course name

Idégenerering

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

Every business idea has to start somewhere. Ideation helps you visualise a business opportunity by creatively identifying market demands and analysing competitors.

Ideation is a course about ideas, but also an introduction to entrepreneurship and creativity. Overall it aims to give students practical knowledge about the process of creating and developing a business idea. It stretches all the way from the pre-idea to the development of a business idea through to the identification of target markets, and finally to introductory issues surrounding the actual launch of a product, service or experience.

Using real-world examples and analysis emphasis is placed on the creative process surrounding the development of a sound business idea, the identification of distinct market opportunities and especially the development of a strong business model.

Intended learning outcomes

After this course you should be able to:

  • Analyse and discuss the context of entrepreneurship
  • Identify a business opportunity
  • Develop and explain a business idea
  • Use creativity techniques to extend and further a business idea
  • Be able to use key skillsets for earlystage entrepreneurship
  • Use basic models for customer, market and competitor analysis
  • Develop a basic business model

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

Examination
The students grade will depend on three factors:

  • Written oral/assignments
  • Contribution in class/ group activities
  • Attendance is compulsory

Students will be required to satisfactory complete all of the course assignments in order to receive a passing grade.

Teacher(s)

Gregg Vanourek

Course Director

gregg.vanourek@indek.kth.se

Gregg Vanourek is Course Director at the Stockholm School of Entrepreneurship and Adjunct Instructor at the Royal Institute of Technology. Previously, he taught at the Euromed School of Management, University of Denver, and Colorado Mountain College.

Vanourek co-founded New Mountain Ventures and served as Senior Vice President of School Development for K12 during its startup years. At K12, his team launched innovative virtual schools all over the U.S., helping the company become the market leader in the space. Previously, Vanourek helped to launch and served as Vice President for Programs at the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation and Research Fellow at the Hudson Institute.

Vanourek is coauthor of three books: Triple Crown Leadership: Building Excellent, Ethical, and Enduring Organizations (published by McGraw-Hill and a 2012 USA Best Book Awards finalist), Life Entrepreneurs: Ordinary People Creating Extraordinary Lives, and Charter Schools in Action: Renewing Public Education. He has written for leading media outlets, including Harvard Business Review blogs.

Vanourek is a graduate of the Yale School of Management (M.B.A.), London School of Economics and Political Science (M.Sc.), and Claremont McKenna College (B.A.). He serves on the board of the Vail Leadership Institute.

Terrence Brown

Centre Director & Course Director, KTH

Associate Professor, KTH
Head of the Business Development and Entrepreneurship Department, KTH
terrence@kth.se

Dr. Terrence Brown is a writer, researcher, consultant, entrepreneur and lecturer on creating value. He is also the former Dean of the Stockholm School of Entrepreneurship and an Associate Professor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Royal Institute of Technology. He is currently the Head of the Royal Institute of Technology’s department of Business Development and Entrepreneurship.

Terrence is the founder of Cogeneration, the next step in new venture creation, Startup Academy, an offline/online institution providing content and education to entrepreneurs and new venture investors and growthstrategies, a growth agency that specialises in helping to grow companies by creating and developing uncommon opportunities.

Terrence holds an MBA in Entrepreneurial Management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, an MBA in Organizational Management and a Doctorate in Entrepreneurship and Corporate Strategy from Rutgers University. Furthermore, he is the founding editor in chief of the International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing, which is double-blind, peer reviewed journal focusing on entrepreneurship.