Contact Person: Michael Fountain • (813) 974-7900
The educational goals are to provide students with an appreciation of the entrepreneurial process, to provide students with the critical skills necessary to become successful entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial leaders, and to promote economic development and new venture creation and growth in our community. These goals will be accomplished via lectures, case studies, discussions, development of strategic marketing plans, the preparation of business plans, and field study projects.
Students can complete an MBA concentration in entrepreneurship by completing three courses. MBA students must take ENT 6016 New Venture Formation and two elective courses. Some courses are cross-listed with other colleges at USF and are team-taught with faculty from the USF Colleges of Business, Health, and Engineering. Dual-degree program opportunities exist for graduate students from disciplines including, but not limited to, business, engineering, and health.
Semester courses offerings may be subject to change as resources allow. Please check for updates at: http://www.entrepreneurship.usf.edu/courses/.
- ENT 6016 New Venture Formation (Formerly GEB 6115)
- An overview of the new venture creation process, this course is intended to provide new MBA students with a basic understanding of the entrepreneurial process of venture creation and innovation. Lectures and selected case studies are combined with conversations with experienced guest speakers to give students a rich understanding of the challenges facing entrepreneurs.
Faculty: Sean Lux or Thomas Zimmerer - ENT 6116 Business Plan Development (Formerly GEB 6116)
- The first part of the course focuses on developing the effective written and oral communication skills that students will need to prepare and present business plans to investors. The second part of the course is focused on how to develop an effective business plan. Student teams will develop a business plan for either an opportunity developed by students or one by an entrepreneur in the local community. Business plans developed by student teams will be presented before a panel of local entrepreneurs for evaluation and critique in a business plan competition format.
Faculty: Sean Lux - ENT 6126 Strategic Entrepreneurship (Formerly GEB 6930)
- Students acquire an in-depth understanding of the strategic planning process and theories of competitive advantage and opportunity recognition. The course is taught from a 'corporate entrepreneurship' perspective: how existing business ventures grow and transform themselves through identifying and pursuing new opportunities outside of their core business.
Faculty: Sean Lux - ENT 6186 Strategic Market Assessments (Formerly GEB 6930)
- This course focuses on development of techniques for assessing technology merit of new innovations (including development of an appreciation and understanding of intellectual property) and development of strategic frameworks to commercialize new products. It uses classroom discussions, field projects, and technology assessment tools to evaluate investigators' intellectual property portfolios of client entrepreneurs and technology organizations to help create high value licensing opportunities and new venture creations.
Faculty: Michael Fountain - ENT 6415 Venture Capital and Private Equity (Formerly GEB 6930)
- The course focuses on critical skills necessary to develop appropriate financing strategies for new venture creation and growth. Students will use case studies and team projects in course studies. Three primary topics are covered: an overview of the entrepreneurial finance process and involved players; performing business valuations; and securities law with emphasis on developing term sheets and private placement memorandums. Student teams will complete a valuation and mock securities offering for an existing small to mid-size business. Financial valuations and terms sheets developed by student teams will be presented to a panel of venture capital professionals for evaluation and critique.
Faculty: Lei Zhang - ENT 6606 Product Development (Formerly GEB 6930)
- This course focuses on new product development process from invention to commercialization of technology products. Topics include intellectual property, product design, manufacturing process, patent process, licensing, market assessment, and commercialization. Students will use case studies and team projects in the course of study.
Faculty: Michael Fountain - ENT 6947 Applied Topics in Entrepreneurship (permit only) (Formerly GEB 6930)
- This course is intended to provide students the opportunity to put acquired knowledge into practice. This is achieved either through an individual, faculty-directed project or through a field study/internship. Students elect which option depending on their individual needs and goals. Individual projects typically involve developing a business plan for a business the student intends to launch. Internships involve working directly with senior business leaders in an entrepreneurial environment. Students will be expected to participate in open classroom discussion of their on-going experiences during their projects/internships. The course includes a presentation of their project before peers and faculty. (A limited number of fellowships may also be applied).
Faculty: Lei Zhang
