Course Syllabus

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SYLLABUS

ENT1000 - 3 Credit Hours

Introduction to Entrepreneurship
ONLINE
Spring 2022 Course Section #65395

01-10-22 through 03-07-22

INSTRUCTOR’S NAME:  Andrew Gold, Ph.D.

 

TELEPHONE NUMBER:  813.259.6062

 

EMAIL ADDRESS:  agold3@hccfl.edu

 

OFFICE HOURS (DAY, TIME, LOCATION) To setup a meeting with me during my office hours, please follow these steps:

  1. Review my calendar and select a time that works best for you: Calendly - Gold, Andrew(Links to an external site.)

    Tuesday: 8am-10am, Wednesday: 3:30pm – 6:00pm, Friday 8:00am-1:00pm
     
  2. We can meet via Zoom video, over the phone, or in-person. You can specify which type of meeting you would prefer when you click on my calendar link above. If you select Zoom, once you schedule an appointment the Zoom link will be available to you.
  3. My office is in the Social Science Building on the Dale Mabry Campus, room 209.

NO CLASS DAYS:  NA – This course is 100% online

COURSE MEETING TIME AND LOCATION:   NA – This course is 100% online

COURSE DESCRIPTION:  This course is designed to provide a broad overview of the process of turning an idea into a successful enterprise.  This course will be useful for anyone, whether they have had prior business or entrepreneurial experience. The course explores the characteristics of the entrepreneurial mind and the environment in which these ventures succeed. The course provides self-assessment of the skills and commitment necessary to successfully start and operate an entrepreneurial venture.

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES:  This course is designed to increase your entrepreneurial competencies. Entrepreneurship is about much more than starting a business. It is a discipline that helps individuals to develop value added skills that are in demand today in the workplace. In this course, you may re-evaluate your own views of entrepreneurship within the framework of entrepreneurial thinking and putting this mindset into action.  As a student in this course, you will practice entrepreneurial thinking and action by accomplishing the following objectives:

  • Assess your personal entrepreneurial capacity.
  • Differentiate between entrepreneurial and managerial thinking.
  • Play with idea generation techniques to help you better create and shape ideas into bold opportunities.
  • Evaluate opportunities using a rigorous feasibility and experimentation processes.
  • Develop, define, and clearly communicate a business concept to determine its feasibility.
  • Gain confidence to use entrepreneurial thinking and action with future opportunities.
  • Identify myths associated with entrepreneurship.

Throughout this course, you will develop a mindset that will enable you to build a toolkit to create and evaluate entrepreneurial opportunities, marshal resources, and form teams driven by creativity, leadership, and smart action. In sum, this course is a journey through the fuzzy front-end of early-stage entrepreneurial activity. This course is not intended to be a complete overview of entrepreneurship; it is an immersion experience for finding and creating opportunities.

 

COURSE INTENDED OUTCOMES:  Upon completion, the student will be able to:

  1. Explain the nature of entrepreneurship as a method of business ownership.
  2. Identify the characteristics of the successful entrepreneur and conduct a self-assessment of your potential as an entrepreneur.
  3. Recognize the management, financial, marketing, and legal skills necessary to successfully operate and grow an entrepreneurial venture.
  4. Develop a business model canvas for a business idea.
  5. Discuss the global aspects of an entrepreneurial business.
  6. Explain the concept of and applications for social entrepreneurship.
  7. Identify key resources and networking opportunities to assist entrepreneurs.
  8. Identify the forms of business ownership.
  9. Identify and evaluate the methods of entering an entrepreneurial venture to include starting a new business, buying an existing business, and operating a franchise.
  10. Be able to present a business idea to a wide array of stakeholders.
  11. Explore the creative process and describe the protection of intellectual property.
  12. Differentiate between a "good idea" and a viable business opportunity.
  13. Analyze the current environment for potential business opportunities.
  14. Conduct a preliminary market analysis of a business opportunity.

 

REQUIRED TEXTBOOK AND MATERIALSEntrepreneurship: The Practice and the Mindset, Neck, 2nd edition, Loose-leaf text plus Sage Vantage online access code.  ISBN: 9781071826034.  To register with Sage Vantage, you will need a license code (comes bundled with the book), and the following course ID:  GOLDQJ-7054

GRADING/EXAM SYSTEM:  Through the administration of exams, case studies, group presentation, homework and class participation, students will be graded based upon a 1000-point scale.  NO MAKEUP EXAMS.

            A = (90-100%)                         540-600 points

            B = (80-89%)                           480-539 points

            C = (70-79%)                           420-479 points

            D = (60-69%)                           360-419 points

            F = (Below 60%)                      359 points or less

ASSESSMENT

TOTAL POINTS

% OF TOTAL GRADE

Weekly Canvas assignments: Chapter quizzes and other weekly assignments

364

61%

Sage Vantage weekly video assignments (available with Sage Vantage license code)

96

16%

Semester Long Feasibility Plan, PowerPoint Presentation, and Flip Grid Video

140

23%

Total

600

100%

 

The best way to begin the course is to login to our Canvas course, click on “Modules” on the left side menu, and complete the “Start Here – Course orientation Module.” 

All online assignments through canvas are due each Friday at 11:59pm (beginning 1-14-22).  Because this is an 8-week course, it is important that you begin your work immediately. No late assignments will ever be accepted

Waiting until the due date may create problems for you, if you run into technology issues. You are strongly encouraged to complete weekly assignments well in advance of the 11:59pm due date to avoid losing unnecessary points. Emailing the professor at night on the day assignments are due, citing technology problems will not serve as an excuse for the work. Canvas, and Sage Vantage can be accessed through a computer, a mobile device, a tablet, a computer on any of the five Dale Mabry Campuses, and from public computers like the library. 

You are expected to back up your work or store your files on a cloud storage platform (i.e. Google Drive, Microsoft One Drive, DropBox, a flash drive, or any other means). If you lose work because you have failed to back it up, that will not serve as an excuse for extending the due date. Further, if you are ever traveling during a day when the due date is upon you, not having your computer will not serve as an excuse for not being able to complete the assignments. When traveling, you should always be able to access your stored files through Google drive or whatever you elect to use.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The first batch of graded assignments are due the first Friday of the semester (1/14/22). In order to complete all of these assignments, you will need access to the textbook publisher platform called Sage Vantage. If you are unable to purchase the textbook and license code at the Dale Mabry Bookstore on the first day of the course, simply register for the free 15-day trial that will give you access to an e-book and the Sage Vantage assignments. Please do not wait until Friday 1/14/22 to get setup with Sage Vantage. there is a considerable amount of reading required, and I do not want you to get off to a challenging start. In the event you are unable to register with the free Sage Vantage trial license, and/or purchase the textbook from the bookstore prior to the 1/14/22 due date, you will receive a grade of zero for those assignments, with no make-ups. 

Any request to hand in work beyond the specified due date will be rejected and result in a loss of five points off your grade for simply asking to hand in late work. If a student has an unforeseen issue and brings it to the attention of the instructor on or before Thursday (the day before the weekly due date), the instructor will consider the circumstances.  The instructor will not address issues brought to his attention the day that something is due (which may result in an unanswered email).  All work, where appropriate must use Microsoft Office 365 apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint). These tools are available at no cost to all HCC students. Any assignments that are uploaded using another application (i.e. Pages) cannot be read and will result in a grade of zero.

  • Weekly Canvas Assignments (61% of total grade).Each week you will have various assignments to complete online in canvas, including chapter quizzes. Some assignments will be related to our textbook, while other weekly assignments will relate to non-textbook content, including case studies, field research, mini quizzes, conducting primary research about your business idea etc.  Some weeks will have more assignments than others.  As mentioned above, the weekly canvas assignments must be completed by 11:59pm each Friday.  No late assignments will be accepted, so please do not ask for an extension.  Any emails or verbal requests for extensions that are made after a due date has passed will be ignored, and, as previously mentioned will result in a loss of five points off your overall grade.
  • Weekly Sage Vantage Video Assignments (16% of total grade):  Each week you will have assignments to complete through the textbook publisher platform – Sage Vantage.  As previously mentioned, because this is an eight-week class, we will be covering 2-3 chapters per week, on average. The Sage Vantage assignments include: 1) reading each chapter through the e-text platform (you will also have a loose-leaf version of the actual book, if purchased through the Dale Mabry Bookstore), 2) optional Knowledge Check (Links to an external site.)” Chapter Assignments that help prepare you for the quizzes, and 3) required chapter video assignments (Links to an external site.) (2 videos per chapter).

  • Semester Long Feasibility Plan and Flip Grid Video Project (23% of total grade): The capstone assignment outlined in detail on Canvas is a course long, project with two deliverables, a written lean feasibility study (about 15 pages), and a brief (up to 2 minutes) video to be completed through FlipGrid (see canvas for instructions). The project will involve developing, validating, and refining your business model by using the business model canvas, and other tools provided to you during the semester.  The deliverables for this project must be uploaded to Canvas no later than Friday February 25, 2022, by 11:59pm.  

Extra credit opportunities throughout the semester: There may be random extra credit opportunities made available to you throughout the term.  To take advantage of these opportunities you must login to canvas each day and attend each class meeting.  Most extra credit opportunities will require you to attend an event or conduct work in the field, not through your computer and Google.

TENTATIVE COURSE SCHEDULE:

** The schedule below is for assignments due on canvas.

Due Date

Content Covered

Assignments

Module 1: Due 01-14-22 by 11:59pm

Chapter 1) Practicing Entrepreneurship, Chapter 2) Activating and Entrepreneurial Mindset.  Also covered in week 1 is effectuation and business modeling resources (not in textbook).

Chapters 1
and 2 quizzes

Sage Vantage Video assignments 1.1, 1.2, 2.1.

Weekly Canvas check-in assignments.

Module 2: Due 01-21-22 by 11:59pm

Chapter 3) Crafting and Recognizing New Opportunities, Chapter 4) Using Design Thinking, Chapter 5) Building Business Models.

Chapters 3, 4, and 5 quizzes

Sage Vantage Video assignments 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1, and 5.2.

Weekly Canvas check-in assignments.

Module 3: Due 01-28-21 by 11:59pm

Chapter 6) Developing Your Customers, Chapter 7) Testing and Experimenting in Markets

Chapters 6 and 7 quizzes

Sage Vantage Video assignments 6.1, 6.2, 7.1, and 7.2.

Weekly Canvas check-in assignments.

Module 4: Due 02-04-22 by 11:59pm

Chapter 8) Developing Networks and Building Teams, Chapter 9) Creating Revenue Models

Chapters 8 and 9 quizzes

Sage Vantage Video assignments 8.1, 8.2, 9.1, and 9.2.

Weekly Canvas check-in assignments.

Module 5: Due 02-11-22 by 11:59pm

Chapter 10) Planning for Entrepreneurs, Chapter 11) Anticipating Failure, Chapter 12) Bootstrapping and Crowdfunding for Resources

Chapters 10, 11, and 12 quizzes

Sage Vantage Video assignments 10.1, 10.2, 11.1, 11.2, 12.1 and 12.2.

Weekly Canvas check-in assignments.

Module 6: Due 02-18-22 by 11:59pm

Chapter 13) Financing for Startups, Chapter 14) Navigating Legal and IP Issues

Chapters 13 and 14 quizzes

Sage Vantage Video assignments 13.1, 13.2, 14.1, and 14.2.

Weekly Canvas check-in assignments.

***LEAN FEASABILITY WRITTEN REPORT, AND FLIPGRID VIDEO MUST BE UPLOADED AND COMPLETED BY FRIDAY 02-25-22 BY 11:59 PM.

Module 7: Due 02-25-22 by 11:59pm

Lean Feasibility Plan and accompanying FlipGrid Video.

 

Semester long written feasibility plan

FlipGrid Video that summarizes the feasibility plan

Module 8: Due 03-04-22 by 11:59pm

Chapters 15) Engaging Customers Through Marketing, Chapter 16) Supporting Social Entrepreneurship

Chapters 15 and 16 quizzes

Sage Vantage Video assignments 15.1, 15.2, 16.1, and 16.2.

Weekly Canvas check-in assignments.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CLASS POLICIES

COVID GUIDANCE:  Your safety remains of paramount concern to us. Our thoughtfully developed protocols, using guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), local health officials, and our own COVID-19 team, have resulted in minimal disruption during this pandemic. Being vaccinated can protect your health and that of those around you and can help minimize potential disruptions to operations should you be exposed to COVID-19. Your professor is fully vaccinated.

With the new guidance (Links to an external site.) issued by the CDC recommending the use of masks inside public buildings even for fully vaccinated individuals as a precaution given the broad circulation of the highly contagious delta variant of the virus, members of the college community are expected to wear a mask or face covering while inside college facilities. This is in accordance with the directives from the Department of Education.

Vaccines and masks are highly effective at stopping the spread of COVID-19. Everyone in the HCC community is expected to follow these recommendations: get vaccinated and wear a mask while inside college buildings. In addition, please follow these three key actions and precautions

  1. Staying home if you are sick or instructed to isolate/quarantine. Only well individuals should be on campus. If you are sick or believe you have been exposed to an infected person, please stay home. Please contact your professor. If you or someone close to you tests positive for COVID-19, please alert your professor and a member of the Dale Mabry COVID-19 “Hawk Tracing” team:
    Craig Bobik | cbobik@hccfl.edu| 813.259.6520
    Kristina Nappi | 
    knappi@hccfl.edu| 813.259.6334
  2. Wearing a mask. HCC expects all faculty, staff, and students to wear a mask while inside college facilities.
  3. Hand washing. Frequently wash your hands with soap and water for 20-30 seconds or use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.

ATTENDANCE AND CLASSROOM CONDUCT:  NA – This course is 100% online, although you will be required to conduct some field research at a time that is convenient to you. Field research is part of the business modeling validation process.

EMAIL CORRESPONDANCE: When sending an email to the professor, you must put your name, the course name, and course code in the subject field of your message.  Failure to do so will result in your email not reaching me, and you will not get a response.  All email messages MUST be sent to agold3@hccfl.edu. No messages should be sent to me through Canvas.  Please note that emails sent over the weekend may not be responded to until the following week. IMPORTANT: When emailing Dr. Gold, please establish some formality with your email communication. Do not begin your email message with terms like “hey” or “hello.”  Do not begin your email correspondence by posing your question. A general rule of thumb to use when corresponding with all professors is to follow this type of template:

Dr. Gold,

Good morning/afternoon/evening. I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to ask…….

Students that do not maintain a sense of professionalism with their correspondence may not receive a response.  You should always allow up to 48 hours for a reply. Emails received over the weekend, may not receive a response until Monday. Do not wait until right before the due date to correspond. Because the due date time is at midnight (11:59pm) each Thursday, Dr. Gold may not see your email until the next day, if you email in the evening.

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY POLICY:  Any form of cheating or plagiarism (e.g., failing to acknowledge the ideas of another person, rewriting borrowed material by dropping a word here and there, failing to place quotation marks around borrowed material, etc.) constitute a violation of the course academic integrity bylaws.  Academic dishonesty is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.  Cheating, forgery, plagiarism, and collusion in dishonest acts undermine the college’s educational mission and the students’ personal and intellectual growth.  Hillsborough Community College students are expected to take individual responsibility for their work and to uphold the ideal of academic integrity.  Any student who attempts to compromise or devalue the academic process will be sanctioned. 

Cheating harms the college community in many ways.  Honest students are frustrated by the unfairness of cheating that goes undetected and therefore unpunished.  Students who cheat skew the grading curve in a class, resulting in lower grades for students who worked hard and did their own work. By enrolling in this class, you have agreed to uphold the entire student code of conduct as specified in the Student Handbook.  Plagiarism, including copying material from the Internet without attributing its source and passing it on as your own work, is unacceptable. 

ATTENDANCE POLICY:  NA – This is a 100% online course. 

LAST DATE TO DROP WITH REFUND:  The last day to drop this course with a refund is January 14, 2022.

LAST DATE TO WITHDRAW WITHOUT REFUND:  The last day to withdraw from the course without academic penalty (no refund) is January 29, 2022.

CONSEQUENCES OF DROPPING OR WITHDRAWING: Dropping or withdrawing may have an impact on financial aid, veteran’s benefits, or international student visa status.  Students are encouraged to consult with a financial aid, the VA certifying official, or the international student advisor, as appropriate, prior to dropping or withdrawing from class.

INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS (INCLUDING EXAMINATION POLICIES): There are no formal exams (midterm and final). There are weekly quizzes that will be completed online. This course is a fast-paced course that includes lectures, in-class activities, and out of class activities. You will be expected to complete work outside of the classroom environment. A large part of learning about entrepreneurship involves spending time meeting with other business professionals and prospective customers. This course is an applied course, which means that you will learn about entrepreneurship by being an entrepreneur, not reading about it alone. You will be expected to engage in group activities and speak to people you do not know.

CELL PHONE POLICY:  
NA – online course

STUDENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM: HCC’s Student Assistance Program offers resources tailored to student life, providing you with the right tools to help you through some of life's toughest challenges. The college has contracted Baycare Health Management to provide free, professional, confidential counseling by telephone and in person. A wide range of topics may be addressed through this program, including mental health counseling, budgeting, and financial concerns. Please call 800-878-5470 or email baycaresap@baycare.org further information.

REQUEST FOR ACCOMMODATIONS 
If, to participate in this course, you require an accommodation due to a physical or learning impairment, you must contact the Office of Services to Students with Disabilities.  The office is in the Student Services Building, room 102.  You may also reach the officer by telephone at (813) 259-6035 (voice line) or email at vlugo2@hccfl.edu 

EQUITY POLICY:

Hillsborough Community College is an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer. HCC does not discriminate based on race, color, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions), religion, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, gender identity, gender expression, veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristics. Should you require assistance or an accommodation due to disability contact the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities (OSSD) at your campus. If you feel you have been discriminated against, you may contact Elina “Tina” Bivins, Equity and Title IX Program Manager at (813) 253-7591, District GWSC 717.

RECORDING CLASS LECTURES:  NA – Online course

***Dr. Gold reserves the right to change anything in this syllabus, for any reason, at any time during the semester. ***

 

Course Summary:

Date Details Due