Description
This detailed explanation regarding introduction to entrepreneurship winter 2014.
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Introduction to Entrepreneurship
Winter 2014
Professor: Gregg Fairbrothers
Office: Tuck 203A
Phone: 646-0290
Email: [email protected]
Academic Coordinator: Kate Hudson
Office: Woodbury 203
Phone: 646-3412
Email: [email protected]
Audit Coordinator: Sandy Rozyla
Office: DRTC, 16 Cavendish Court, Lebanon, NH
Phone: 646-0298
Email: [email protected]
Office hours by appointment (for credit):
January 20
th
-27
th
First Required Meeting to discuss project ideas and development outside of class hours
(required for credit students)
February 24
th
-March 3
rd
Second Required Meeting / team presentations outside of class hours (required for credit
students)
Please sign up for office hours and required meetings via Google spreadsheet: (look for correct tab)
Click here for all sign ups
Office hours by appointment (for auditors):
Please sign up via Google spreadsheet: Click here
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Objective
This Introduction to Entrepreneurship is an experiential learning-based course designed to
provide a global introduction to the process of turning an idea into a successful startup enterprise.
There will be a special emphasis on commercializing innovations derived from research and
technology development. The track can be useful for anyone having an idea and much, little or
no pre-existing entrepreneurial experience. For Tuck first-year students, the course should
provide a comprehensive foundation for additional entrepreneurial learning in the spring First-
Year Project course, summer internships in entrepreneurial environments, the second-year
Advanced Entrepreneurship course, and self-generated independent studies for credit. The
course objective is to have students exiting this class:
• prepared to intelligently evaluate potential startup opportunities for personal
involvement;
• fully knowledgeable of the major components of full-cycle development of an idea into a
successful enterprise;
• capable of beginning the implementation process on ideas that merit development.
Audiences
The format is designed as a resource for multiple audiences for credit or audit:
• Tuck students who would like to learn more about entrepreneurship, particularly first-
year students seeking an entrepreneurship background as a foundation to undertake a
First-Year Project in entrepreneurship. The course is not open to students who have
previously taken the Advanced Entrepreneurship course.
• Dartmouth Medical School and other life sciences constituents – faculty, researchers,
medical school students.
• Thayer Engineering students, faculty.
• Selected auditing undergraduates, by application to the Dartmouth Entrepreneurial
Network (DEN).
• Other Dartmouth students, faculty, staff, or alumni with an interest in startup
entrepreneurship, possibly in connection with a personal idea or focus, by application to
the DEN.
• Anyone eligible for a dartmouth.edu, hitchcock.org or alum.dartmouth.org email address
is eligible to audit the course by application to the DEN.
• Dartmouth Regional Technology Center (DRTC) tenants are also eligible for inclusion
upon application and approval by application to the DEN.
• Class size is restricted. For-credit students have first priority registration, with remaining
seats available for audit. Tuck students interested in auditing need to contact
[email protected]. All others interested in auditing can go to
www.den.dartmouth.edu/education_and_events/ient.htm for more information.
Format
Wednesday evenings 4:45 – 6:45 pm, commencing on Wednesday, 1/8/14 for 9 weeks in
Georgiopoulos Classroom, Raether Hall, Tuck School. One exception: Class 3, will meet on
Thursday, 1/23/14 because of the Martin Luther King holiday.
Because one of the core entrepreneurial skills is an ability to define opportunities, problems, and
solutions when there is no pre-existing plan or structure, this is primarily an experiential learning
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course. Assignments will be organized around a self-selected business idea and a summary
presentation prepared for public review and scrutiny at the end of the semester. The course will
draw on lectures, discussions, group project presentations, sample presentations by existing
Dartmouth startups, and guest lecturers with distinctive experience and expertise. There will be
required and suggested readings. Final written deliverables for students taking the course for
credit will be:
• executive summary (“pitch sheet” format, 2 page limit) suitable for wide distribution in
promoting a startup idea;
• a PowerPoint pitch presentation deck (15 pages or less) and;
• a due diligence analysis of another project presented in the class.
Project work will begin with students focusing on defining ideas and gathering teams. It will
proceed to a required first team meeting (outside of regular class hours) with Professor
Fairbrothers to discuss ideas and best ways to develop them. It will move on to a due diligence
exercise, then on to required preliminary team presentations of ideas to Professor Fairbrothers
(outside of regular class hours), and project work will culminate in a final presentation to a panel
of real-world business-experienced reviewers during class time on March 5, 2014. See the
assignments section below for more details.
Assignments
The course is intended as an introductory survey course covering the main challenges in starting
a new business. Toward that end, assignments for the course include readings, case discussions,
interaction in presentation sessions as presenters and questioners, and an entrepreneurial startup
project (summary/pitch sheet and presentation deck). We will not develop a full business plan,
but will address at a first-pass level most of the early-stage development elements that appear in
a plan.
Learning entrepreneurship depends in large part on integrating business knowledge tools
acquired elsewhere and is heavily experiential. Accordingly much entrepreneurial learning
happens outside the reading material. But setting out to learn without reading at least some
useful material is senseless. On the subject of entrepreneurship, there’s a mountain of literature,
textbook material, and online information (the last Google search I did on “business plans”
yielded 1.2 billion results 11/10/13). This course has a series of readings from a textbook,
assigned for the simple purpose of providing a foundation in key areas of new enterprise
development. I’ve identified additional sources and relevant chapters for each week as a means
of highlighting where you can go for more in-depth information. Nothing makes a student look
worse than complaining to the instructor that he or she has no idea how to approach something
which appeared in the assigned readings for the previous week – and this actually happens every
year.
Choice of a source textbook is always a difficult balance in a survey course in entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneurship texts range from technical, detailed and scholarly to short, trendy and
inspirational. I feel the selected text for required readings falls between the extremes: Bruce
Barringer’s and Duane Ireland’s Entrepreneurship – Successfully Launching New Ventures
(Prentice-Hall, 2012). I suspect this text primarily targets the undergraduate level. But its
pragmatic and market-oriented focus is better than most other texts I’ve reviewed and it
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comprehensively addresses issues in ventures ranging from consumer-oriented, small-scale
businesses to high-technology, venture-backed startups. Texts don’t have to be dense to be
useful. There is a second book, written as an expansion on the content of this course, Ideas to
Success (McGraw-Hill, 2011), but it was written by me and I never liked professors trying to sell
me their own books when I was a student; reading assignments are listed for this course from the
Barringer book, with supplemental readings not required, but listed each week from Ideas to
Success and a second textbook, Richard C. Dorf and and Thomas H. Byers, Technology
Ventures: From idea to Enterprise (McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2005). All three books will
be on reserve at the Feldberg Library.
I’ve identified a number of additional resources in this syllabus which we have on reserve for the
class term in Feldberg Library. I appreciate feedback on the text and any supplemental readings
you elect to explore.
For each of the written assignments a folder will be placed in the course folder for this course.
Students taking this course for credit should submit their Word documents electronically into the
respective folder for their assignments. Assignments submitted in a form other than Word will
not be accepted. Once an assignment is placed in the folder it cannot be edited or removed.
There is no need to turn in hard copies of the assignments.
Assignments for all students taking the course for credit will include:
• January 17 – Preliminary project defined:
Students taking the course for credit are required to work on a project in teams of 2-4.
Students in the past have tried doing projects solo, but it has seldom worked out well. A
brief (1 page maximum) preliminary description of the idea and business model is due
Friday, January 17 by 4 PM. It should contain a concise description of the basic idea and
why the team feels it’s promising. All team members should be identified with class
years. Substantiation of the idea, or definition of the business model, are not expected at
this stage and should be deferred. Written comments will be returned prior to class time,
Tuesday, January 21. Please submit all written material in Word, and I will return all
comments using the “track changes feature” in a copy of the submission.
• January 20-24 – first required meeting to discuss the project:
In past years students have suggested more interaction on plans. The week of January
21-25 teams are required to schedule meetings with Professor Fairbrothers (outside of
regular class time) to discuss project ideas, ways to best develop them in the time
allotted, business models, etc. (see Google spreadsheet to sign up):
• February 14 – executive summary and PPT presentation deck
The first draft of the 1 page executive summary and PPT presentation deck is due by
4 PM, Friday, February 14. Written comments will be returned by end of day Monday,
February 17. In addition students are encouraged but not required to use regular office
hours to meet with me and discuss the materials.
• February 21 – due diligence report done in teams of two for-credit class members not
from the same project team.
To provide an exercise in looking at projects from “the other side of the table,” students
will work in pairs to do a due diligence review on another team in the class and provide a
written recommendation to an investor (or a previously agreed alternative context if the
plan doesn’t call for outside investment).
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o A signup sheet will be available in the Google spreadsheet starting on January 24.
Signups for due diligence review pairs are on a first-come/first-serve basis and
need to be done by January 29.
o The reports are due by 4 PM, Friday, February 21 from all students taking the
class for credit, submitted to the Course Folder electronically in Word. It is not
necessary to submit a hard copy report. All reports will be furnished to the project
groups as received for use in preparing the executive summary and final
PowerPoint presentation deck.
o Sample reports from previous classes will be made available on TuckStreams and
Blackboard. Students without access to Tuckstreams can find many of the same
samples athttp://greggfairbrothers.com/resources-2/sample-materials/
• February 24 – March 3 – second required meeting for preliminary team presentation and
discussion: Approximately 10 days before the end of the term, each team is required to
make a preliminary presentation to Professor Fairbrothers (outside of regular class time)
for feedback and comments. These sessions are intended to offer the opportunity to test
ideas and presentation elements in advance of the final presentation event. (see Google
spreadsheet to sign up):
• March 4 – final presentation documents due by 8:00 am.
Executive summary (“pitch sheet” format, 2 page limit) and final PPT presentation deck
electronically, in Word and PPT, due to course folder by 8 AM on Tuesday, March 4.
(No PDF files for the summary or the presentation deck. NOTE: because staff will be
creating briefing books for reviewers, materials turned in after 8 AM Tuesday will not
be included in the briefing book or graded by reviewers.)
• March 5 – final presentation event
A final presentation event, before real world entrepreneur and investor reviewers will
take place on Wednesday, March 5 beginning at the regular class time of 4:45 pm.
Presentations will run 30 minutes each before a panel of reviewers. Length of time
available will depend on the number of projects in the class and number of reviewer
panels working. A final schedule will be available in the course folder the day prior to
the presentation event. Presentation sessions will have 3 components:
1. Team presentations (no more than 12 minutes without interruptions)
2. Reviewer questions (no more than 10 minutes) intended to impose scrutiny on the
business idea and presentation
3. Reviewer constructive feedback (no more than 8 minutes) on the business and
executive summary
4. When IENT students are not presenting, they are required to sit in on other
presentations between 4:45 and 6:45 pm
Policies
Tuck Honor Code and Intellectual Property
The Tuck Honor Code applies to your work in this course. If you have any questions concerning
the application of the Honor Code in this course please do not hesitate to ask my advice.
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During the course, you may be exposed to confidential information or proprietary materials from
guest lecturers, class members, and the instructor. Improperly disclosing such information could
cause competitive harm and reputation damage to Tuck. By enrolling in this course, you commit
to safeguard the confidentiality of proprietary information and you commit not to disclose such
materials outside of the course – including to peers not taking the course.
Please discuss with the instructor in advance any concerns you may have regarding public
disclosures of potentially patentable concepts or inventions. The treatment of public disclosures
and their consequences differ in US and international jurisdictions, and under certain conditions
you may forfeit the opportunity to sustain a patent filing due to a public disclosure.
Laptops-Down Policy
As discussed in the Tuck policy on laptops in the classroom, in order to promote class discussion
and facilitate participation without distractions, please do not use laptops, phones or touchpads in
class.
Attendance
Students are expected to attend every class session. Tuck policy does not recognize recruiting
trips as excused absences from class. Per the Tuck Attendance Policy, please notify the
instructor before class by email or phone if you are unable to attend a session due to illness,
emergency, or an unavoidable conflict. Please contact the instructor at least a day in advance if
you will be absent for non-emergency reasons. Missed Classes due to “unexcused” absences
will significantly affect your grade in the wrong direction. Please see below a schedule of
classes and topics. Check TuckStreams regularly for changes, primarily to visitors, whose
schedules are subject to change. Class members will have first priority on access to visitors for
office hours and meals. Credit students are required to sign in on the attendance sheet for each
class session which is available at the front of the classroom.
Class Preparation and Participation
Class interaction is integral to the structure of the class; students are dependent on each other for
attendance and participation. The value of this class experience is directly related to your level
of preparation and active participation in each class session. Quality and quantity of participation
are both important.
Grading
Students in past years have suggested clarity in the syllabus on what it takes to secure good
grades in this class. Generally speaking, entrepreneurship is not a subject that lends itself to
clarity in grading – in the entrepreneurial world, a grade of 98% is 2% short of success.
Materials handed in will be returned with comments and suggestions; grades are de-emphasized.
Students who come to class prepared (mainly = having done the reading in advance), participate,
and do the required assignments with initiative and diligence cannot help but do well in this
class. Grade weighting will be:
15% First meeting to discuss project, preliminary summary (pitch sheet) and PPT
presentation deck, documents handed in 1/17
15% Due diligence reports, handed in 2/21
10% Second meeting, preliminary presentation, executive summary, and presentation
deck 2/24-3/3
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40% Final presentations on 3/5
20% Regular class attendance and participation
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Class Calendar
Class 1 Wednesday, January 8, 2014—Introduction and Company Presentations
Required readings (full citations below):
• Barringer & Ireland
o Chapter 1, “Introduction to Entrepreneurship”
o Chapter 2, “Recognizing Opportunities and Generating Ideas”
Additional optional readings: (full citations below)
• Dorf and Byers, chapter 2
• Fairbrothers and Winter, Chapters 2, 3, 6
Lecturer: Gregg Fairbrothers D’76 (60 minutes)
• How are research and commercialization related?
• What is entrepreneurship?
• The process from idea to exit
• Milestones-valuation curve
• Key issues to consider
• The importance of execution and the key steps involved
• Concept development and validation
• Defining expectations and getting started
• The roles of experience and learning
• Course overview
Sample Company presentation by Dartmouth startup
Mike Adair T'09, Red's All Natural (http://redsallnatural.com/) and Mark
Greenberg, Valley Green Capital (60 minutes)
Class 2 Wednesday, January 15, 2014—The Need and the Market
Required readings:
• Barringer and Ireland
o Chapter 3, “Feasibility Analysis”
Additional optional readings:
• Dorf and Beyers, chapter 11
• Fairbrothers and Winter, chapter 4
Lecturer: Michael Clarkin D’85, VP of Marketing, Sykes Enterprises (80 minutes)
• Who is the customer?
• Market and competitive assessment
• Market validation
• Effective sales and marketing plans
During class: Define idea-pitch project (40 minutes)
• Pitches of ideas by any students seeking team members
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• Teams self-select and organize
Assignment: Due by 4 PM, Friday, 1/17/14 (see assignments section)
• Define project team and a startup idea to pitch
• Limit of 2-4 members per team
• All for-credit students must participate in a team; optional for others
• Draft a preliminary idea summary (1 page), drop in the electronic course folder
(Word format, not PDF by 4 PM 1/17/14. PDFs will not be accepted
• Comments will be returned electronically before class time on 1/21/14
• After this date, definition of projects will be considered committed and final for
the duration of the term
• Meet to discuss projects, January 20-24.
REMINDER:
January 20-27, schedule first required team meeting with Professor Fairbrothers to discuss
project development (see assignments section).
Class 3 Thursday, January 23, 2014—The People (MLK week)
Required readings:
• Barringer and Ireland
o Chapter 9 “Building a New-Venture Team”
Additional optional readings:
• Dorf & Byers, chapter 12
• Fairbrothers and Winter, chapters 8-10
Lecturer: Gregg Fairbrothers D’76 (60 minutes)
• What you should need
• How to find the right people
• Attracting and signing the right people
• Boards and advisors
Richard Tait T'88, Co-Founder, Cranium and BoomBoom Brands
(http://www.boomboombrands.com/) (60 minutes)
• Consumer company startups.
Class 4 Wednesday, January 29, 2014—Financing
Required readings:
• Barringer and Ireland
o Chapter 10, “Getting Financing or Funding”
Additional optional readings:
• Dorf and Byers, chapter 18
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• Article: Gumpert, David E. and James McNeill Stancill. “How Much Money
Does Your New Venture Need?” Harvard Business Review (May/June 1986, Vol.
64 Issue 3): p. 122
• Article: Alimansky, Burt. “Eight Ways to Ruin Your Chances of Raising
Venture Capital” The Journal of Private Equity, (Summer 2000): p. 78-82
• Fairbrothers and Winter, chapter 12
Lecturers: Jeff Crowe D’78, General Partner, Norwest Ventures and Gregg
Fairbrothers D’76 (80 minutes)
• Financing
o Seed
o Venture capital
• Strategy
• Process and term sheets
• Managing expectations
• Alternative sources (grants, sales, etc.)
• Market and competitive assessment
Company presentation to Jeff Crowe by a Dartmouth startup (40 minutes)
Class 5 Wednesday, February 5, 2014— Executive Summary, Presentations, and
Business Plan Development
Required readings:
• Barringer and Ireland
o Chapter 4, “Writing a Business Plan”
o Chapter 6, “Developing an Effective Business Model”
Additional optional readings:
! Dorf and Byers, chapters 8 & 11
! Fairbrothers and Winter, chapter 7
Lecturer: Gregg Fairbrothers D’76 (60 minutes)
• Business plan development
o elements and organization
o uses of plans
o financial projections
o presentations, pitches, the “ten slides” and summaries
o success drivers in startups
Lecturer: Michael Stern T’79, Founder, Premier Retail Networks (60 minutes)
• Media startup, full cycle – launch to sale
Class 6 Wednesday, February 12, 2014— Competition and Barriers to Entry; Social
Entrepreneurship
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Required readings:
• Barringer and Ireland
o Chapter 5, “Industry and Competitor Analysis”
Additional optional readings:
! Fairbrothers and Winter, chapter 11
Lecturer: Gregg Fairbrothers D’76 (40 minutes)
• Defining competition
• Barriers to entry
• First mover advantage
Meg McCabe T'97, Aetna, Inc. VP, Consumer Experience & Product and Hugh Ma,
Head of Strategy for Healthagen (Aetna, Inc.) (80 minutes)
• Intrapreneurship in healthcare IT
Assignment: Due by 4 PM, Friday, 2/14/14 (see assignments section)
• First draft of 1 page executive summary and PowerPoint presentation for
feedback. Drop in electronic course folder (Word format, not PDF). Written
comments will be returned by end of day Monday, February 17. In addition
students are encouraged but not required to use regular office hours to meet with
me and discuss the materials.
Class 7 Wednesday, February 19, 2014— Intellectual Property. Case History
Required readings:
• Barringer and Ireland, Chapter 12, “The Importance of Intellectual Property”
Additional optional readings:
• Dorf and Byers, chapter 20
• Fairbrothers and Winter, chapter 5
Lecturer: Gregg Fairbrothers D’76 (40 minutes)
• Intellectual property basics
Bob Molinari D'74, T'79 – angel investor, CEO, Retrotope, Inc.
(http://www.retrotope.com/); partner, Medstars (http://www.medstars.com/)
(80 minutes)
• Medical technology startups and angel investing.
Assignment: Due by 4 PM, Friday 2/21/14 (see assignments section)
• Due diligence reports dropped in electronic course folder (Word format, not
PDF).
• All reports will be furnished to the project groups as received
• Written comments for use in preparing their final presentation and summaries
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REMINDER:
February 24-March 3, schedule second required team meeting with Professor
Fairbrothers – preliminary team presentation and discussion. Sign up on Google
spreadsheet.
Class 8 Wednesday, February 26, 2014—“Full Contact Entrepreneurship”
Required readings:
• Barringer and Ireland, Chapter 13, “Preparing for and Evaluating the Challenges
of Growth”
• HBS Case study, Explore, Inc. (9-300-011)
Additional optional readings:
• Fairbrothers and Winter, Introduction, chapters 1, 20-22, Conclusion and
Afterward
Lecturers: Andy Palmer T’94, Founding CEO, Vertica Systems and Founder and
CEO, Koa Labs (http://www.koalab.com)
• Case history in the first person
• Compare and contrast between different industries
• Personal and operational lessons learned
Professor Fairbrothers wrap-up and preparation for final presentation session (15
minutes)
Final assignment: Due no later than 8 AM, Tuesday, March 4, 2014.
• Executive summary and PPT presentation deck
o Drop into course folder to allow time for preparation of presentation books
for reviewers
o Please load your PPT presentation deck on the network so you can quickly
access it from any classroom
Class 9 Wednesday, March 5, 2014—Final Presentations
Final class presentations
• 4:45-6:45 PM
• Presentations will run 30 minutes each before a panel of entrepreneurs and
investor reviewers (12 minutes presentation,10 minutes Q&A, and 8 minutes
feedback and discussion)
• A detailed schedule will be provided in the course folder the day prior to the event
• When IENT students are not presenting, they are required to sit in on other
presentations between 4:45 and 6:45 pm
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Readings
Required reading
The textbook is available from Wheelock Books and Dartmouth Bookstore to purchase OR on
24 hour reserve at Feldberg Library.
• Barringer, Bruce R., and R. Duane Ireland. Entrepreneurship: Successfully
Launching New Ventures. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice-Hall, 2012).
Optional readings
You can look at these books on reserve at Feldberg and see if you think they’ll be valuable to
you in the course or to help you with your idea. They are not reserved at the bookstore, but you
may want to buy one or more online for the course and future reference. The Bagley book on
entrepreneurial business law is a good reference if you plan to start a company.
• Bagley, Constance and Craig Dauchy. The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Business Law.
(Mason, Ohio: West, 2008).
• Bygrave, William D. (editor) and Andrew Zacharias (editor). The Portable MBA in
Entrepreneurship. (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, 2010).
• Dorf, Richard C., and Thomas H. Byers. Technology Ventures: From idea to Enterprise.
(Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2005).
• Fairbrothers, Gregg E. and Tessa Winter. Ideas to Success: The Dartmouth
Entrepreneurial Network’s Guide for Startups. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011).
• Farson, Richard, and Ralph Keyes. Whoever Makes the Most Mistakes Wins. (New York,
NY: The Free Press, 2002).
• Feld, Brad and Jason Mendelsohn. Venture Deals. (Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons,
2011).
• Heath, Chip and Dan Heath. Made to Stick. (New York, NY: Random House, 2007).
• Hisrich, Robert D., Michael P. Peters and Dean A. Shepherd. Entrepreneurship. (Boston,
MA: McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2008): 135-167.
• Kawasaki, Guy. The Art of the Start. (New York, NY: Portfolio, 2004).
• Kawasaki, Guy. Reality Check. (New York, NY: Portfolio, 2008).
• Klein, Maury. The Change Makers: From Carnegie to Gates, How the Great
Entrepreneurs Transformed Ideas into Industries. (New York, NY: Times Books, Holt &
Co., 2002).
• Krass, Peter (Editor). The Book of Entrepreneurs' Wisdom: Classic Writings by
Legendary Entrepreneurs. (New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, 1999).
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• Lesonsky, Rieva. Start Your Own Business. (Irvine, CA: Entrepreneur Press, 2007).
• Livingston, Jessica. Founders at Work – Stories of Startups’ Early Days. (New York,
NY: Apress, 2008).
• Osterwalder, Alexander and Yves Pigneur. Business Model Generation. (Hoboken: John
Wiley and Sons, 2010).
• Robbins, William L. Seed-Stage Investing. (Boston, MA: Apspatore, 2006). (Bill
Robbins is a Dartmouth ’83 who has worked in large corporations, startups and venture
investing in the medical technology sector.)
• Sahlman, William, Howard H. Stevenson, Michael J. Roberts, and Amar Bhide. The
Entrepreneurial Venture. (Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 1999).
• Stoller, Gregory. Strategies in Entrepreneurial Finance (Garfield Heights, Ohio:
Northcoast Publishers, 2006).
• Van Osnabrugge, Mark, and Robert J. Robinson. Angel Investing – Matching Funds with
Start-up Companies – The Guide for Entrepreneurs, Individual Investors, and Venture
Capitalists. (San Francisco, CA: Josey-Bass, 2000).
Articles:
Available on Dartmouth Digital Collection, TuckStreams and Course BlackBoard
(https://www.dartmouth.edu/~blackboard)
• Alimansky, Burt. “Eight Ways to Ruin Your Chances of Raising Venture
Capital,” The Journal of Private Equity, (Summer 2000): 78-82.
• Gumpert, David E. and James McNeill Stancill. “How Much Money Does Your
New Venture Need?” Harvard Business Review (May/June 1986, Vol. 64 Issue
3): 122.
• Sahlman, William A. “How to Write a Great Business Plan,” Harvard Business
Review, July-August, 1997: 98-108.
• Sarasvathy, Saras D., “What Makes Entrepreneurs Entrepreneurial?” Darden
Case Collection ENT-0065 (2004).
Websites:
• DEN website, Resources section:http://www.den.dartmouth.edu/resources/index.htm
• For sample presentations and summaries:http://greggfairbrothers.com/resources-
2/sample-materials/
• “How Can You Make the Annual Financial Plan Even Better” Michael
Gonnerman:http://www.gonnerman.com/finreptannualplan.asp
• Glossary:http://mba.tuck.dartmouth.edu/pecenter/resources/glossary.html
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Class Lecturer Biographies
Mike Adair T’09
Founder, Red’s All Natural
Mike is the Founder and CEO of Red's All Natural, a natural food company that makes and
markets all natural frozen burritos and quesadillas . Red's burritos were inspired by Mike's wife
FAMOUS Taco Tuesday recipe and the company is named after his mutt Red. The burritos are
big & natural with heaping portions of the highest quality meat and veggies. Red's offers the best
burrito and quesadillas in the freezer, anywhere. The burritos are now sold in more than 8,000
retailers throughout the United States!
Prior to Tuck, Mike worked in asset management sales for six years at Putnam Investments,
J&W Seligman, and Pioneer Investments. Mike currently lives in Fairfield, CT with his wife
Paige, children Finley, Samantha, Hunter, and two dogs, Red and Bulldozer.
He obtained his BA in History from Boston College and received his MBA from Tuck School.
Michael Clarkin D’85
Global Vice President, Market Strategy and Solutions, Sykes Enterprises
Michael leads all market strategy activities for SYKES, a global leader in outsourced customer
contact management solutions. For nearly a decade, he has been responsible for planning and
executing market strategies aimed at the Technology, Telecommunications and Financial
Services industries. He leads new product and service development, integrated multi-channel
marketing, and designs strategies for emerging markets such as China and Brazil. He led the
development of a unique and award winning Customer Experience Analytics service which has
been a sustaining differentiator for the company.
In addition, Michael is the founder and President of Trilogy Consulting. At Trilogy, Michael has
guided companies to improve revenue and profitability by developing robust customer driven
strategies, aligning them across the entire company, and creating a culture of execution to assure
implementation. His method for success is based upon a participative strategic planning
process, focused and executable plans, and a unique ability to draw together all elements of the
company around a common objective. He has provided services to companies in IT System
Integration, Enterprise Software and Medical Devices. Michael also has particular depth of
knowledge in the Semiconductor, Network Security, and Wireless and Optical Communication
industries.
His 25-year career includes more than a decade with Hewlett-Packard, a benchmark company in
technology and management innovation, and five years with startup and turnaround companies
in New England. Michael's work at HP included successive marketing and business
management leadership positions in California, Germany, Hong Kong and Malaysia.
Mr. Clarkin holds a BA from Dartmouth College in Mathematics and Engineering and an MS in
Electrical Engineering from the University of California at Santa Barbara in addition to
executive education programs from Harvard Business School and INSEAD.
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Jeff Crowe D’78
General Partner, Norwest Ventures
Jeff joined Norwest Venture Partners in 2004 and focuses on seed and mid stage investments in
software, Internet, and consumer arenas. He currently serves on the board of deCarta, Evincii,
Jigsaw, Lending Club, Nano-Tex, Tuvox, and Turn. Jeff is responsible for the NVP's investment
in Coveroo and is actively involved with Cast Iron Systems.
Prior to Norwest, Jeff served as President, COO and board member of DoveBid, Inc., a privately
held business auction firm, which expanded during his tenure via internal growth and acquisition
from a $10M revenue run rate to a $120M revenue run rate with 400 employees.
From 1990 to 1999, Jeff was co-founder, President, CEO and Board member of Edify
Corporation, a venture backed enterprise software company focused on voice and internet e-
commerce platforms and applications. Jeff was responsible for all strategic and operational
activities at Edify as the company went from start-up in 1990 to $80M in revenue and 400
employees. Edify held its IPO in 1996 and was sold to S1 Corporation in 1999.
Previously, Jeff worked at ROLM Corporation, IBM and Siemens in marketing and general
management. Jeff led the marketing for the voice messaging division within ROLM, which grew
from startup to $50M in revenue.
Jeff is currently chairman of the board of Hand in Hand Parenting, a non-profit organization, and
is past chairman of the board of Theatreworks.
Jeff holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he was an Arjay Miller
Scholar, and a BA in History, summa cum laude, from Dartmouth College.
Gregg Fairbrothers D’76
Founding Director, Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network, Dartmouth College
Chair, Dartmouth Regional Technology Center
Adjunct Professor of Business Administration, Tuck School
Gregg Fairbrothers is the founding director of the Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network at
Dartmouth College, he is an adjunct professor of business administration at the Tuck School of
Business at Dartmouth, and he is chair of the Dartmouth Regional Technology Center (DRTC).
Prior to returning to Dartmouth in 1999, for over 22 years, Gregg served in a variety of
management and executive positions in the oil and gas industry, managing and founding
exploration and production companies on three continents.
Gregg completed his BA in Earth Sciences, magna cum laude, from Dartmouth College; he
obtained his MS in Geology from Rutgers University, and received his MBA from the University
of Tulsa in 1983.
Mark Greenberg
Founder, Valley Green Capital
Mr. Greenberg is the Executive Director of the Springside Chestnut Hill Academy Center for
Entrepreneurial Leadership (CEL). His focus includes PK-12 curriculum mapping, the teaching
of entrepreneurship, and development and management of the SCH Venture Incubator. Mr.
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Greenberg is also the Founder of Valley Green Capital, a national wholesale commercial equity
and debt intermediary with over 3,000 referring affiliates, Compass North Realty, a commercial
and investment real estate brokerage firm licensed in PA, NJ, NY and MD, Compass North
Development and related entities, which has acquired over 120 properties in five states, and The
Hefline Company, a home security alarm company sold in 2011. Prior to the above, Mr.
Greenberg was the Founder and Managing Director of proSOURCE Corporation, a supply chain
consulting company with clients that included The New York Times, CIENA, Big Y Food
Markets and Oxford Health Plans. Mr. Greenberg is and alum of Chestnut Hill Academy and
attended the Wharton School of Business undergraduate division at the University of
Pennsylvania. Mr. Greenberg has served many non-profits including Need-in-Deed, and Ready,
Willing & Able. Mr. Greenberg lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and three children
and is the 3rd worst C level squash player in the Philadelphia area.
Hugh Ma
Head of Strategy for Healthagen, Aetna, Inc.
Hugh Ma is the Head of Strategy for Healthagen, the group responsible for innovation and
incubation of non-insurance healthcare businesses within Aetna. Hugh drives strategy,
definition of new businesses, and early incubation of the resulting startups. These startups aim
to transform healthcare through innovative technology and sustainable care delivery models. As
a by-product of focusing on innovative startups, the Healthagen Strategy group also helps to
identify new products and services for the existing portfolio of businesses.
Hugh joined Aetna from Booz & Company, a global management consulting firm, where he led
a healthcare practice focused on care management, informatics, and payor-provider
collaboration. Previously, Hugh spent over a decade at Diamond Management and Technology
Consultants (now a unit within PwC) as a leader of the healthcare practice focused on aligning
technology with business needs. Prior to that role, Hugh dropped out of the University of
Michigan to found and build an IT services company focused on the garment industry in the New
York City area, which he successfully sold after 5 years.
Hugh lives in New York City with his wife Sara and is looking forward to sharing his car
racing/instructing hobby with his son as soon as possible.
Meg McCabe T’97
Vice President, Consumer Experience – Aetna, Inc.
Ms. McCabe is the President of Wellness 2.0. Wellness 2.0 is a new business within Aetna’s
Healthagen unit focused on transforming the health and wellness space by simplifying wellness
options and empowering people to change their lives.
Ms. McCabe joined Aetna in 2003 as a Senior Strategist in the Corporate Strategic Planning
department responsible for managing enterprise and business unit strategic planning efforts. She
became head of the Medical & eHealth Product Business Unit, where she led efforts to launch
innovative products, develop cross-product growth strategies, and prioritize investments. She
also served as Vice President of Consumer Experience & Product, where she focused on helping
individuals make informed health care decisions and developing consumer-oriented products and
solutions that support the acquisition, ongoing engagement, and retention of members. In this
18
role, she oversaw the overhaul of Aetna.com and launched industry leading mobile and social
solutions.
Prior to joining Aetna, Ms. McCabe developed corporate strategy at Tufts Health Plan and was a
Principal with The Parthenon Group, a management consulting firm in Boston, Massachusetts.
Ms. McCabe received her Master of Business Administration degree from The Amos Tuck
School at Dartmouth College and is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Wellesley College.
Bob Molinari D’74, T’79
CEO, Retrotape, Inc.
Bob Molinari is a serial entrepreneur and angel investor. He was the co-founding CEO of
Protogene Laboratories and led that company to become the world's largest supplier of custom
DNA. Bob was an advisor in the founding of Nanogen, Affymetrix, and Sequenom, and was the
founding CEO of Verdezyne and Avitech Diagnostics (DNA technology companies). Dr.
Molinari is currently the founding CEO of Retrotope, a company developing novel treatments for
diseases of aging like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, and invests as part of HealthTech Capital.
Dr. Molinari has an A.B. and an MBA from Dartmouth College and a Ph.D. in biophysical
chemistry from Brown University.
Andy Palmer, Tuck ‘94
Founder, Koa Labs & Co-Founder, Data-Tamer
Andy Palmer is a serial entrepreneur who specializes in accelerating the foundation and growth
of innovative technology organizations. During his career as an entrepreneur, Andy has served
as founding investor, Board of Directors (BOD) member or advisor to more than 40 start-up
companies across a variety of industries. His current projects comprise a diverse collection of
start-ups that are disrupting traditional industries and creating new ones. In early 2012, Andy
founded Koa Labs, a co-working space for young entrepreneurs to start new independent
companies in Cambridge’s Harvard Square. Currently there are more than 50 entrepreneurs and
10 companies in residence at Koa.
Previously, Andy was co-founder and founding CEO of Vertica Systems (acquired by HP), a
pioneering Big Data analytics company. Before that, he was a member of the core startup team
and the SVP and CIO at Infinity Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: INFI). He also held positions at
innovative start-ups including Bowstreet, pcOrder.com and Trilogy. Andy earned his
undergraduate degrees in English and history (with a computer science minor) from Bowdoin
College in 1988.
Michael Stern T'79
Founder, Premier Retail Networks
Michael is the Founder of Premier Retail Networks, the world's leading television network at
retail. PRN delivers targeted digital messaging and advertising to over 200 million shoppers per
month in over 10,000 retail venues, broadcasting chain wide in leading US retailers like Wal-
Mart, Target, Best Buy, Costco, Sam's Club and Supervalu. Michael has 30 years of experience
growing retail-focused businesses, particularly in engaging and communicating with shoppers,
then monetizing those communications.
19
Michael started out in brand management at The Clorox Company in 1979, then left to start a
specialty food business in the early 80s, which he franchised and sold. In 1988, during the early
days of MTV, he founded PICS, offering music video sampling via kiosks in leading US music
chains. PICS evolved into PRN, which grew into an out-of-home media company with 300
employees, $180 million in revenue and over 200 blue chip advertisers on its networks. In 2005
PRN was acquired by Technicolor, a French media services company. Michael moved to their
home office in Paris in 2007, where he led efforts to expand PRN into countries including
China, India, Russia, Australia, Thailand, France and the UK, and opened PRN's first
international retail television networks in Brazil, Mexico and Poland.
Michael recently returned home from Paris to San Francisco, and now advises and consults
retail-focused US and international companies on strategy, media communication and business
development in order to help accelerate the growth of their businesses at retail. Michael earned
an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College (1979) and a BA in English
Literature from Emerson College (1973).
Richard Tait T’88
Chief BoomBoom, BoomBoom Brands
Richard Tait is an entrepreneurial pioneer who lives by the mantra “Orville Wright did not have
a pilot’s license.” His inspiring approach to business, brand building and corporate culture has
influenced our relationships with technology, play, work and retail for two decades.
Best known for his groundbreaking turn as Cranium, Inc. co-founder and Grand Pooh Bah,
Richard first honed his entrepreneurial instincts at Microsoft. A former “Employee of the Year,”
the native Scotsman started more than a dozen new companies in his 10 years with the software
developer. Among these were several advancements that transformed the consumer technology
experience.
Deemed one of the “most powerful people in Seattle” by Seattle Magazine, Richard is
recognized as a passionate visionary. He is among Fast Company Magazine’s Fast 50, the Puget
Sound Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” and was twice nominated for the Ernst & Young
“Entrepreneur of the Year” award.
Richard is distinguished worldwide for his maverick approach to building brands and corporate
cultures. A member of the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization Hall of Fame in the U.S.,
Richard was also elected to the Entrepreneurial Exchange Hall of Fame in his homeland of
Scotland. Richard is a former member of the Toy Industry Association board of directors.
Richard is passionate about sharing his secret sauce for success. In addition to being included or
quoted in nearly a dozen business books, Richard has been on The Big Idea with Donny
Deutsche, and featured in multiple media outlets, including USA Today, New York Times, New
York Times Magazine, Investor Business Daily, The Financial Times and more.
Richard Tait T'88 co-founded the mega-hit board game Cranium in 1998, after a successful
career at Microsoft and later sold the company to Hasbro. Tait says, "It's not about how many
times you get knocked down, but how many times you get back up."
doc_572238670.pdf
This detailed explanation regarding introduction to entrepreneurship winter 2014.
1
Introduction to Entrepreneurship
Winter 2014
Professor: Gregg Fairbrothers
Office: Tuck 203A
Phone: 646-0290
Email: [email protected]
Academic Coordinator: Kate Hudson
Office: Woodbury 203
Phone: 646-3412
Email: [email protected]
Audit Coordinator: Sandy Rozyla
Office: DRTC, 16 Cavendish Court, Lebanon, NH
Phone: 646-0298
Email: [email protected]
Office hours by appointment (for credit):
January 20
th
-27
th
First Required Meeting to discuss project ideas and development outside of class hours
(required for credit students)
February 24
th
-March 3
rd
Second Required Meeting / team presentations outside of class hours (required for credit
students)
Please sign up for office hours and required meetings via Google spreadsheet: (look for correct tab)
Click here for all sign ups
Office hours by appointment (for auditors):
Please sign up via Google spreadsheet: Click here
2
Objective
This Introduction to Entrepreneurship is an experiential learning-based course designed to
provide a global introduction to the process of turning an idea into a successful startup enterprise.
There will be a special emphasis on commercializing innovations derived from research and
technology development. The track can be useful for anyone having an idea and much, little or
no pre-existing entrepreneurial experience. For Tuck first-year students, the course should
provide a comprehensive foundation for additional entrepreneurial learning in the spring First-
Year Project course, summer internships in entrepreneurial environments, the second-year
Advanced Entrepreneurship course, and self-generated independent studies for credit. The
course objective is to have students exiting this class:
• prepared to intelligently evaluate potential startup opportunities for personal
involvement;
• fully knowledgeable of the major components of full-cycle development of an idea into a
successful enterprise;
• capable of beginning the implementation process on ideas that merit development.
Audiences
The format is designed as a resource for multiple audiences for credit or audit:
• Tuck students who would like to learn more about entrepreneurship, particularly first-
year students seeking an entrepreneurship background as a foundation to undertake a
First-Year Project in entrepreneurship. The course is not open to students who have
previously taken the Advanced Entrepreneurship course.
• Dartmouth Medical School and other life sciences constituents – faculty, researchers,
medical school students.
• Thayer Engineering students, faculty.
• Selected auditing undergraduates, by application to the Dartmouth Entrepreneurial
Network (DEN).
• Other Dartmouth students, faculty, staff, or alumni with an interest in startup
entrepreneurship, possibly in connection with a personal idea or focus, by application to
the DEN.
• Anyone eligible for a dartmouth.edu, hitchcock.org or alum.dartmouth.org email address
is eligible to audit the course by application to the DEN.
• Dartmouth Regional Technology Center (DRTC) tenants are also eligible for inclusion
upon application and approval by application to the DEN.
• Class size is restricted. For-credit students have first priority registration, with remaining
seats available for audit. Tuck students interested in auditing need to contact
[email protected]. All others interested in auditing can go to
www.den.dartmouth.edu/education_and_events/ient.htm for more information.
Format
Wednesday evenings 4:45 – 6:45 pm, commencing on Wednesday, 1/8/14 for 9 weeks in
Georgiopoulos Classroom, Raether Hall, Tuck School. One exception: Class 3, will meet on
Thursday, 1/23/14 because of the Martin Luther King holiday.
Because one of the core entrepreneurial skills is an ability to define opportunities, problems, and
solutions when there is no pre-existing plan or structure, this is primarily an experiential learning
3
course. Assignments will be organized around a self-selected business idea and a summary
presentation prepared for public review and scrutiny at the end of the semester. The course will
draw on lectures, discussions, group project presentations, sample presentations by existing
Dartmouth startups, and guest lecturers with distinctive experience and expertise. There will be
required and suggested readings. Final written deliverables for students taking the course for
credit will be:
• executive summary (“pitch sheet” format, 2 page limit) suitable for wide distribution in
promoting a startup idea;
• a PowerPoint pitch presentation deck (15 pages or less) and;
• a due diligence analysis of another project presented in the class.
Project work will begin with students focusing on defining ideas and gathering teams. It will
proceed to a required first team meeting (outside of regular class hours) with Professor
Fairbrothers to discuss ideas and best ways to develop them. It will move on to a due diligence
exercise, then on to required preliminary team presentations of ideas to Professor Fairbrothers
(outside of regular class hours), and project work will culminate in a final presentation to a panel
of real-world business-experienced reviewers during class time on March 5, 2014. See the
assignments section below for more details.
Assignments
The course is intended as an introductory survey course covering the main challenges in starting
a new business. Toward that end, assignments for the course include readings, case discussions,
interaction in presentation sessions as presenters and questioners, and an entrepreneurial startup
project (summary/pitch sheet and presentation deck). We will not develop a full business plan,
but will address at a first-pass level most of the early-stage development elements that appear in
a plan.
Learning entrepreneurship depends in large part on integrating business knowledge tools
acquired elsewhere and is heavily experiential. Accordingly much entrepreneurial learning
happens outside the reading material. But setting out to learn without reading at least some
useful material is senseless. On the subject of entrepreneurship, there’s a mountain of literature,
textbook material, and online information (the last Google search I did on “business plans”
yielded 1.2 billion results 11/10/13). This course has a series of readings from a textbook,
assigned for the simple purpose of providing a foundation in key areas of new enterprise
development. I’ve identified additional sources and relevant chapters for each week as a means
of highlighting where you can go for more in-depth information. Nothing makes a student look
worse than complaining to the instructor that he or she has no idea how to approach something
which appeared in the assigned readings for the previous week – and this actually happens every
year.
Choice of a source textbook is always a difficult balance in a survey course in entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneurship texts range from technical, detailed and scholarly to short, trendy and
inspirational. I feel the selected text for required readings falls between the extremes: Bruce
Barringer’s and Duane Ireland’s Entrepreneurship – Successfully Launching New Ventures
(Prentice-Hall, 2012). I suspect this text primarily targets the undergraduate level. But its
pragmatic and market-oriented focus is better than most other texts I’ve reviewed and it
4
comprehensively addresses issues in ventures ranging from consumer-oriented, small-scale
businesses to high-technology, venture-backed startups. Texts don’t have to be dense to be
useful. There is a second book, written as an expansion on the content of this course, Ideas to
Success (McGraw-Hill, 2011), but it was written by me and I never liked professors trying to sell
me their own books when I was a student; reading assignments are listed for this course from the
Barringer book, with supplemental readings not required, but listed each week from Ideas to
Success and a second textbook, Richard C. Dorf and and Thomas H. Byers, Technology
Ventures: From idea to Enterprise (McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2005). All three books will
be on reserve at the Feldberg Library.
I’ve identified a number of additional resources in this syllabus which we have on reserve for the
class term in Feldberg Library. I appreciate feedback on the text and any supplemental readings
you elect to explore.
For each of the written assignments a folder will be placed in the course folder for this course.
Students taking this course for credit should submit their Word documents electronically into the
respective folder for their assignments. Assignments submitted in a form other than Word will
not be accepted. Once an assignment is placed in the folder it cannot be edited or removed.
There is no need to turn in hard copies of the assignments.
Assignments for all students taking the course for credit will include:
• January 17 – Preliminary project defined:
Students taking the course for credit are required to work on a project in teams of 2-4.
Students in the past have tried doing projects solo, but it has seldom worked out well. A
brief (1 page maximum) preliminary description of the idea and business model is due
Friday, January 17 by 4 PM. It should contain a concise description of the basic idea and
why the team feels it’s promising. All team members should be identified with class
years. Substantiation of the idea, or definition of the business model, are not expected at
this stage and should be deferred. Written comments will be returned prior to class time,
Tuesday, January 21. Please submit all written material in Word, and I will return all
comments using the “track changes feature” in a copy of the submission.
• January 20-24 – first required meeting to discuss the project:
In past years students have suggested more interaction on plans. The week of January
21-25 teams are required to schedule meetings with Professor Fairbrothers (outside of
regular class time) to discuss project ideas, ways to best develop them in the time
allotted, business models, etc. (see Google spreadsheet to sign up):
• February 14 – executive summary and PPT presentation deck
The first draft of the 1 page executive summary and PPT presentation deck is due by
4 PM, Friday, February 14. Written comments will be returned by end of day Monday,
February 17. In addition students are encouraged but not required to use regular office
hours to meet with me and discuss the materials.
• February 21 – due diligence report done in teams of two for-credit class members not
from the same project team.
To provide an exercise in looking at projects from “the other side of the table,” students
will work in pairs to do a due diligence review on another team in the class and provide a
written recommendation to an investor (or a previously agreed alternative context if the
plan doesn’t call for outside investment).
5
o A signup sheet will be available in the Google spreadsheet starting on January 24.
Signups for due diligence review pairs are on a first-come/first-serve basis and
need to be done by January 29.
o The reports are due by 4 PM, Friday, February 21 from all students taking the
class for credit, submitted to the Course Folder electronically in Word. It is not
necessary to submit a hard copy report. All reports will be furnished to the project
groups as received for use in preparing the executive summary and final
PowerPoint presentation deck.
o Sample reports from previous classes will be made available on TuckStreams and
Blackboard. Students without access to Tuckstreams can find many of the same
samples athttp://greggfairbrothers.com/resources-2/sample-materials/
• February 24 – March 3 – second required meeting for preliminary team presentation and
discussion: Approximately 10 days before the end of the term, each team is required to
make a preliminary presentation to Professor Fairbrothers (outside of regular class time)
for feedback and comments. These sessions are intended to offer the opportunity to test
ideas and presentation elements in advance of the final presentation event. (see Google
spreadsheet to sign up):
• March 4 – final presentation documents due by 8:00 am.
Executive summary (“pitch sheet” format, 2 page limit) and final PPT presentation deck
electronically, in Word and PPT, due to course folder by 8 AM on Tuesday, March 4.
(No PDF files for the summary or the presentation deck. NOTE: because staff will be
creating briefing books for reviewers, materials turned in after 8 AM Tuesday will not
be included in the briefing book or graded by reviewers.)
• March 5 – final presentation event
A final presentation event, before real world entrepreneur and investor reviewers will
take place on Wednesday, March 5 beginning at the regular class time of 4:45 pm.
Presentations will run 30 minutes each before a panel of reviewers. Length of time
available will depend on the number of projects in the class and number of reviewer
panels working. A final schedule will be available in the course folder the day prior to
the presentation event. Presentation sessions will have 3 components:
1. Team presentations (no more than 12 minutes without interruptions)
2. Reviewer questions (no more than 10 minutes) intended to impose scrutiny on the
business idea and presentation
3. Reviewer constructive feedback (no more than 8 minutes) on the business and
executive summary
4. When IENT students are not presenting, they are required to sit in on other
presentations between 4:45 and 6:45 pm
Policies
Tuck Honor Code and Intellectual Property
The Tuck Honor Code applies to your work in this course. If you have any questions concerning
the application of the Honor Code in this course please do not hesitate to ask my advice.
6
During the course, you may be exposed to confidential information or proprietary materials from
guest lecturers, class members, and the instructor. Improperly disclosing such information could
cause competitive harm and reputation damage to Tuck. By enrolling in this course, you commit
to safeguard the confidentiality of proprietary information and you commit not to disclose such
materials outside of the course – including to peers not taking the course.
Please discuss with the instructor in advance any concerns you may have regarding public
disclosures of potentially patentable concepts or inventions. The treatment of public disclosures
and their consequences differ in US and international jurisdictions, and under certain conditions
you may forfeit the opportunity to sustain a patent filing due to a public disclosure.
Laptops-Down Policy
As discussed in the Tuck policy on laptops in the classroom, in order to promote class discussion
and facilitate participation without distractions, please do not use laptops, phones or touchpads in
class.
Attendance
Students are expected to attend every class session. Tuck policy does not recognize recruiting
trips as excused absences from class. Per the Tuck Attendance Policy, please notify the
instructor before class by email or phone if you are unable to attend a session due to illness,
emergency, or an unavoidable conflict. Please contact the instructor at least a day in advance if
you will be absent for non-emergency reasons. Missed Classes due to “unexcused” absences
will significantly affect your grade in the wrong direction. Please see below a schedule of
classes and topics. Check TuckStreams regularly for changes, primarily to visitors, whose
schedules are subject to change. Class members will have first priority on access to visitors for
office hours and meals. Credit students are required to sign in on the attendance sheet for each
class session which is available at the front of the classroom.
Class Preparation and Participation
Class interaction is integral to the structure of the class; students are dependent on each other for
attendance and participation. The value of this class experience is directly related to your level
of preparation and active participation in each class session. Quality and quantity of participation
are both important.
Grading
Students in past years have suggested clarity in the syllabus on what it takes to secure good
grades in this class. Generally speaking, entrepreneurship is not a subject that lends itself to
clarity in grading – in the entrepreneurial world, a grade of 98% is 2% short of success.
Materials handed in will be returned with comments and suggestions; grades are de-emphasized.
Students who come to class prepared (mainly = having done the reading in advance), participate,
and do the required assignments with initiative and diligence cannot help but do well in this
class. Grade weighting will be:
15% First meeting to discuss project, preliminary summary (pitch sheet) and PPT
presentation deck, documents handed in 1/17
15% Due diligence reports, handed in 2/21
10% Second meeting, preliminary presentation, executive summary, and presentation
deck 2/24-3/3
7
40% Final presentations on 3/5
20% Regular class attendance and participation
8
Class Calendar
Class 1 Wednesday, January 8, 2014—Introduction and Company Presentations
Required readings (full citations below):
• Barringer & Ireland
o Chapter 1, “Introduction to Entrepreneurship”
o Chapter 2, “Recognizing Opportunities and Generating Ideas”
Additional optional readings: (full citations below)
• Dorf and Byers, chapter 2
• Fairbrothers and Winter, Chapters 2, 3, 6
Lecturer: Gregg Fairbrothers D’76 (60 minutes)
• How are research and commercialization related?
• What is entrepreneurship?
• The process from idea to exit
• Milestones-valuation curve
• Key issues to consider
• The importance of execution and the key steps involved
• Concept development and validation
• Defining expectations and getting started
• The roles of experience and learning
• Course overview
Sample Company presentation by Dartmouth startup
Mike Adair T'09, Red's All Natural (http://redsallnatural.com/) and Mark
Greenberg, Valley Green Capital (60 minutes)
Class 2 Wednesday, January 15, 2014—The Need and the Market
Required readings:
• Barringer and Ireland
o Chapter 3, “Feasibility Analysis”
Additional optional readings:
• Dorf and Beyers, chapter 11
• Fairbrothers and Winter, chapter 4
Lecturer: Michael Clarkin D’85, VP of Marketing, Sykes Enterprises (80 minutes)
• Who is the customer?
• Market and competitive assessment
• Market validation
• Effective sales and marketing plans
During class: Define idea-pitch project (40 minutes)
• Pitches of ideas by any students seeking team members
9
• Teams self-select and organize
Assignment: Due by 4 PM, Friday, 1/17/14 (see assignments section)
• Define project team and a startup idea to pitch
• Limit of 2-4 members per team
• All for-credit students must participate in a team; optional for others
• Draft a preliminary idea summary (1 page), drop in the electronic course folder
(Word format, not PDF by 4 PM 1/17/14. PDFs will not be accepted
• Comments will be returned electronically before class time on 1/21/14
• After this date, definition of projects will be considered committed and final for
the duration of the term
• Meet to discuss projects, January 20-24.
REMINDER:
January 20-27, schedule first required team meeting with Professor Fairbrothers to discuss
project development (see assignments section).
Class 3 Thursday, January 23, 2014—The People (MLK week)
Required readings:
• Barringer and Ireland
o Chapter 9 “Building a New-Venture Team”
Additional optional readings:
• Dorf & Byers, chapter 12
• Fairbrothers and Winter, chapters 8-10
Lecturer: Gregg Fairbrothers D’76 (60 minutes)
• What you should need
• How to find the right people
• Attracting and signing the right people
• Boards and advisors
Richard Tait T'88, Co-Founder, Cranium and BoomBoom Brands
(http://www.boomboombrands.com/) (60 minutes)
• Consumer company startups.
Class 4 Wednesday, January 29, 2014—Financing
Required readings:
• Barringer and Ireland
o Chapter 10, “Getting Financing or Funding”
Additional optional readings:
• Dorf and Byers, chapter 18
10
• Article: Gumpert, David E. and James McNeill Stancill. “How Much Money
Does Your New Venture Need?” Harvard Business Review (May/June 1986, Vol.
64 Issue 3): p. 122
• Article: Alimansky, Burt. “Eight Ways to Ruin Your Chances of Raising
Venture Capital” The Journal of Private Equity, (Summer 2000): p. 78-82
• Fairbrothers and Winter, chapter 12
Lecturers: Jeff Crowe D’78, General Partner, Norwest Ventures and Gregg
Fairbrothers D’76 (80 minutes)
• Financing
o Seed
o Venture capital
• Strategy
• Process and term sheets
• Managing expectations
• Alternative sources (grants, sales, etc.)
• Market and competitive assessment
Company presentation to Jeff Crowe by a Dartmouth startup (40 minutes)
Class 5 Wednesday, February 5, 2014— Executive Summary, Presentations, and
Business Plan Development
Required readings:
• Barringer and Ireland
o Chapter 4, “Writing a Business Plan”
o Chapter 6, “Developing an Effective Business Model”
Additional optional readings:
! Dorf and Byers, chapters 8 & 11
! Fairbrothers and Winter, chapter 7
Lecturer: Gregg Fairbrothers D’76 (60 minutes)
• Business plan development
o elements and organization
o uses of plans
o financial projections
o presentations, pitches, the “ten slides” and summaries
o success drivers in startups
Lecturer: Michael Stern T’79, Founder, Premier Retail Networks (60 minutes)
• Media startup, full cycle – launch to sale
Class 6 Wednesday, February 12, 2014— Competition and Barriers to Entry; Social
Entrepreneurship
11
Required readings:
• Barringer and Ireland
o Chapter 5, “Industry and Competitor Analysis”
Additional optional readings:
! Fairbrothers and Winter, chapter 11
Lecturer: Gregg Fairbrothers D’76 (40 minutes)
• Defining competition
• Barriers to entry
• First mover advantage
Meg McCabe T'97, Aetna, Inc. VP, Consumer Experience & Product and Hugh Ma,
Head of Strategy for Healthagen (Aetna, Inc.) (80 minutes)
• Intrapreneurship in healthcare IT
Assignment: Due by 4 PM, Friday, 2/14/14 (see assignments section)
• First draft of 1 page executive summary and PowerPoint presentation for
feedback. Drop in electronic course folder (Word format, not PDF). Written
comments will be returned by end of day Monday, February 17. In addition
students are encouraged but not required to use regular office hours to meet with
me and discuss the materials.
Class 7 Wednesday, February 19, 2014— Intellectual Property. Case History
Required readings:
• Barringer and Ireland, Chapter 12, “The Importance of Intellectual Property”
Additional optional readings:
• Dorf and Byers, chapter 20
• Fairbrothers and Winter, chapter 5
Lecturer: Gregg Fairbrothers D’76 (40 minutes)
• Intellectual property basics
Bob Molinari D'74, T'79 – angel investor, CEO, Retrotope, Inc.
(http://www.retrotope.com/); partner, Medstars (http://www.medstars.com/)
(80 minutes)
• Medical technology startups and angel investing.
Assignment: Due by 4 PM, Friday 2/21/14 (see assignments section)
• Due diligence reports dropped in electronic course folder (Word format, not
PDF).
• All reports will be furnished to the project groups as received
• Written comments for use in preparing their final presentation and summaries
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REMINDER:
February 24-March 3, schedule second required team meeting with Professor
Fairbrothers – preliminary team presentation and discussion. Sign up on Google
spreadsheet.
Class 8 Wednesday, February 26, 2014—“Full Contact Entrepreneurship”
Required readings:
• Barringer and Ireland, Chapter 13, “Preparing for and Evaluating the Challenges
of Growth”
• HBS Case study, Explore, Inc. (9-300-011)
Additional optional readings:
• Fairbrothers and Winter, Introduction, chapters 1, 20-22, Conclusion and
Afterward
Lecturers: Andy Palmer T’94, Founding CEO, Vertica Systems and Founder and
CEO, Koa Labs (http://www.koalab.com)
• Case history in the first person
• Compare and contrast between different industries
• Personal and operational lessons learned
Professor Fairbrothers wrap-up and preparation for final presentation session (15
minutes)
Final assignment: Due no later than 8 AM, Tuesday, March 4, 2014.
• Executive summary and PPT presentation deck
o Drop into course folder to allow time for preparation of presentation books
for reviewers
o Please load your PPT presentation deck on the network so you can quickly
access it from any classroom
Class 9 Wednesday, March 5, 2014—Final Presentations
Final class presentations
• 4:45-6:45 PM
• Presentations will run 30 minutes each before a panel of entrepreneurs and
investor reviewers (12 minutes presentation,10 minutes Q&A, and 8 minutes
feedback and discussion)
• A detailed schedule will be provided in the course folder the day prior to the event
• When IENT students are not presenting, they are required to sit in on other
presentations between 4:45 and 6:45 pm
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Readings
Required reading
The textbook is available from Wheelock Books and Dartmouth Bookstore to purchase OR on
24 hour reserve at Feldberg Library.
• Barringer, Bruce R., and R. Duane Ireland. Entrepreneurship: Successfully
Launching New Ventures. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice-Hall, 2012).
Optional readings
You can look at these books on reserve at Feldberg and see if you think they’ll be valuable to
you in the course or to help you with your idea. They are not reserved at the bookstore, but you
may want to buy one or more online for the course and future reference. The Bagley book on
entrepreneurial business law is a good reference if you plan to start a company.
• Bagley, Constance and Craig Dauchy. The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Business Law.
(Mason, Ohio: West, 2008).
• Bygrave, William D. (editor) and Andrew Zacharias (editor). The Portable MBA in
Entrepreneurship. (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, 2010).
• Dorf, Richard C., and Thomas H. Byers. Technology Ventures: From idea to Enterprise.
(Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2005).
• Fairbrothers, Gregg E. and Tessa Winter. Ideas to Success: The Dartmouth
Entrepreneurial Network’s Guide for Startups. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011).
• Farson, Richard, and Ralph Keyes. Whoever Makes the Most Mistakes Wins. (New York,
NY: The Free Press, 2002).
• Feld, Brad and Jason Mendelsohn. Venture Deals. (Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons,
2011).
• Heath, Chip and Dan Heath. Made to Stick. (New York, NY: Random House, 2007).
• Hisrich, Robert D., Michael P. Peters and Dean A. Shepherd. Entrepreneurship. (Boston,
MA: McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2008): 135-167.
• Kawasaki, Guy. The Art of the Start. (New York, NY: Portfolio, 2004).
• Kawasaki, Guy. Reality Check. (New York, NY: Portfolio, 2008).
• Klein, Maury. The Change Makers: From Carnegie to Gates, How the Great
Entrepreneurs Transformed Ideas into Industries. (New York, NY: Times Books, Holt &
Co., 2002).
• Krass, Peter (Editor). The Book of Entrepreneurs' Wisdom: Classic Writings by
Legendary Entrepreneurs. (New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, 1999).
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• Lesonsky, Rieva. Start Your Own Business. (Irvine, CA: Entrepreneur Press, 2007).
• Livingston, Jessica. Founders at Work – Stories of Startups’ Early Days. (New York,
NY: Apress, 2008).
• Osterwalder, Alexander and Yves Pigneur. Business Model Generation. (Hoboken: John
Wiley and Sons, 2010).
• Robbins, William L. Seed-Stage Investing. (Boston, MA: Apspatore, 2006). (Bill
Robbins is a Dartmouth ’83 who has worked in large corporations, startups and venture
investing in the medical technology sector.)
• Sahlman, William, Howard H. Stevenson, Michael J. Roberts, and Amar Bhide. The
Entrepreneurial Venture. (Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 1999).
• Stoller, Gregory. Strategies in Entrepreneurial Finance (Garfield Heights, Ohio:
Northcoast Publishers, 2006).
• Van Osnabrugge, Mark, and Robert J. Robinson. Angel Investing – Matching Funds with
Start-up Companies – The Guide for Entrepreneurs, Individual Investors, and Venture
Capitalists. (San Francisco, CA: Josey-Bass, 2000).
Articles:
Available on Dartmouth Digital Collection, TuckStreams and Course BlackBoard
(https://www.dartmouth.edu/~blackboard)
• Alimansky, Burt. “Eight Ways to Ruin Your Chances of Raising Venture
Capital,” The Journal of Private Equity, (Summer 2000): 78-82.
• Gumpert, David E. and James McNeill Stancill. “How Much Money Does Your
New Venture Need?” Harvard Business Review (May/June 1986, Vol. 64 Issue
3): 122.
• Sahlman, William A. “How to Write a Great Business Plan,” Harvard Business
Review, July-August, 1997: 98-108.
• Sarasvathy, Saras D., “What Makes Entrepreneurs Entrepreneurial?” Darden
Case Collection ENT-0065 (2004).
Websites:
• DEN website, Resources section:http://www.den.dartmouth.edu/resources/index.htm
• For sample presentations and summaries:http://greggfairbrothers.com/resources-
2/sample-materials/
• “How Can You Make the Annual Financial Plan Even Better” Michael
Gonnerman:http://www.gonnerman.com/finreptannualplan.asp
• Glossary:http://mba.tuck.dartmouth.edu/pecenter/resources/glossary.html
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Class Lecturer Biographies
Mike Adair T’09
Founder, Red’s All Natural
Mike is the Founder and CEO of Red's All Natural, a natural food company that makes and
markets all natural frozen burritos and quesadillas . Red's burritos were inspired by Mike's wife
FAMOUS Taco Tuesday recipe and the company is named after his mutt Red. The burritos are
big & natural with heaping portions of the highest quality meat and veggies. Red's offers the best
burrito and quesadillas in the freezer, anywhere. The burritos are now sold in more than 8,000
retailers throughout the United States!
Prior to Tuck, Mike worked in asset management sales for six years at Putnam Investments,
J&W Seligman, and Pioneer Investments. Mike currently lives in Fairfield, CT with his wife
Paige, children Finley, Samantha, Hunter, and two dogs, Red and Bulldozer.
He obtained his BA in History from Boston College and received his MBA from Tuck School.
Michael Clarkin D’85
Global Vice President, Market Strategy and Solutions, Sykes Enterprises
Michael leads all market strategy activities for SYKES, a global leader in outsourced customer
contact management solutions. For nearly a decade, he has been responsible for planning and
executing market strategies aimed at the Technology, Telecommunications and Financial
Services industries. He leads new product and service development, integrated multi-channel
marketing, and designs strategies for emerging markets such as China and Brazil. He led the
development of a unique and award winning Customer Experience Analytics service which has
been a sustaining differentiator for the company.
In addition, Michael is the founder and President of Trilogy Consulting. At Trilogy, Michael has
guided companies to improve revenue and profitability by developing robust customer driven
strategies, aligning them across the entire company, and creating a culture of execution to assure
implementation. His method for success is based upon a participative strategic planning
process, focused and executable plans, and a unique ability to draw together all elements of the
company around a common objective. He has provided services to companies in IT System
Integration, Enterprise Software and Medical Devices. Michael also has particular depth of
knowledge in the Semiconductor, Network Security, and Wireless and Optical Communication
industries.
His 25-year career includes more than a decade with Hewlett-Packard, a benchmark company in
technology and management innovation, and five years with startup and turnaround companies
in New England. Michael's work at HP included successive marketing and business
management leadership positions in California, Germany, Hong Kong and Malaysia.
Mr. Clarkin holds a BA from Dartmouth College in Mathematics and Engineering and an MS in
Electrical Engineering from the University of California at Santa Barbara in addition to
executive education programs from Harvard Business School and INSEAD.
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Jeff Crowe D’78
General Partner, Norwest Ventures
Jeff joined Norwest Venture Partners in 2004 and focuses on seed and mid stage investments in
software, Internet, and consumer arenas. He currently serves on the board of deCarta, Evincii,
Jigsaw, Lending Club, Nano-Tex, Tuvox, and Turn. Jeff is responsible for the NVP's investment
in Coveroo and is actively involved with Cast Iron Systems.
Prior to Norwest, Jeff served as President, COO and board member of DoveBid, Inc., a privately
held business auction firm, which expanded during his tenure via internal growth and acquisition
from a $10M revenue run rate to a $120M revenue run rate with 400 employees.
From 1990 to 1999, Jeff was co-founder, President, CEO and Board member of Edify
Corporation, a venture backed enterprise software company focused on voice and internet e-
commerce platforms and applications. Jeff was responsible for all strategic and operational
activities at Edify as the company went from start-up in 1990 to $80M in revenue and 400
employees. Edify held its IPO in 1996 and was sold to S1 Corporation in 1999.
Previously, Jeff worked at ROLM Corporation, IBM and Siemens in marketing and general
management. Jeff led the marketing for the voice messaging division within ROLM, which grew
from startup to $50M in revenue.
Jeff is currently chairman of the board of Hand in Hand Parenting, a non-profit organization, and
is past chairman of the board of Theatreworks.
Jeff holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he was an Arjay Miller
Scholar, and a BA in History, summa cum laude, from Dartmouth College.
Gregg Fairbrothers D’76
Founding Director, Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network, Dartmouth College
Chair, Dartmouth Regional Technology Center
Adjunct Professor of Business Administration, Tuck School
Gregg Fairbrothers is the founding director of the Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network at
Dartmouth College, he is an adjunct professor of business administration at the Tuck School of
Business at Dartmouth, and he is chair of the Dartmouth Regional Technology Center (DRTC).
Prior to returning to Dartmouth in 1999, for over 22 years, Gregg served in a variety of
management and executive positions in the oil and gas industry, managing and founding
exploration and production companies on three continents.
Gregg completed his BA in Earth Sciences, magna cum laude, from Dartmouth College; he
obtained his MS in Geology from Rutgers University, and received his MBA from the University
of Tulsa in 1983.
Mark Greenberg
Founder, Valley Green Capital
Mr. Greenberg is the Executive Director of the Springside Chestnut Hill Academy Center for
Entrepreneurial Leadership (CEL). His focus includes PK-12 curriculum mapping, the teaching
of entrepreneurship, and development and management of the SCH Venture Incubator. Mr.
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Greenberg is also the Founder of Valley Green Capital, a national wholesale commercial equity
and debt intermediary with over 3,000 referring affiliates, Compass North Realty, a commercial
and investment real estate brokerage firm licensed in PA, NJ, NY and MD, Compass North
Development and related entities, which has acquired over 120 properties in five states, and The
Hefline Company, a home security alarm company sold in 2011. Prior to the above, Mr.
Greenberg was the Founder and Managing Director of proSOURCE Corporation, a supply chain
consulting company with clients that included The New York Times, CIENA, Big Y Food
Markets and Oxford Health Plans. Mr. Greenberg is and alum of Chestnut Hill Academy and
attended the Wharton School of Business undergraduate division at the University of
Pennsylvania. Mr. Greenberg has served many non-profits including Need-in-Deed, and Ready,
Willing & Able. Mr. Greenberg lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and three children
and is the 3rd worst C level squash player in the Philadelphia area.
Hugh Ma
Head of Strategy for Healthagen, Aetna, Inc.
Hugh Ma is the Head of Strategy for Healthagen, the group responsible for innovation and
incubation of non-insurance healthcare businesses within Aetna. Hugh drives strategy,
definition of new businesses, and early incubation of the resulting startups. These startups aim
to transform healthcare through innovative technology and sustainable care delivery models. As
a by-product of focusing on innovative startups, the Healthagen Strategy group also helps to
identify new products and services for the existing portfolio of businesses.
Hugh joined Aetna from Booz & Company, a global management consulting firm, where he led
a healthcare practice focused on care management, informatics, and payor-provider
collaboration. Previously, Hugh spent over a decade at Diamond Management and Technology
Consultants (now a unit within PwC) as a leader of the healthcare practice focused on aligning
technology with business needs. Prior to that role, Hugh dropped out of the University of
Michigan to found and build an IT services company focused on the garment industry in the New
York City area, which he successfully sold after 5 years.
Hugh lives in New York City with his wife Sara and is looking forward to sharing his car
racing/instructing hobby with his son as soon as possible.
Meg McCabe T’97
Vice President, Consumer Experience – Aetna, Inc.
Ms. McCabe is the President of Wellness 2.0. Wellness 2.0 is a new business within Aetna’s
Healthagen unit focused on transforming the health and wellness space by simplifying wellness
options and empowering people to change their lives.
Ms. McCabe joined Aetna in 2003 as a Senior Strategist in the Corporate Strategic Planning
department responsible for managing enterprise and business unit strategic planning efforts. She
became head of the Medical & eHealth Product Business Unit, where she led efforts to launch
innovative products, develop cross-product growth strategies, and prioritize investments. She
also served as Vice President of Consumer Experience & Product, where she focused on helping
individuals make informed health care decisions and developing consumer-oriented products and
solutions that support the acquisition, ongoing engagement, and retention of members. In this
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role, she oversaw the overhaul of Aetna.com and launched industry leading mobile and social
solutions.
Prior to joining Aetna, Ms. McCabe developed corporate strategy at Tufts Health Plan and was a
Principal with The Parthenon Group, a management consulting firm in Boston, Massachusetts.
Ms. McCabe received her Master of Business Administration degree from The Amos Tuck
School at Dartmouth College and is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Wellesley College.
Bob Molinari D’74, T’79
CEO, Retrotape, Inc.
Bob Molinari is a serial entrepreneur and angel investor. He was the co-founding CEO of
Protogene Laboratories and led that company to become the world's largest supplier of custom
DNA. Bob was an advisor in the founding of Nanogen, Affymetrix, and Sequenom, and was the
founding CEO of Verdezyne and Avitech Diagnostics (DNA technology companies). Dr.
Molinari is currently the founding CEO of Retrotope, a company developing novel treatments for
diseases of aging like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, and invests as part of HealthTech Capital.
Dr. Molinari has an A.B. and an MBA from Dartmouth College and a Ph.D. in biophysical
chemistry from Brown University.
Andy Palmer, Tuck ‘94
Founder, Koa Labs & Co-Founder, Data-Tamer
Andy Palmer is a serial entrepreneur who specializes in accelerating the foundation and growth
of innovative technology organizations. During his career as an entrepreneur, Andy has served
as founding investor, Board of Directors (BOD) member or advisor to more than 40 start-up
companies across a variety of industries. His current projects comprise a diverse collection of
start-ups that are disrupting traditional industries and creating new ones. In early 2012, Andy
founded Koa Labs, a co-working space for young entrepreneurs to start new independent
companies in Cambridge’s Harvard Square. Currently there are more than 50 entrepreneurs and
10 companies in residence at Koa.
Previously, Andy was co-founder and founding CEO of Vertica Systems (acquired by HP), a
pioneering Big Data analytics company. Before that, he was a member of the core startup team
and the SVP and CIO at Infinity Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: INFI). He also held positions at
innovative start-ups including Bowstreet, pcOrder.com and Trilogy. Andy earned his
undergraduate degrees in English and history (with a computer science minor) from Bowdoin
College in 1988.
Michael Stern T'79
Founder, Premier Retail Networks
Michael is the Founder of Premier Retail Networks, the world's leading television network at
retail. PRN delivers targeted digital messaging and advertising to over 200 million shoppers per
month in over 10,000 retail venues, broadcasting chain wide in leading US retailers like Wal-
Mart, Target, Best Buy, Costco, Sam's Club and Supervalu. Michael has 30 years of experience
growing retail-focused businesses, particularly in engaging and communicating with shoppers,
then monetizing those communications.
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Michael started out in brand management at The Clorox Company in 1979, then left to start a
specialty food business in the early 80s, which he franchised and sold. In 1988, during the early
days of MTV, he founded PICS, offering music video sampling via kiosks in leading US music
chains. PICS evolved into PRN, which grew into an out-of-home media company with 300
employees, $180 million in revenue and over 200 blue chip advertisers on its networks. In 2005
PRN was acquired by Technicolor, a French media services company. Michael moved to their
home office in Paris in 2007, where he led efforts to expand PRN into countries including
China, India, Russia, Australia, Thailand, France and the UK, and opened PRN's first
international retail television networks in Brazil, Mexico and Poland.
Michael recently returned home from Paris to San Francisco, and now advises and consults
retail-focused US and international companies on strategy, media communication and business
development in order to help accelerate the growth of their businesses at retail. Michael earned
an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College (1979) and a BA in English
Literature from Emerson College (1973).
Richard Tait T’88
Chief BoomBoom, BoomBoom Brands
Richard Tait is an entrepreneurial pioneer who lives by the mantra “Orville Wright did not have
a pilot’s license.” His inspiring approach to business, brand building and corporate culture has
influenced our relationships with technology, play, work and retail for two decades.
Best known for his groundbreaking turn as Cranium, Inc. co-founder and Grand Pooh Bah,
Richard first honed his entrepreneurial instincts at Microsoft. A former “Employee of the Year,”
the native Scotsman started more than a dozen new companies in his 10 years with the software
developer. Among these were several advancements that transformed the consumer technology
experience.
Deemed one of the “most powerful people in Seattle” by Seattle Magazine, Richard is
recognized as a passionate visionary. He is among Fast Company Magazine’s Fast 50, the Puget
Sound Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” and was twice nominated for the Ernst & Young
“Entrepreneur of the Year” award.
Richard is distinguished worldwide for his maverick approach to building brands and corporate
cultures. A member of the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization Hall of Fame in the U.S.,
Richard was also elected to the Entrepreneurial Exchange Hall of Fame in his homeland of
Scotland. Richard is a former member of the Toy Industry Association board of directors.
Richard is passionate about sharing his secret sauce for success. In addition to being included or
quoted in nearly a dozen business books, Richard has been on The Big Idea with Donny
Deutsche, and featured in multiple media outlets, including USA Today, New York Times, New
York Times Magazine, Investor Business Daily, The Financial Times and more.
Richard Tait T'88 co-founded the mega-hit board game Cranium in 1998, after a successful
career at Microsoft and later sold the company to Hasbro. Tait says, "It's not about how many
times you get knocked down, but how many times you get back up."
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