Description
This paper in relation to new venture (creation) and small business management.
AP/ADMS 3920 3.00 M – Winter 2015
NEW VENTURE (CREATION) AND SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
COURSE SYLLABUS / OVERVIEW
Lecture Room Location: [ACE-009 - Accolade East Building]
Dated: December 22, 2014
COURSE DIRECTOR / INSTRUCTOR
Tony Johnston, MBA (Finance), BA (Econ), CPA, CGA, CMC Email: [email protected]
PROFILE: Tony Johnston is a broadly experienced senior executive, corporate / investment
banker and management consultant. For more than 20 years, he has held various CEO, CRO,
CFO, and other management, banking and advisory positions with a number of public and
private companies in technology, biotechnology, manufacturing, commercial and financial
services, and oil & gas and mining related investment banking. His successes include:
i) negotiating and closing major deals involving debt, equity, acquisition, divestiture and hedging
transactions worth more than $2.5 billion;
ii) increasing a public company's enterprise value by 300% or $66 million;
iii) Co-founding a biotech company and leading it as CEO for over 4 years, that produced a 3-times
investment gain for venture capital partners on completion of $30 million sale to a public company;
iv) leading 5 corporate turnarounds in manufacturing, biotechnology and financial services;
v) providing strategic, sales & marketing, operational, financing & financial consulting services to over
200 client companies, and
vi) launching 4 new businesses in Biotechnology, Securitized Mortgage Servicing, Market Research and
Management Consulting.
COURSE OVERVIEW
Number of in-class sessions: 11 (12 sessions over 13 weeks with 1 In-Class Midterm)
Length of in-class sessions: 3 hours on Fridays and one Monday from 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM
In-class session hours: 33 hours (11 sessions x 3 hours per session)
Textbook Pages to be Read: 418 pages in total to be read (minimum required)
Weekly Reading Workload: 46 pages-per-week on-average reading workload
Group Projects: 3 (2 written and 1 presentation that combined are worth 45% of
course mark; all related to start-up of a new business venture)
Exams: 2 (Midterm and Final multiple-choice and essay answer question
Exams, which combined are worth 55% of course mark)
Prof.’s Office Hours: Course Director will be available to meet with students during the
30 minutes before and after each weekly lecture in-class session in
room ACE-011 of the Accolade East Building or in the hallway
just outside (students requested to schedule meetings in advance).
COURSE OBJECTIVES & STRUCTURE
The goal of this course is to position students to become either successful entrepreneurs,
effective members of an entrepreneurial team, capable small business owner/operators or
knowledgeable small business/new venture service providers should a future circumstance
present such an opportunity or create such need. Through course readings, lectures, discussions
1
and practical group-work projects, students will be encouraged to: (A) explore the dimensions
and demands of new venture creation and small business management; (B) learn about the
various routes they can take and means and methods they can use to become successful
owner/operators of a business, (C) examine from both an academic and a practical perspective
what are the multiple complexities, challenges and rewards inherent in being an entrepreneur,
intrepreneur, franchise operator or family business participant and (D) learn how to (1) develop
prospective new business ideas, (2) then qualify those by conducting an initial screen for
viability and practicality, next (3) validate the qualified idea’s potential through the preparation
of a business case, and finally (3) develop and document both a clear and confirmed
understanding of the market and industry and an adequately detailed business plan covering the
estimated operational and financial needs of the resulting proposed new business.
In support of the above, the key functional areas operative in most businesses will be reviewed,
particularly in the context of how they relate specifically to the planning and launching of a new
venture and the ongoing management of operations in a typical goods or services oriented small
business. A distinguishing central feature of this course is the formation of entrepreneurial teams.
Accordingly, all enrolled students will be required to organize themselves into one of up to
twelve new-venture teams comprised of between four to eight people. In addition to learning
how to work as a collaborative, cohesive unit, each team will need to decide who on their team
will become responsible for such tasks as venture idea development, group leadership, strategy
formulation, sales and marketing (i.e. customer development), operations, finance / financing /
planning, human resources, product development, etc. This work will demand time and attention.
The group project related activities undertaken by these new venture teams will allow students to
experience first hand what it takes to organize and launch a new business. Examples of the tasks
they will undertake are (i) opportunity identification/recognition, (ii) evaluation of industry
attractiveness, (iii) assessment of market opportunity, (iv) evaluation of risks and rewards, (v)
recruitment of partners and key staff members, (vi) marketing and sales campaigns formulation,
(vii) organization of finances, (viii) raising capital and (ix) managing such other factors as
production, facilities, cost containment, administrative operations and results management and
reporting. After these teams have formulated and qualified their new business idea, they will be
required to document a business case that provides market and financial facts and rationales
demonstrating how potentially promising, viable and achievable the proposed new venture will
be. Later, they will be asked to prepare a 3 to 5 year strategic business plan addressing all aspects
of the firm’s operations and financial activities, and then prepare and present a business pitch
presentation crafted to achieve a predetermined resource acquisition related objective or goal.
In terms of the weekly required readings, students will be held responsible for doing their
readings in advance of each Friday session. The aim behind this approach is to increase student
learning and stimulate greater subject-matter interest and practical knowledge acquisition
through enabling the first 8 in-class sessions to be structured as follows:
1st Half: Instructor-led weekly-topic-related discussions and presentation of supporting material
2nd Half: Group Project related activities / meetings and quick review of week’s readings
On completing this course, students should have achieved the following educational objectives:
1) gained a solid understanding of the concept of entrepreneurship and become familiar with
the profiles of noteworthy Canadian entrepreneurs;
2) learned how to find, screen, and qualify entrepreneurial opportunities;
2
3) learned how to organize and execute the pursuit of an entrepreneurial opportunity,
including having learned about:
a) different legal structures for businesses,
b) different avenues of entry into business ownership,
c) how to analyze strategic problems and opportunities and develop practical solutions
to business operational issues, and
d) how to manage key functional areas such as marketing, sales, operations, human
resources management, finance, etc.;
4) gained an appreciation of the importance of business planning and the different types of
plans used in business risk-management and results-control, as well as learned how and
where best to source capital (i.e. money to operate) when and as needed;
5) become knowledgeable on how to monitor business results so as to determine
entrepreneurial success or failure and know how and when to take corrective action;
6) learned about the 5 stages of the business life-cycle and how and when best to transition
operational control and venture ownership to others as required or desired; and
7) gained practical knowledge and experience in working with others through participation
in a group project work focused on developing and presenting a new business venture
concept.
COURSE TIMETABLE
The lecture, readings and assignment due-date schedule is as follows:
Week Date Subject Matter Covered Readings Req’d Submissions
1 J an 9 Course Overview and Introduction to
Entrepreneurship
Ch. 1, 3
43 pages
None
2 J an 16 Practical, Legal and Regulatory Issues
Involved in Entrepreneurial Activities and
Opportunities in Franchising & Buy-outs
Ch. 10, 4
52 pages
None
3 J an 23 Business Planning and New Venture Concept
and Strategy Development
Ch. 5, 2
54 pages
None
4 J an 30 Sales & Marketing, Promotion and Distribution Ch. 6, 7
70 pages
Group Membership
Forms due via email
5 Feb 6 Global Marketing (Exports), and Human
Resources and the Role of Venture
Management
Course-to-date Recap and Discussion of
Structure and Course-Material Covered on
Midterm Exam
Ch. 8, 9
42 pages
None
6 Feb 13 In class* Midterm: on Chapters 1-7 & 10
*will be in alternate location due to seating
3
Week Date Subject Matter Covered Readings Req’d Submissions
7 Feb 20 Reading Week – no class
8 Feb 27 Operations (Premises and Production) Ch. 11, 12
54 pages
Group’s New Venture
Business Case with
Business Model Map
9 Mar 6 Finance, Financing and Accounting, and
Evaluating and Managing Performance
Ch. 13, 14
80 pages
Group Presentation
Scheduling Requests
10 Mar 13 Growth, Crisis, Turnaround and Exit Ch. 15 &
Supplemental.
Material
23 pages
None
11 Mar 20 5 Student Business Pitch Presentations* Draft Group Business
Plan and Group
Membership Report
Peer Evaluations >1
st
Presenting Groups
12 Mar 27 5 Student Business Pitch Presentations* Finalized Group
Business Plan
Peer Evaluations >2
nd
Presenting Groups
13 Monday
Apr 6*
5 Student Business Pitch Presentations*
Course Summary, Discussion of Final Exam
Structure and Course-Material Covered, and
Student Opinion Survey
Peer Evaluations >3
rd
Presenting Groups
14 to
17
Between
Apr 8 &
24
Final Exam: covers broad themes of course
and in detail Chapters 8, 9, 11-15 &
Supplemental Material >exact date, time and
location set by Registrar's Office
* Monday April 6
th
class is make up for missing class on Good Friday, Apr 3
rd
.
GRADE COMPONENTS
Item Description of Student Product Weight
1 Midterm 25%
2 New Venture Business Case* Document (NVBC will serve as basis for
developing your Group’s Business Plan and Business Pitch Presentation)
5%
†
3 Business Plan* (based on NVBC) 25%
†
4 New Business* Pitch Presentation (based on above) 10%
†
4
5 Group-Member Peer Evaluation
5%
‡
6 Final Exam 30%
Total 100%
†
Group Work: represents 45% of grade and marks will be assigned equally to all group members.
‡
Group-Member Peer Evaluations: these will be based on the average of marks given to the
student by the other members of their group and may be subject to a ‘Group Member Penalty’
as outlined in item 2 under Group Work Submission Details (refer attached document) should
the student be judged not to have made a material work contribution or not delivered on their
group-project work commitments in a reasonable, timely and expected manner.
Group Work Submission Requirements are detailed in Addendum (see page 9).
RESOURCES
1) Required Textbook
Longenecker, J .G, Donlevy; L.B, Champion, T., Petty, J .W., Palich, L.E., Moore, C.W.,
Small Business Management: Launching and Growing New Ventures. Fifth Canadian
Edition. (©2013/2010) Thompson-Nelson. [to purchase online an e-copy of textbook, click
>here< | textbook website: www.longenecker5e.nelson.com} > This textbook gives an
excellent overview of the four routes to entrepreneurship and the various aspects and
activities involved in managing a business as well as the steps involved in setting up for
success when launching a new venture. As the organization and material in the textbook has
changed in important ways from earlier editions, students are strongly recommended to use
only the 5
th
edition of this textbook during this semester.
2) Supplementary Resource Texts Available [Free Downloads]
Business Model Map Workbook developed by T. Johnston available fromhttp://www.compassnorthinc.com/BusinessModelMapWorkbookv6-Dec2014.pdf with BMM
template (refer link on page 11); for more coverage of this topic, refer to Business Model
Design Workbook Guide published by MaRS Discovery District (a member of the Ontario
Network of Excellence) available fromhttp://www.marsdd.com/wp-
content/uploads/2012/12/Business-Model-Design-WorkbookGuide.pdf
Value Proposition Designer Canvas Concept by Alexander Osterwalder available fromhttp://businessmodelalchemist.com/blog/2012/08/achieve-product-market-fit-with-our-
brand-new-value-proposition-designer.html; for more coverage on this topic, refer to
Crafting Your Value Proposition Workbook published by MaRS Discovery District
available fromhttp://www.marsdd.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Crafting-Your-Value-
Proposition-WorkbookGuide.pdf
BDC Business Plan Preparation Templates published by Business Development Bank of
Canada >contents include (i) template for preparing and presenting required text and (ii)
spreadsheet template for preparing and presenting financial statements) with an example in
5
PDF format of a completed plan (e.g. Doors to the World) > available for free download
online viahttp://www.bdc.ca/en/advice_centre/tools/business_plan/Pages/default.aspx
Entrepreneurship 101 – Comprehensive Modules (guides / videos) for emerging
entrepreneurs by MaRS Discovery District > available for free download or accessing
online viahttp://www.marsdd.com/entrepreneurs-toolkit/entrepreneurship101
3) Optional Resource Texts
Blank, Steve, The Startup Owner's Manual: The Step-By-Step Guide for Building a
Great Company, K & S Ranch; (March 1, 2012) > Written by the pioneer of the ‘Lean
Startup’ movement, this book is arguably the best ‘how to’ book written for entrepreneurs,
especially for those in the tech space, as it shares real-world insights and wisdom coming
out of California’s Silicon Valley on how best to get customers and grow companies;
available in hardback and e-book form from Amazon.ca viahttp://www.amazon.com/The-
Startup-Owners-Manual-Step-By-Step/dp/0984999302/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_z; also, you may
consider taking Steve Blank’s free on-line ’How to Build a Startup’ course available athttps://www.udacity.com/course/ep245
Osterwalder, Alexander (et al.), Business Model Generation: A Handbook for
Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers, Wiley; (J uly 13, 2010) > This book can
help entrepreneurs define and refine their new venture’s sales offerings and identify key
elements required for business success; available in hardback and e-book form from
Amazon.ca viahttp://www.amazon.com/Business-Model-Generation-Visionaries-
Challengers/dp/0470876417/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377274556&sr=1-
1&keywords=business+model+generation; also digital copies of Osterwalder’s Business
Model Canvas are available athttp://www.businessmodelgeneration.com/canvas [note: an
important subsidiary business model concept that is highly relevant to this topic of
developing better business models is covered by Osterwalder’s excellent blog article on how
to develop more successful product and service offerings through the use of market fit
analysis using his Value Proposition Designer Canvas concept; this blog article available athttp://businessmodelalchemist.com/2012/08/achieve-product-market-fit-with-our-brand-
new-value-proposition-designer.html
Wasserman, Noam, The Founder's Dilemmas: Anticipating and Avoiding the Pitfalls
That Can Sink a Startup, Princeton University Press (March 31, 2013) > This book can
help aspiring entrepreneurs identify and make key business decisions which they will face in
the course of establishing and growing their new venture; it is available in paperback and e-
book form from Amazon.ca viahttp://www.amazon.com/The-Founders-Dilemmas-
Anticipating-Entrepreneurship/dp/0691158304; also available are podcasts of
Wasserman’s presentation at Stanford University’s School of Business viahttp://ecorner.stanford.edu/authorMaterialInfo.html?mid=3024
Kawasaki, Guy, The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide For
Anyone Starting Anything. Penguin Group (2004) > This relatively recent ‘classic
business book’ offers savvy, practical advice to entrepreneurs; a free download PDF
containing the table of contents, index and Chapter 1: The Art of Starting (PDF: 295KB) is
available athttp://www.guykawasaki.com/the-art-of-the-start/artprop.pdf and for a
6
description of this book and testimonial recommendations referhttp://www.guykawasaki.com/the-art-of-the-start/ [Note: this book can be borrowed from
the Toronto Public Library in both hard back version (16 copies) as well as an internet
accessible, downloadable audio book version athttp://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?Entt=RDM121628&R=121628 ]
COURSE ADMINISTRATION POLICES
General: in addition to the specific polices set out below, ADMS 3920 will be administered in
accordance with the rules set by the Liberal Arts & Professional sciences Faculty; referhttp://calendars.registrar.yorku.ca/2013-2014/faculty_rules/AP/term_tests_exams.htm.
Missed Examinations: All students who miss a regularly scheduled exam in this course
automatically receive the ADMS 3920 Course Director’s approval to write a ADMS 3920 make-
up midterm exam or final exam if they so wish (a) provided that (a) such student makes a
deferred standing request to the LA&PS Faculty regarding the missed midterm exam or submits
the required deferred standing documentation to the University’s Registrar’s Office related to a
missed final exam and such are found acceptable, and (b) provided all the required
documentation submissions are completed within the required time period in accordance with
University policy and procedures. Note, all such students are required to contact the School of
Administrative Studies as soon as possible after the conclusion of the missed scheduled exam (in
almost all cases, no later than 7 days after) to commence the ‘request for deferred standing’
process regarding getting permission to write a make-up examination. For more information,
refer to the YorkU website section on Deferred Standing/Academic Petitions athttp://www.registrar.yorku.ca/exams/deferred/index.htm and the LA&PS Faculty’s Deferred
Standing, Academic Petitions and Appeals web page athttp://calendars.registrar.yorku.ca/2012-
2013/faculty_rules/AP/deferred_petitions.htm.
>> Note re Timing of Make-up / Deferred Exams:
a) The Make-up Midterm Exam will be held within the 2nd week following the regularly
scheduled MidTerm Exam.
b) Timing of Deferred Final Exams is set by the School of Administrative Studies and that
typically happens at the end of the first month of the next term, which means late J anuary for the
fall term and late May for the Winter Term.
Late / After-Deadline Enrolments: none will be allowed or approved.
Academic Standards, Curriculum and Pedagogy (ASCP): Information on York University’s
Senate-approved policies, procedures and regulations is available viahttp://www.yorku.ca/secretariat/policies/index-policies.html covering such student related topics
as:
• York's Academic Honesty Policy and Procedures / Academic Integrity Web site
• Access / Disability Accommodation Opportunities
7
• Religious Observance Accommodation
• Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities
Additional information:
• Alternate Exam and Test Scheduling for students requiring special
accommodation, click on link above.
• Grading Scheme and Feedback Policy > The Senate Grading Scheme and
Feedback Policy stipulates that (a) the grading scheme (i.e. kinds and weights of
assignments, essays, exams, etc.) must be announced and made available in
writing within the first two weeks of class, and that (b) under normal
circumstances, graded feedback worth at least 15% of the final grade for Fall,
Winter or Summer Term, and 30% for ‘full year’ courses offered in the
Fall/Winter Term be received by students in all courses prior to the final
withdrawal date from a course without receiving a grade.
• Important University Sessional Dates (information on class and exam start/end
dates, reading/co-curricular week, add/drop deadlines, holidays, University
closings and more; refer:http://www.registrar.yorku.ca/enrol/dates/index.htm
• "20% Rule" > York University requires that no examinations or tests
collectively worth more than 20% of the final grade in a course will be given
during the final 14 calendar days of classes in a term. The exceptions to the rule
are classes that regularly meet Friday evenings or on Saturday and/or Sunday at
any time, and courses offered in the compressed summer terms.
• Final Course Grades may be adjusted to conform to Program or Faculty
expected grade distribution profiles.
• Undergraduate Academic Petitions: Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional
Studies students wishing to submit a petition (i.e. a formal request for the waiver
of a Faculty's regulation or deadline) should follow the required procedures; refer:http://www.yorku.ca/laps/council/students/petitions.html
• Services for Mature and Part-time Students: The Atkinson Centre for Mature
and Part-time Students (ACMAPS) maintains and strengthens York University’s
ongoing commitment to welcome and to serve the needs of mature and part-time
students. For further information and assistance visit:http://www.yorku.ca/acmaps
8
ADDENDUM:
GROUP PROJECT WORK REQUIREMENTS
By the end of the 4
th
lecture session, students in this course will be required to organize
themselves and join one of a maximum of twelve groups made up of 4 to 8 people in order to:
1) develop and submit a New Venture Business Case that briefly describes and provides the
supporting startup rationale for a new venture concept of their group’s choosing,
2) develop and submit a Strategic Business Plan for their new venture that has been prepared
to win mission-critical support from a third-party (i.e. funds, government approval, etc), and
3) prepare and present a supporting Business Pitch Presentation for the proposed new venture
that is aimed at winning the mission-critical third-party support already identified.
Your group’s proposed new venture can be a product-based or a service-based business that is
either a bricks-and-mortar or an online enterprise. However, your idea must be (i) original in
some meaningful way or ways, (ii) developed by your group, and (iii) not a mindless copy from
any source or existing precedence. That means opening up a franchise, taking over a family
business, acquiring an existing company or proposing a straight copy of an existing business all
are not suitable new venture business concepts for use in this course. By definition for this
course, a new venture is a business that has no operations yet or has been in operations for less
than one year.
Examples of new venture ideas are:
- Pizza Restaurant / Delivery Business
- Technology Company
- J anitorial Service Company
- Online Art Poster Business
- Toner Cartridge Replacement Business
- Home Renovation / Construction Company
- Market Research Company
- Gourmet Food Store / Bakery
- Grill, Pub, Tavern or Bar
- Etc.
For inspiration on coming up with a new venture idea, students are invited to check out these
Profit Magazine articles, Business Trends and Opportunities: Seven Big Ideas for 2012, 5 Tech
Trends to Cash in on in 2013 and Manufacturing: Best Bets for 2014. The better bet is to mine
for opportunities in your own experiences or interests and/or ask your friends and relatives for
their suggestions. Should students have trouble or be uncertain about matters related to their
group’s business plan project, you are invited, but are not required, to brainstorm ideas and / or
discuss various new business concepts with the Prof as well as seek the Prof’s feedback on your
proposed new venture business case before the document’s required submission date of Oct 24
th
.
Please note that when undertaking this work, groups need to be aware that while they will be
required to make estimations, formulate plans and prepare projections of anticipated results, they
are expected to never ‘invent’ any venture-supporting facts or fictional business situations. This
is because, in the ‘real business world’, creating a fictitious ‘good story line’ that is based on
falsehoods just to achieve a self-serving objective is dishonest and a gross misrepresentation as
well as potentially criminally fraudulent.
9
ADDENDUM:
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENT DETAILS:
1. New Venture Business Case* > document submission (* a business case is a
documented thesis or argument that presents the business justification(s) why or why not
the organization in question should undertake an action, task, project or venture.)
(i) Due in class Feb 27. No late submissions will be accepted.
? Document’s objective is to present the Group’s ‘business case’ for your new
business concept using early descriptions, estimates and analysis to describe and
reasonably substantiate that you have identified a promising, satisfactorily-sizable
and prospectively-profitable new business opportunity.
? Your New Venture Business Case assignment must be typed, 1.5x to 2x spacing
with one-inch margins on 8.5" X 11" paper and be informative but brief (2 to
maximum 6 written pages in length), not including cover, business model map
plus up to 4 illustrations and / or charts. Student groups will lose marks if their
papers appear unprofessional, displaying disorganization, sloppiness or have
significant defects in spelling, grammar, punctuation or basic written expression.
New Venture Business Case submissions are expected to have prose made up of
well-formed, logical sentences in essay-quality paragraphs with bulleted lists if
such desired and appropriate.
? Preparation Tip: make sure initial focus is first on identifying a real current or
developing market need that is unserved or underserved before second beginning
to craft value proposition.
? New Venture Business Case submission recommended format is:
1 > Title Page
- Name/Description of the product or service offering
- Name of initiator/entrepreneur/legal entity
- Notice of Confidentiality
- Illustration or logo, if appropriate.
2 > Body: made up of a Business Model Map on 1 page and up to 6 pages of
text as per following description:
1) Business Model Map: Diagram using the Business Model Map planning
sheet / image as per template on page 5 of Workbook identifying in simple,
brief wording the value the organization seeks to provides, who are the
expected customers, and the capabilities and resources required to create,
market and deliver this value, as well as what types of profitable, sustainable
revenue streams that should result.
2) Market Opportunity: Brief Description of Customers Types/Segments
Targeted and what their Purchase Motivations are (i.e. what drives their need
for offering) as well as Estimation of Market Size in Units and Dollars and
Description of the Current and Projected Market and Industry Conditions
10
ADDENDUM:
3) Proposed Offering: Overview Description of Product or Service Offering
and Customer Needs to be met and Benefit(s) Delivered
4) Comparison of Offering to Alternatives: Brief Description of Main
Competitors and what about the proposed product or service will give it
distinct Competitive Advantages over the Competition and Alternatives
5) Economics: Description of offering’s Revenue Mechanism and Estimated
Profitability Potential
6) Resources: Brief Description of Key Resources, Abilities and Management
Skills / Knowledge Required for Venture Success and Who on Entrepreneurial
Team Has or Will Bring Such.
7) Main Challenges: Brief Description of any Material Issues or Challenges
the proposed venture will face and how they will be addressed (want to
confirm there will be no fatal flaws in concept or how it is to be executed)
8) Conclusion / Summary / Recommendation
3 > Attachments: supporting images, information, articles or data if any.
Provide maximum of 4 attachments, if necessary, to understand the idea
o Task Relevant Instructional Support Information:
Grading Key for New Venture Business Case >available on course website
Business Model Map Workbook developed by T. Johnston available fromhttp://www.compassnorthinc.com/BusinessModelMapWorkbookv6-Dec2014.pdf
and Business Model Design Workbook Guide published by MaRS Discovery
District (a member of the Ontario Network of Excellence) available fromhttp://www.marsdd.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Business-Model-Design-
WorkbookGuide.pdf
Business Model Map Planning Sheet / Image: use either of the following to
insert your desired text ‘sticky note’ entries in 9 pt. font overtop so that you can
print out a 8.5 by 11 in. copy on completion (your end result should look
something sort of like this :
1.http://www.compassnorthinc.com/BusinessModelMapV6-
PlanningSheet%5Badd-text-by-inserting-9pt-font-textbox%5D.ppt >
download file to edit slide’s image using Microsoft’s PowerPoint or
Apple’s AppleWorks or their KeyNote or Google Drive: Presentation
2.http://www.compassnorthinc.com/images/BusinessModelMapV6-
PlanningSheet%5Badd-text-by-inserting-9pt-font-textbox%5D.jpg >
download image or copy or save file for use in a slide preparation
program like Google Drive: Presentation or Prezi or an image processing
program such as Google.com’s Google Drive: Drawing.
11
Crafting Your Value Proposition Workbook published by MaRS Discovery
District (a member of the Ontario Network of Excellence) available from
ADDENDUM:http://www.marsdd.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Crafting-Your-Value-
Proposition-WorkbookGuide.pdf
? Grade Weighting: represents 5% of total grade based on mark given by Prof
2. (Strategic) Business Plan >document submission
(i) Due on or before midnight Mar 20 by email ONLY:
a) Rough Draft of Business Plan allows Prof to note what progress each
Group has achieved and ensure everyone in group is doing their fair share
of work (no review or feedback comments will be provided on submitted
rough drafts), and
b) Group Membership Report to be submitted using form available on
course website; purpose of document is to:
(a) provide final confirmation of their group member list, and
(b) position groups to be able to request the Prof assess a Group Project
Work Penalty Mark of up to 5 marks against any group member judged
by a majority of the group’s members to have not met their group work
commitments in a reasonable and/or timely manner such request
(requires provision of supporting documentation covering the situation
and what previously was done to set work assignments and resolve any
production and delivery disagreements/disputes). Such requests, if
accepted by the Prof, will result in the ‘disciplined’ group member
receiving a zero (0%) on their peer evaluation and being liable for a 0 to
5% penalty being added into their overall course mark, where such
penalty decision will be made by the Prof in his sole discretion.
The purpose for this Group Membership Report is to provide groups with
‘meaningful material consequences option’ they can use as a last resort
against those who do not make material contributions to the group
projects or who do not make a sincere effort to fulfill their group project
work commitments in a timely, agreed-upon manner.
(ii) Due as a hand-in in class on Mar 27:
Finalized Business Plan in hard-copy document format. NOTE: only
the Finalized Document will be reviewed, marked, and commented on,
and no submissions beyond the specified due date will be accepted
o Your Business Plan group project assignment submission must be typed, 1.5x to
2x spacing with one-inch margins on 8.5" X 11" paper and be a maximum of 25
pages in length plus cover and appendices. Student groups will lose marks if their
submission appears unprofessional, disorganization, sloppy or has significant
12
ADDENDUM:
defects in spelling, grammar, punctuation or basic written expression. Prose used
should be made up of well-formed, logical sentences in essay-quality paragraphs
with bulleted lists if such desired and appropriate.
o Important Note re Business Plan: each venture group will be required to select
and clearly identify one of the following as the goal, objective or task their
formalized, detailed business plan and its presentation is intended to serve:
1. raise capital (i.e. angel equity, venture capital or debt from a lender)
2. attract key recruit (i.e. important director, experienced / rain-maker CEO or
key employee)
3. attract key third-party business support (i.e. strategic partner, key supplier
or major customer)
4. obtain government support (i.e. get grant or win regulatory approval)
5. other (as appropriate to circumstance – groups selecting this option will be
required to get Prof’s approval on or before Feb 28)
? Task Relevant Instructional-Support Information:
Grading Key for Strategic Business Plan >available on course website
Longenecker, J .G, Donlevy; L.B, Champion, T., Petty, J .W., Palich, L.E., Moore,
C.W., Small Business Management: Launching and Growing New Ventures.
Fifth Canadian Edition. (©2013/2010) Thompson-Nelson. >pages 116 to 139
Business Plan Preparation Templates. Business Development Bank of Canada
(Word document template for preparing and presenting text and Excel workbook
template for preparing and presenting financials) with examples of a completed
plan (Doors to the World) in PDF format >available for free download online viahttp://www.bdc.ca/en/advice_centre/tools/business_plan/Pages/default.aspx
Kawasaki, Guy, The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide
For Anyone Starting Anything, Penguin Group (2004) >pages 66 to 75
Entrepreneurship 101 - Comprehensive guidance for emerging entrepreneurs
MaRS Discovery District (A member of the Ontario Network of Excellence) >
available for free download or accessing online viahttp://www.marsdd.com/entrepreneurs-toolkit/entrepreneurship101
J ohnston, T., How to Prepare a Company to Successfully Raise Equity Capital
[White Paper]. Compass North Inc. (2011) >free download available viahttp://www.compassnorthinc.com/CNi White Paper How to Prepare a Company
to Successfully Raise Equity Capital_20111207.pdf
13
ADDENDUM:
? Grade Weighting: represents 20% of total grade based on mark given by Prof
3. Group Business Pitch Presentation > in-class group activity
? To be given as scheduled during one of the last three sessions in late March
and early April: Note: Presentations should be 20-minutes or less covering 10 to
12 slides followed by a 10 minute Q&A; all group members will be required at
least to introduce themselves at beginning and on conclusion, each group is
required to provide digital copy of their presentation to the Prof via emailing to
[email protected] a Prezi share invitation or a copy of the PowerPoint slides in
ppt or pdf form.
? Task Relevant Instructional-Support Information:
Grading Key for Business Pitch Presentation >available on course website
Kawasaki, Guy, The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide
For Anyone Starting Anything, Penguin Group (2004) > pages 44 to 65
(attachment to grading key)
Entrepreneurship 101 - The Pitch: overview of the essentials of building and
delivering an effective pitch to help you find financing for your entrepreneurial
venture. Published by MaRS Discovery District (a member of the Ontario
Network of Excellence) >available for free download or accessing online viahttp://www.marsdd.com/entrepreneurs-toolkit/sessions/the-pitch
? Grade Weighting: represents 15% of total grade (grade composition
approximately weighted 2/3 by Prof and 1/3 by student graders)
4. Peer Evaluation: >in-class document submission
? Peer evaluations of group members are due to be handed in to the Prof in
class on same day your group business pitch presentation is given. No late
submissions will be accepted.
14
? To avoid having free-riders in your group, everyone will have an opportunity to
evaluate your other group members in terms of their contribution to your Group’s
project work. Please be fair and reasonable in your assessments of your fellow
group members and remember, when it comes to being rewarded for your efforts,
it pays to be a positive contributing group member because ‘what goes around
comes around’! Form to be used will be supplied by the Prof at the time of your
group presentation. What you are to submit is a sheet of paper with the names of
all group members and a score from 1 to 5 next to each name (not including
yourself!), indicating how much each person contributed to the group’s
assignments (i.e. from a low of 0 or 1 =‘very little’ to a high of 5 =‘full’).
YOUR personal peer evaluation score will be calculated as an average of the
ADDENDUM:
scores YOU receive from your group’s other members. For example, if YOU
receive 4, 5, 3, 4, then YOUR score will be 4 out of 5.
? Grade Weighting: represents 5% of total grade, based on average mark given by
your student group peers with possible additional 0 to 5% penalty mark
assessment at discretion of Prof based on the Prof’s assessment of what
contributions were made or not and what group member recommendations were
received (refer comments below).
? Warnings Regarding Peer Evaluations:
i) Anyonewithout a valid reason acceptable to the Prof who does not submit
in person their peer evaluation scoring report in class on the day their
group gives their business pitch presentation will be given a 0% peer
evaluation score (i.e., you will get 0 out of 5).
ii) All students are expected to maintain consistently good relations with the
other members of their group, as well as make regular contributions to their
group projects and do their fair share of the work on time. Meeting these
standards of conduct will help students ensure both (a) that their group
projects are successful and receive the best possible marks and (b) that
they have done everything reasonable to avoid being assessed a ‘Group
Project Work Penalty Mark’ as described on page 12 above which will also
result in their receiving a zero (0) Peer Evaluation mark..
15
doc_339573645.pdf
This paper in relation to new venture (creation) and small business management.
AP/ADMS 3920 3.00 M – Winter 2015
NEW VENTURE (CREATION) AND SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
COURSE SYLLABUS / OVERVIEW
Lecture Room Location: [ACE-009 - Accolade East Building]
Dated: December 22, 2014
COURSE DIRECTOR / INSTRUCTOR
Tony Johnston, MBA (Finance), BA (Econ), CPA, CGA, CMC Email: [email protected]
PROFILE: Tony Johnston is a broadly experienced senior executive, corporate / investment
banker and management consultant. For more than 20 years, he has held various CEO, CRO,
CFO, and other management, banking and advisory positions with a number of public and
private companies in technology, biotechnology, manufacturing, commercial and financial
services, and oil & gas and mining related investment banking. His successes include:
i) negotiating and closing major deals involving debt, equity, acquisition, divestiture and hedging
transactions worth more than $2.5 billion;
ii) increasing a public company's enterprise value by 300% or $66 million;
iii) Co-founding a biotech company and leading it as CEO for over 4 years, that produced a 3-times
investment gain for venture capital partners on completion of $30 million sale to a public company;
iv) leading 5 corporate turnarounds in manufacturing, biotechnology and financial services;
v) providing strategic, sales & marketing, operational, financing & financial consulting services to over
200 client companies, and
vi) launching 4 new businesses in Biotechnology, Securitized Mortgage Servicing, Market Research and
Management Consulting.
COURSE OVERVIEW
Number of in-class sessions: 11 (12 sessions over 13 weeks with 1 In-Class Midterm)
Length of in-class sessions: 3 hours on Fridays and one Monday from 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM
In-class session hours: 33 hours (11 sessions x 3 hours per session)
Textbook Pages to be Read: 418 pages in total to be read (minimum required)
Weekly Reading Workload: 46 pages-per-week on-average reading workload
Group Projects: 3 (2 written and 1 presentation that combined are worth 45% of
course mark; all related to start-up of a new business venture)
Exams: 2 (Midterm and Final multiple-choice and essay answer question
Exams, which combined are worth 55% of course mark)
Prof.’s Office Hours: Course Director will be available to meet with students during the
30 minutes before and after each weekly lecture in-class session in
room ACE-011 of the Accolade East Building or in the hallway
just outside (students requested to schedule meetings in advance).
COURSE OBJECTIVES & STRUCTURE
The goal of this course is to position students to become either successful entrepreneurs,
effective members of an entrepreneurial team, capable small business owner/operators or
knowledgeable small business/new venture service providers should a future circumstance
present such an opportunity or create such need. Through course readings, lectures, discussions
1
and practical group-work projects, students will be encouraged to: (A) explore the dimensions
and demands of new venture creation and small business management; (B) learn about the
various routes they can take and means and methods they can use to become successful
owner/operators of a business, (C) examine from both an academic and a practical perspective
what are the multiple complexities, challenges and rewards inherent in being an entrepreneur,
intrepreneur, franchise operator or family business participant and (D) learn how to (1) develop
prospective new business ideas, (2) then qualify those by conducting an initial screen for
viability and practicality, next (3) validate the qualified idea’s potential through the preparation
of a business case, and finally (3) develop and document both a clear and confirmed
understanding of the market and industry and an adequately detailed business plan covering the
estimated operational and financial needs of the resulting proposed new business.
In support of the above, the key functional areas operative in most businesses will be reviewed,
particularly in the context of how they relate specifically to the planning and launching of a new
venture and the ongoing management of operations in a typical goods or services oriented small
business. A distinguishing central feature of this course is the formation of entrepreneurial teams.
Accordingly, all enrolled students will be required to organize themselves into one of up to
twelve new-venture teams comprised of between four to eight people. In addition to learning
how to work as a collaborative, cohesive unit, each team will need to decide who on their team
will become responsible for such tasks as venture idea development, group leadership, strategy
formulation, sales and marketing (i.e. customer development), operations, finance / financing /
planning, human resources, product development, etc. This work will demand time and attention.
The group project related activities undertaken by these new venture teams will allow students to
experience first hand what it takes to organize and launch a new business. Examples of the tasks
they will undertake are (i) opportunity identification/recognition, (ii) evaluation of industry
attractiveness, (iii) assessment of market opportunity, (iv) evaluation of risks and rewards, (v)
recruitment of partners and key staff members, (vi) marketing and sales campaigns formulation,
(vii) organization of finances, (viii) raising capital and (ix) managing such other factors as
production, facilities, cost containment, administrative operations and results management and
reporting. After these teams have formulated and qualified their new business idea, they will be
required to document a business case that provides market and financial facts and rationales
demonstrating how potentially promising, viable and achievable the proposed new venture will
be. Later, they will be asked to prepare a 3 to 5 year strategic business plan addressing all aspects
of the firm’s operations and financial activities, and then prepare and present a business pitch
presentation crafted to achieve a predetermined resource acquisition related objective or goal.
In terms of the weekly required readings, students will be held responsible for doing their
readings in advance of each Friday session. The aim behind this approach is to increase student
learning and stimulate greater subject-matter interest and practical knowledge acquisition
through enabling the first 8 in-class sessions to be structured as follows:
1st Half: Instructor-led weekly-topic-related discussions and presentation of supporting material
2nd Half: Group Project related activities / meetings and quick review of week’s readings
On completing this course, students should have achieved the following educational objectives:
1) gained a solid understanding of the concept of entrepreneurship and become familiar with
the profiles of noteworthy Canadian entrepreneurs;
2) learned how to find, screen, and qualify entrepreneurial opportunities;
2
3) learned how to organize and execute the pursuit of an entrepreneurial opportunity,
including having learned about:
a) different legal structures for businesses,
b) different avenues of entry into business ownership,
c) how to analyze strategic problems and opportunities and develop practical solutions
to business operational issues, and
d) how to manage key functional areas such as marketing, sales, operations, human
resources management, finance, etc.;
4) gained an appreciation of the importance of business planning and the different types of
plans used in business risk-management and results-control, as well as learned how and
where best to source capital (i.e. money to operate) when and as needed;
5) become knowledgeable on how to monitor business results so as to determine
entrepreneurial success or failure and know how and when to take corrective action;
6) learned about the 5 stages of the business life-cycle and how and when best to transition
operational control and venture ownership to others as required or desired; and
7) gained practical knowledge and experience in working with others through participation
in a group project work focused on developing and presenting a new business venture
concept.
COURSE TIMETABLE
The lecture, readings and assignment due-date schedule is as follows:
Week Date Subject Matter Covered Readings Req’d Submissions
1 J an 9 Course Overview and Introduction to
Entrepreneurship
Ch. 1, 3
43 pages
None
2 J an 16 Practical, Legal and Regulatory Issues
Involved in Entrepreneurial Activities and
Opportunities in Franchising & Buy-outs
Ch. 10, 4
52 pages
None
3 J an 23 Business Planning and New Venture Concept
and Strategy Development
Ch. 5, 2
54 pages
None
4 J an 30 Sales & Marketing, Promotion and Distribution Ch. 6, 7
70 pages
Group Membership
Forms due via email
5 Feb 6 Global Marketing (Exports), and Human
Resources and the Role of Venture
Management
Course-to-date Recap and Discussion of
Structure and Course-Material Covered on
Midterm Exam
Ch. 8, 9
42 pages
None
6 Feb 13 In class* Midterm: on Chapters 1-7 & 10
*will be in alternate location due to seating
3
Week Date Subject Matter Covered Readings Req’d Submissions
7 Feb 20 Reading Week – no class
8 Feb 27 Operations (Premises and Production) Ch. 11, 12
54 pages
Group’s New Venture
Business Case with
Business Model Map
9 Mar 6 Finance, Financing and Accounting, and
Evaluating and Managing Performance
Ch. 13, 14
80 pages
Group Presentation
Scheduling Requests
10 Mar 13 Growth, Crisis, Turnaround and Exit Ch. 15 &
Supplemental.
Material
23 pages
None
11 Mar 20 5 Student Business Pitch Presentations* Draft Group Business
Plan and Group
Membership Report
Peer Evaluations >1
st
Presenting Groups
12 Mar 27 5 Student Business Pitch Presentations* Finalized Group
Business Plan
Peer Evaluations >2
nd
Presenting Groups
13 Monday
Apr 6*
5 Student Business Pitch Presentations*
Course Summary, Discussion of Final Exam
Structure and Course-Material Covered, and
Student Opinion Survey
Peer Evaluations >3
rd
Presenting Groups
14 to
17
Between
Apr 8 &
24
Final Exam: covers broad themes of course
and in detail Chapters 8, 9, 11-15 &
Supplemental Material >exact date, time and
location set by Registrar's Office
* Monday April 6
th
class is make up for missing class on Good Friday, Apr 3
rd
.
GRADE COMPONENTS
Item Description of Student Product Weight
1 Midterm 25%
2 New Venture Business Case* Document (NVBC will serve as basis for
developing your Group’s Business Plan and Business Pitch Presentation)
5%
†
3 Business Plan* (based on NVBC) 25%
†
4 New Business* Pitch Presentation (based on above) 10%
†
4
5 Group-Member Peer Evaluation
5%
‡
6 Final Exam 30%
Total 100%
†
Group Work: represents 45% of grade and marks will be assigned equally to all group members.
‡
Group-Member Peer Evaluations: these will be based on the average of marks given to the
student by the other members of their group and may be subject to a ‘Group Member Penalty’
as outlined in item 2 under Group Work Submission Details (refer attached document) should
the student be judged not to have made a material work contribution or not delivered on their
group-project work commitments in a reasonable, timely and expected manner.
Group Work Submission Requirements are detailed in Addendum (see page 9).
RESOURCES
1) Required Textbook
Longenecker, J .G, Donlevy; L.B, Champion, T., Petty, J .W., Palich, L.E., Moore, C.W.,
Small Business Management: Launching and Growing New Ventures. Fifth Canadian
Edition. (©2013/2010) Thompson-Nelson. [to purchase online an e-copy of textbook, click
>here< | textbook website: www.longenecker5e.nelson.com} > This textbook gives an
excellent overview of the four routes to entrepreneurship and the various aspects and
activities involved in managing a business as well as the steps involved in setting up for
success when launching a new venture. As the organization and material in the textbook has
changed in important ways from earlier editions, students are strongly recommended to use
only the 5
th
edition of this textbook during this semester.
2) Supplementary Resource Texts Available [Free Downloads]
Business Model Map Workbook developed by T. Johnston available fromhttp://www.compassnorthinc.com/BusinessModelMapWorkbookv6-Dec2014.pdf with BMM
template (refer link on page 11); for more coverage of this topic, refer to Business Model
Design Workbook Guide published by MaRS Discovery District (a member of the Ontario
Network of Excellence) available fromhttp://www.marsdd.com/wp-
content/uploads/2012/12/Business-Model-Design-WorkbookGuide.pdf
Value Proposition Designer Canvas Concept by Alexander Osterwalder available fromhttp://businessmodelalchemist.com/blog/2012/08/achieve-product-market-fit-with-our-
brand-new-value-proposition-designer.html; for more coverage on this topic, refer to
Crafting Your Value Proposition Workbook published by MaRS Discovery District
available fromhttp://www.marsdd.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Crafting-Your-Value-
Proposition-WorkbookGuide.pdf
BDC Business Plan Preparation Templates published by Business Development Bank of
Canada >contents include (i) template for preparing and presenting required text and (ii)
spreadsheet template for preparing and presenting financial statements) with an example in
5
PDF format of a completed plan (e.g. Doors to the World) > available for free download
online viahttp://www.bdc.ca/en/advice_centre/tools/business_plan/Pages/default.aspx
Entrepreneurship 101 – Comprehensive Modules (guides / videos) for emerging
entrepreneurs by MaRS Discovery District > available for free download or accessing
online viahttp://www.marsdd.com/entrepreneurs-toolkit/entrepreneurship101
3) Optional Resource Texts
Blank, Steve, The Startup Owner's Manual: The Step-By-Step Guide for Building a
Great Company, K & S Ranch; (March 1, 2012) > Written by the pioneer of the ‘Lean
Startup’ movement, this book is arguably the best ‘how to’ book written for entrepreneurs,
especially for those in the tech space, as it shares real-world insights and wisdom coming
out of California’s Silicon Valley on how best to get customers and grow companies;
available in hardback and e-book form from Amazon.ca viahttp://www.amazon.com/The-
Startup-Owners-Manual-Step-By-Step/dp/0984999302/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_z; also, you may
consider taking Steve Blank’s free on-line ’How to Build a Startup’ course available athttps://www.udacity.com/course/ep245
Osterwalder, Alexander (et al.), Business Model Generation: A Handbook for
Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers, Wiley; (J uly 13, 2010) > This book can
help entrepreneurs define and refine their new venture’s sales offerings and identify key
elements required for business success; available in hardback and e-book form from
Amazon.ca viahttp://www.amazon.com/Business-Model-Generation-Visionaries-
Challengers/dp/0470876417/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377274556&sr=1-
1&keywords=business+model+generation; also digital copies of Osterwalder’s Business
Model Canvas are available athttp://www.businessmodelgeneration.com/canvas [note: an
important subsidiary business model concept that is highly relevant to this topic of
developing better business models is covered by Osterwalder’s excellent blog article on how
to develop more successful product and service offerings through the use of market fit
analysis using his Value Proposition Designer Canvas concept; this blog article available athttp://businessmodelalchemist.com/2012/08/achieve-product-market-fit-with-our-brand-
new-value-proposition-designer.html
Wasserman, Noam, The Founder's Dilemmas: Anticipating and Avoiding the Pitfalls
That Can Sink a Startup, Princeton University Press (March 31, 2013) > This book can
help aspiring entrepreneurs identify and make key business decisions which they will face in
the course of establishing and growing their new venture; it is available in paperback and e-
book form from Amazon.ca viahttp://www.amazon.com/The-Founders-Dilemmas-
Anticipating-Entrepreneurship/dp/0691158304; also available are podcasts of
Wasserman’s presentation at Stanford University’s School of Business viahttp://ecorner.stanford.edu/authorMaterialInfo.html?mid=3024
Kawasaki, Guy, The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide For
Anyone Starting Anything. Penguin Group (2004) > This relatively recent ‘classic
business book’ offers savvy, practical advice to entrepreneurs; a free download PDF
containing the table of contents, index and Chapter 1: The Art of Starting (PDF: 295KB) is
available athttp://www.guykawasaki.com/the-art-of-the-start/artprop.pdf and for a
6
description of this book and testimonial recommendations referhttp://www.guykawasaki.com/the-art-of-the-start/ [Note: this book can be borrowed from
the Toronto Public Library in both hard back version (16 copies) as well as an internet
accessible, downloadable audio book version athttp://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?Entt=RDM121628&R=121628 ]
COURSE ADMINISTRATION POLICES
General: in addition to the specific polices set out below, ADMS 3920 will be administered in
accordance with the rules set by the Liberal Arts & Professional sciences Faculty; referhttp://calendars.registrar.yorku.ca/2013-2014/faculty_rules/AP/term_tests_exams.htm.
Missed Examinations: All students who miss a regularly scheduled exam in this course
automatically receive the ADMS 3920 Course Director’s approval to write a ADMS 3920 make-
up midterm exam or final exam if they so wish (a) provided that (a) such student makes a
deferred standing request to the LA&PS Faculty regarding the missed midterm exam or submits
the required deferred standing documentation to the University’s Registrar’s Office related to a
missed final exam and such are found acceptable, and (b) provided all the required
documentation submissions are completed within the required time period in accordance with
University policy and procedures. Note, all such students are required to contact the School of
Administrative Studies as soon as possible after the conclusion of the missed scheduled exam (in
almost all cases, no later than 7 days after) to commence the ‘request for deferred standing’
process regarding getting permission to write a make-up examination. For more information,
refer to the YorkU website section on Deferred Standing/Academic Petitions athttp://www.registrar.yorku.ca/exams/deferred/index.htm and the LA&PS Faculty’s Deferred
Standing, Academic Petitions and Appeals web page athttp://calendars.registrar.yorku.ca/2012-
2013/faculty_rules/AP/deferred_petitions.htm.
>> Note re Timing of Make-up / Deferred Exams:
a) The Make-up Midterm Exam will be held within the 2nd week following the regularly
scheduled MidTerm Exam.
b) Timing of Deferred Final Exams is set by the School of Administrative Studies and that
typically happens at the end of the first month of the next term, which means late J anuary for the
fall term and late May for the Winter Term.
Late / After-Deadline Enrolments: none will be allowed or approved.
Academic Standards, Curriculum and Pedagogy (ASCP): Information on York University’s
Senate-approved policies, procedures and regulations is available viahttp://www.yorku.ca/secretariat/policies/index-policies.html covering such student related topics
as:
• York's Academic Honesty Policy and Procedures / Academic Integrity Web site
• Access / Disability Accommodation Opportunities
7
• Religious Observance Accommodation
• Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities
Additional information:
• Alternate Exam and Test Scheduling for students requiring special
accommodation, click on link above.
• Grading Scheme and Feedback Policy > The Senate Grading Scheme and
Feedback Policy stipulates that (a) the grading scheme (i.e. kinds and weights of
assignments, essays, exams, etc.) must be announced and made available in
writing within the first two weeks of class, and that (b) under normal
circumstances, graded feedback worth at least 15% of the final grade for Fall,
Winter or Summer Term, and 30% for ‘full year’ courses offered in the
Fall/Winter Term be received by students in all courses prior to the final
withdrawal date from a course without receiving a grade.
• Important University Sessional Dates (information on class and exam start/end
dates, reading/co-curricular week, add/drop deadlines, holidays, University
closings and more; refer:http://www.registrar.yorku.ca/enrol/dates/index.htm
• "20% Rule" > York University requires that no examinations or tests
collectively worth more than 20% of the final grade in a course will be given
during the final 14 calendar days of classes in a term. The exceptions to the rule
are classes that regularly meet Friday evenings or on Saturday and/or Sunday at
any time, and courses offered in the compressed summer terms.
• Final Course Grades may be adjusted to conform to Program or Faculty
expected grade distribution profiles.
• Undergraduate Academic Petitions: Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional
Studies students wishing to submit a petition (i.e. a formal request for the waiver
of a Faculty's regulation or deadline) should follow the required procedures; refer:http://www.yorku.ca/laps/council/students/petitions.html
• Services for Mature and Part-time Students: The Atkinson Centre for Mature
and Part-time Students (ACMAPS) maintains and strengthens York University’s
ongoing commitment to welcome and to serve the needs of mature and part-time
students. For further information and assistance visit:http://www.yorku.ca/acmaps
8
ADDENDUM:
GROUP PROJECT WORK REQUIREMENTS
By the end of the 4
th
lecture session, students in this course will be required to organize
themselves and join one of a maximum of twelve groups made up of 4 to 8 people in order to:
1) develop and submit a New Venture Business Case that briefly describes and provides the
supporting startup rationale for a new venture concept of their group’s choosing,
2) develop and submit a Strategic Business Plan for their new venture that has been prepared
to win mission-critical support from a third-party (i.e. funds, government approval, etc), and
3) prepare and present a supporting Business Pitch Presentation for the proposed new venture
that is aimed at winning the mission-critical third-party support already identified.
Your group’s proposed new venture can be a product-based or a service-based business that is
either a bricks-and-mortar or an online enterprise. However, your idea must be (i) original in
some meaningful way or ways, (ii) developed by your group, and (iii) not a mindless copy from
any source or existing precedence. That means opening up a franchise, taking over a family
business, acquiring an existing company or proposing a straight copy of an existing business all
are not suitable new venture business concepts for use in this course. By definition for this
course, a new venture is a business that has no operations yet or has been in operations for less
than one year.
Examples of new venture ideas are:
- Pizza Restaurant / Delivery Business
- Technology Company
- J anitorial Service Company
- Online Art Poster Business
- Toner Cartridge Replacement Business
- Home Renovation / Construction Company
- Market Research Company
- Gourmet Food Store / Bakery
- Grill, Pub, Tavern or Bar
- Etc.
For inspiration on coming up with a new venture idea, students are invited to check out these
Profit Magazine articles, Business Trends and Opportunities: Seven Big Ideas for 2012, 5 Tech
Trends to Cash in on in 2013 and Manufacturing: Best Bets for 2014. The better bet is to mine
for opportunities in your own experiences or interests and/or ask your friends and relatives for
their suggestions. Should students have trouble or be uncertain about matters related to their
group’s business plan project, you are invited, but are not required, to brainstorm ideas and / or
discuss various new business concepts with the Prof as well as seek the Prof’s feedback on your
proposed new venture business case before the document’s required submission date of Oct 24
th
.
Please note that when undertaking this work, groups need to be aware that while they will be
required to make estimations, formulate plans and prepare projections of anticipated results, they
are expected to never ‘invent’ any venture-supporting facts or fictional business situations. This
is because, in the ‘real business world’, creating a fictitious ‘good story line’ that is based on
falsehoods just to achieve a self-serving objective is dishonest and a gross misrepresentation as
well as potentially criminally fraudulent.
9
ADDENDUM:
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENT DETAILS:
1. New Venture Business Case* > document submission (* a business case is a
documented thesis or argument that presents the business justification(s) why or why not
the organization in question should undertake an action, task, project or venture.)
(i) Due in class Feb 27. No late submissions will be accepted.
? Document’s objective is to present the Group’s ‘business case’ for your new
business concept using early descriptions, estimates and analysis to describe and
reasonably substantiate that you have identified a promising, satisfactorily-sizable
and prospectively-profitable new business opportunity.
? Your New Venture Business Case assignment must be typed, 1.5x to 2x spacing
with one-inch margins on 8.5" X 11" paper and be informative but brief (2 to
maximum 6 written pages in length), not including cover, business model map
plus up to 4 illustrations and / or charts. Student groups will lose marks if their
papers appear unprofessional, displaying disorganization, sloppiness or have
significant defects in spelling, grammar, punctuation or basic written expression.
New Venture Business Case submissions are expected to have prose made up of
well-formed, logical sentences in essay-quality paragraphs with bulleted lists if
such desired and appropriate.
? Preparation Tip: make sure initial focus is first on identifying a real current or
developing market need that is unserved or underserved before second beginning
to craft value proposition.
? New Venture Business Case submission recommended format is:
1 > Title Page
- Name/Description of the product or service offering
- Name of initiator/entrepreneur/legal entity
- Notice of Confidentiality
- Illustration or logo, if appropriate.
2 > Body: made up of a Business Model Map on 1 page and up to 6 pages of
text as per following description:
1) Business Model Map: Diagram using the Business Model Map planning
sheet / image as per template on page 5 of Workbook identifying in simple,
brief wording the value the organization seeks to provides, who are the
expected customers, and the capabilities and resources required to create,
market and deliver this value, as well as what types of profitable, sustainable
revenue streams that should result.
2) Market Opportunity: Brief Description of Customers Types/Segments
Targeted and what their Purchase Motivations are (i.e. what drives their need
for offering) as well as Estimation of Market Size in Units and Dollars and
Description of the Current and Projected Market and Industry Conditions
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ADDENDUM:
3) Proposed Offering: Overview Description of Product or Service Offering
and Customer Needs to be met and Benefit(s) Delivered
4) Comparison of Offering to Alternatives: Brief Description of Main
Competitors and what about the proposed product or service will give it
distinct Competitive Advantages over the Competition and Alternatives
5) Economics: Description of offering’s Revenue Mechanism and Estimated
Profitability Potential
6) Resources: Brief Description of Key Resources, Abilities and Management
Skills / Knowledge Required for Venture Success and Who on Entrepreneurial
Team Has or Will Bring Such.
7) Main Challenges: Brief Description of any Material Issues or Challenges
the proposed venture will face and how they will be addressed (want to
confirm there will be no fatal flaws in concept or how it is to be executed)
8) Conclusion / Summary / Recommendation
3 > Attachments: supporting images, information, articles or data if any.
Provide maximum of 4 attachments, if necessary, to understand the idea
o Task Relevant Instructional Support Information:
Grading Key for New Venture Business Case >available on course website
Business Model Map Workbook developed by T. Johnston available fromhttp://www.compassnorthinc.com/BusinessModelMapWorkbookv6-Dec2014.pdf
and Business Model Design Workbook Guide published by MaRS Discovery
District (a member of the Ontario Network of Excellence) available fromhttp://www.marsdd.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Business-Model-Design-
WorkbookGuide.pdf
Business Model Map Planning Sheet / Image: use either of the following to
insert your desired text ‘sticky note’ entries in 9 pt. font overtop so that you can
print out a 8.5 by 11 in. copy on completion (your end result should look
something sort of like this :
1.http://www.compassnorthinc.com/BusinessModelMapV6-
PlanningSheet%5Badd-text-by-inserting-9pt-font-textbox%5D.ppt >
download file to edit slide’s image using Microsoft’s PowerPoint or
Apple’s AppleWorks or their KeyNote or Google Drive: Presentation
2.http://www.compassnorthinc.com/images/BusinessModelMapV6-
PlanningSheet%5Badd-text-by-inserting-9pt-font-textbox%5D.jpg >
download image or copy or save file for use in a slide preparation
program like Google Drive: Presentation or Prezi or an image processing
program such as Google.com’s Google Drive: Drawing.
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Crafting Your Value Proposition Workbook published by MaRS Discovery
District (a member of the Ontario Network of Excellence) available from
ADDENDUM:http://www.marsdd.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Crafting-Your-Value-
Proposition-WorkbookGuide.pdf
? Grade Weighting: represents 5% of total grade based on mark given by Prof
2. (Strategic) Business Plan >document submission
(i) Due on or before midnight Mar 20 by email ONLY:
a) Rough Draft of Business Plan allows Prof to note what progress each
Group has achieved and ensure everyone in group is doing their fair share
of work (no review or feedback comments will be provided on submitted
rough drafts), and
b) Group Membership Report to be submitted using form available on
course website; purpose of document is to:
(a) provide final confirmation of their group member list, and
(b) position groups to be able to request the Prof assess a Group Project
Work Penalty Mark of up to 5 marks against any group member judged
by a majority of the group’s members to have not met their group work
commitments in a reasonable and/or timely manner such request
(requires provision of supporting documentation covering the situation
and what previously was done to set work assignments and resolve any
production and delivery disagreements/disputes). Such requests, if
accepted by the Prof, will result in the ‘disciplined’ group member
receiving a zero (0%) on their peer evaluation and being liable for a 0 to
5% penalty being added into their overall course mark, where such
penalty decision will be made by the Prof in his sole discretion.
The purpose for this Group Membership Report is to provide groups with
‘meaningful material consequences option’ they can use as a last resort
against those who do not make material contributions to the group
projects or who do not make a sincere effort to fulfill their group project
work commitments in a timely, agreed-upon manner.
(ii) Due as a hand-in in class on Mar 27:
Finalized Business Plan in hard-copy document format. NOTE: only
the Finalized Document will be reviewed, marked, and commented on,
and no submissions beyond the specified due date will be accepted
o Your Business Plan group project assignment submission must be typed, 1.5x to
2x spacing with one-inch margins on 8.5" X 11" paper and be a maximum of 25
pages in length plus cover and appendices. Student groups will lose marks if their
submission appears unprofessional, disorganization, sloppy or has significant
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ADDENDUM:
defects in spelling, grammar, punctuation or basic written expression. Prose used
should be made up of well-formed, logical sentences in essay-quality paragraphs
with bulleted lists if such desired and appropriate.
o Important Note re Business Plan: each venture group will be required to select
and clearly identify one of the following as the goal, objective or task their
formalized, detailed business plan and its presentation is intended to serve:
1. raise capital (i.e. angel equity, venture capital or debt from a lender)
2. attract key recruit (i.e. important director, experienced / rain-maker CEO or
key employee)
3. attract key third-party business support (i.e. strategic partner, key supplier
or major customer)
4. obtain government support (i.e. get grant or win regulatory approval)
5. other (as appropriate to circumstance – groups selecting this option will be
required to get Prof’s approval on or before Feb 28)
? Task Relevant Instructional-Support Information:
Grading Key for Strategic Business Plan >available on course website
Longenecker, J .G, Donlevy; L.B, Champion, T., Petty, J .W., Palich, L.E., Moore,
C.W., Small Business Management: Launching and Growing New Ventures.
Fifth Canadian Edition. (©2013/2010) Thompson-Nelson. >pages 116 to 139
Business Plan Preparation Templates. Business Development Bank of Canada
(Word document template for preparing and presenting text and Excel workbook
template for preparing and presenting financials) with examples of a completed
plan (Doors to the World) in PDF format >available for free download online viahttp://www.bdc.ca/en/advice_centre/tools/business_plan/Pages/default.aspx
Kawasaki, Guy, The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide
For Anyone Starting Anything, Penguin Group (2004) >pages 66 to 75
Entrepreneurship 101 - Comprehensive guidance for emerging entrepreneurs
MaRS Discovery District (A member of the Ontario Network of Excellence) >
available for free download or accessing online viahttp://www.marsdd.com/entrepreneurs-toolkit/entrepreneurship101
J ohnston, T., How to Prepare a Company to Successfully Raise Equity Capital
[White Paper]. Compass North Inc. (2011) >free download available viahttp://www.compassnorthinc.com/CNi White Paper How to Prepare a Company
to Successfully Raise Equity Capital_20111207.pdf
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ADDENDUM:
? Grade Weighting: represents 20% of total grade based on mark given by Prof
3. Group Business Pitch Presentation > in-class group activity
? To be given as scheduled during one of the last three sessions in late March
and early April: Note: Presentations should be 20-minutes or less covering 10 to
12 slides followed by a 10 minute Q&A; all group members will be required at
least to introduce themselves at beginning and on conclusion, each group is
required to provide digital copy of their presentation to the Prof via emailing to
[email protected] a Prezi share invitation or a copy of the PowerPoint slides in
ppt or pdf form.
? Task Relevant Instructional-Support Information:
Grading Key for Business Pitch Presentation >available on course website
Kawasaki, Guy, The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide
For Anyone Starting Anything, Penguin Group (2004) > pages 44 to 65
(attachment to grading key)
Entrepreneurship 101 - The Pitch: overview of the essentials of building and
delivering an effective pitch to help you find financing for your entrepreneurial
venture. Published by MaRS Discovery District (a member of the Ontario
Network of Excellence) >available for free download or accessing online viahttp://www.marsdd.com/entrepreneurs-toolkit/sessions/the-pitch
? Grade Weighting: represents 15% of total grade (grade composition
approximately weighted 2/3 by Prof and 1/3 by student graders)
4. Peer Evaluation: >in-class document submission
? Peer evaluations of group members are due to be handed in to the Prof in
class on same day your group business pitch presentation is given. No late
submissions will be accepted.
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? To avoid having free-riders in your group, everyone will have an opportunity to
evaluate your other group members in terms of their contribution to your Group’s
project work. Please be fair and reasonable in your assessments of your fellow
group members and remember, when it comes to being rewarded for your efforts,
it pays to be a positive contributing group member because ‘what goes around
comes around’! Form to be used will be supplied by the Prof at the time of your
group presentation. What you are to submit is a sheet of paper with the names of
all group members and a score from 1 to 5 next to each name (not including
yourself!), indicating how much each person contributed to the group’s
assignments (i.e. from a low of 0 or 1 =‘very little’ to a high of 5 =‘full’).
YOUR personal peer evaluation score will be calculated as an average of the
ADDENDUM:
scores YOU receive from your group’s other members. For example, if YOU
receive 4, 5, 3, 4, then YOUR score will be 4 out of 5.
? Grade Weighting: represents 5% of total grade, based on average mark given by
your student group peers with possible additional 0 to 5% penalty mark
assessment at discretion of Prof based on the Prof’s assessment of what
contributions were made or not and what group member recommendations were
received (refer comments below).
? Warnings Regarding Peer Evaluations:
i) Anyonewithout a valid reason acceptable to the Prof who does not submit
in person their peer evaluation scoring report in class on the day their
group gives their business pitch presentation will be given a 0% peer
evaluation score (i.e., you will get 0 out of 5).
ii) All students are expected to maintain consistently good relations with the
other members of their group, as well as make regular contributions to their
group projects and do their fair share of the work on time. Meeting these
standards of conduct will help students ensure both (a) that their group
projects are successful and receive the best possible marks and (b) that
they have done everything reasonable to avoid being assessed a ‘Group
Project Work Penalty Mark’ as described on page 12 above which will also
result in their receiving a zero (0) Peer Evaluation mark..
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doc_339573645.pdf