The MBA Concentration in Entrepreneurship and Innovation

This MBA concentration is offered through the cooperation of the Michael J. Falcone Center for Entrepreneurship and the Earl V. Snyder Innovation Management Center.

Program Concentration

The program has three key components: the core required course, 2-3 electives in entrepreneurship, and the global entrepreneurship practicum or capstone experience. Below are brief descriptions of the courses in the Entrepreneurship Concentration.

Requirements:

The following course is required:

EEE 620 Entrepreneurship and Corporate Venturing
The core course in the program. Examines the nature of entrepreneurship and the entrepreneurial process first in a start-up context and then in a corporate context. In a start-up context, the course explores a variety of issues surrounding new venture creation, including the business plan, the economics of the business, determining resource needs and acquiring resources, marketing requirements, deal structure, technology issues, harvesting issues, and ethical issues, among others. In a corporate context, the course explores ways to facilitate and sustain entrepreneurship in larger, established organizations.


In addition, choose at least two courses (six credit hours) from the following:

EEE 625 Venture Capital
Focuses on the financial issues and needs confronting start-up entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs attempting to grow their small businesses. The course has three major areas of focus: a) understanding the internal financial operations of a venture, such as the cost structure, contribution analysis, construction of financial statements, and the determination of the value of a venture; b) venture financing, including determination of how much money is needed, when to go to which source of financing, and new developments in entrepreneurial finance; c) making deals and buying into businesses. Sample issues here include deal structure, negotiation, resource leveraging, purchasing a business and franchising.

EEE 630 Entrepreneurship in Engineering and Science
Today’s global economy has two primary drivers: technological innovation and entrepreneurship. On the one hand, multinational competition in all industries has increased the demand for engineers and scientists who have the entrepreneurial spirit and who can lead companies to success in the new millennium. On the other hand, a considerable number of engineers and people with technical backgrounds are opting to start their own businesses, opting to “do their own thing” instead of working for someone else. In the process they are both reinventing existing industries and/or markets and creating new entirely new industries and/or markets. The entrepreneur transfers technology, identifies opportunities, creates jobs and is a major force in improving the economy and our lives. To meet the challenges of the global business environment in the 21st century, the engineer/scientist requires not only a high degree of professional competence in technical aspects but also a fundamental grasp of the entrepreneurial process.

EEE 644 Dilemmas and Debates in Entrepreneurship
This is a topical course taught exclusively by entrepreneurs. The course is coordinated by an Entrepreneur-in-Residence. Each week, one or more entrepreneurs are invited in to discuss the great controversies and debates that impact upon the practicing entrepreneur and on the field of entrepreneurship in general. Sample issues include the role of individuals versus teams in entrepreneurial efforts, how to deal with partners, managers versus entrepreneurs, dealing with failure, building and using networks, harvesting strategies, how much growth is enough (and ceilings one hits along the way), ethical challenges in entrepreneurship,and being an entrepreneur and having a personal life.

EEE 682 Entrepreneurial Marketing
Examines the role of marketing in start-up ventures and the role of entrepreneurial thinking in marketing efforts. Customer needs as the driving force in entrepreneurship is the theme of this course. The course explores novel approaches to defining markets and market segments, examines inexpensive ways to conduct relevant market research, and identifies ways to leverage marketing resources and rely on networks to accomplish marketing tasks. Students are encouraged to focus on identifying unique approaches to creating value through each of the elements of the marketing mix.

EEE 690 D'Aniello Entrepreneurial Internship
There are four key role players in your D’Aniello Entrepreneurial Internship. The first and most important role player is you, the student. You will be representing Syracuse University and are expected to make a difference in the company to which you are assigned. The second role player is the company, and most importantly, your professional sponsor/supervisor on the job. The third role player is your faculty sponsor/instructor for the course. You will be expected to interact with the faculty sponsor on a weekly basis. The fourth and final role is played by your fellow students. As you will see, an invaluable component of the internship will involve the ways in which you interact with and help each of the other D’Aniello Interns.

EEE 600 Minority and Women’s Entrepreneurship
Minorities and women are starting businesses at a faster rate than anyone else. So, how are we to understand race, gender, or ethnicity in this fact, especially when these same characteristics are identified as barriers to business success? This course will look at these factors and their influences and impacts on the entrepreneurial revolution, here in the US and around the world. We will look at: The status of minority and women’s entrepreneurship, Societal conditions that support or block minority or women entrepreneurs, Challenges to their entrepreneurial success, Entrepreneurial strategies used, Unique opportunities and resources, including the need for specialized communities, funding, government policies and regulations, and Empowerment.

EEE 600 Emerging Enterprise Consulting
This course will give you an inside look at the consulting industry; the techniques and methods used to consult; and most importantly give you an opportunity to learn and practice consulting skills and business knowledge by offering you a full semester consulting engagement with a client company that has been accepted into Syracuse University’s Consulting to Emerging Enterprise Program.

MAR 752 Introduction to Innovation Management
An examination of the role of innovation in sustainable marketplace advantage. Investigation of the process of converting ideas, technologies, and customer needs into new products, services and processes. Explores disruptive and sustaining technologies, assessing technology frontiers and platforms, and planning for technology ceilings. Attention is devoted to the nature of innovation, types of innovation, and the implications of different innovation types for new product/service development processes.

MAR 757 Managing Product Development
A course that explores problems in developing new products and new corporate ventures. Attention is devoted to designing innovation strategies, risk taking, technology planning, evaluation of new product proposals. Detailed attention is given to approaches for organizing the new product development process, and for structuring and managing the innovation team.

MAR 761 Marketing Strategies for Innovations
Focuses on commercializing new products, services and technologies. Examines the introduction and diffusion of innovations. Attention is devoted to market planning, strategies for creating and penetrating new markets, product strategy design, and marketing decision making for innovations.

(Students can count a D'Aniello Entrepreneurial Internship (EEE 690) for one of these electives.)

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Also related to entrepreneurship, all MBA students must complete the following foundation course (first year) and captone courses (second year):

MBC 610 Opportunity Recognition and Ideation
This is a course that focuses on four critical skill areas for MBA students. These are skills that are vital for managing in 21st century organizations---organizations that confront highly turbulent and often threatening external environments. Such environments place a primacy on adaptation and change, innovation, and the ability to think and act with speed. Accordingly, the first of these skills concerns opportunity recognition, or the ability of managers to perceive the many opportunities that surround them. The second skill area involves the manner in which one assesses opportunities and determines which to pursue. A third skill area involves the mastery of one’s own creative potential. Here, the focus is on the creative process and how managers can enhance their own abilities at creative problem-solving. Finally, we will examine the translation of opportunity and creative thinking into viable business ideas. Our interest will be on exploring the creation of bold, breakthrough concepts for new ventures.

MBC 647 Project in Global Entrepreneurial Management (GEM)
This capstone field experience will find students actually conceptualizing and implementing entrepreneurial concepts in start-up emerging small business, corporate and non-profit concepts. Structured class meetings will be held to assist students with the challenges of concept implementation. Specific criteria for implementation of original ideas must be met. The student’s venture or project must reflect entrepreneurship, innovation and global themes. As the acronym implies, it will be the gem within the program.

A Total Entrepreneurial Experience

We believe that students should be immersed in different facets of entrepreneurship throughout their educational experience at Syracuse. Toward this end, students are encouraged to get involved with The Entrepreneurship Club, enter a business plan in the Syracuse University Business Plan Competition, pursue an internship related to entrepreneurship, consult to a small business as part of an Emerging Enterprise Consulting team, work with inner city entrepreneurs through our South Side Entrepreneurial Connect Project, start a venture within our soon-to-be-launched Student Entrepreneurship Incubator, participate in our Entrepreneurial Mentors Program, and help out with the many entrepreneurial outreach programs that we sponsor, such as Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship (WISE), and The Syracuse Entrepreneur's Bootcamp.