1. Entrepreneurship
Course Co-Learner
Dr.K.Prabhakar
Professor, School of Management

2. Course Focus
• The course is divided into three segments albeit
interconnected. The first segment addresses the need
for innovation, creativity and introduces design thinking
as a tool to create value.
• The second segment endeavours to introduce business
canvas consisting of nine interconnected key elements
for creating business models.
• The final unit consists of actualization of innovation,
design thinking and business models in the form of
entrepreneurship. This course provides students a new
set of tools for experience in finding and developing
innovative alternatives to address value creation either
for profit or for non profit or social enterprise.
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3. Outcomes Expected…
1. Develop a broad range of high-value
alternatives
2. Identify and work through conceptual blocks in
idea generation
3. Utilize both top-down and bottom-up tools to
frame business problems
4. Use customer experience as a driver of
insightful alternative generation
5. Cycle between qualitative iteration and
evaluation to improve strategic options
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4. Outcomes Expected
6. Explore and communicate ideas with a broad set of tools
7. Review different creativity methodologies and models
8. Creation of business canvas with focus on nice key
elements of business model creation.
9. Understand entrepreneurial process by way of studying
different case studies and find exceptions to the process
model of entrepreneurship.
10. Design business plans that are suitable for funding.
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5. Evaluation
• The requirement for the course will be the development of a
business plan on a venture either for profit or not for profit or social
enterprise. Students will work in teams, ideally in four to develop an
idea for a new venture, research its potential, perform analysis
to identify resources needed and write a business plan and
submit for evaluation.
• This work serves as the basis for two substantial efforts: first,
development of a written business plan with marketing
objectives, position statement and financial projections using
spreadsheet analysis.
• The teams have to make an oral presentation of that plan to a
panel of managers and venture capitalists (10%). Working for a
self help group or for a social enterprise and presenting an
experience sharing report (10%). Attendance (5%). Cycle Test 1
(10%); Model Test (15%); Final Test (50%).
• Best business plan will carry a prize of 1000/- sponsored by
instructor.
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6. Mentors
Six experienced entrepreneurs will serve as
mentors to the business plan groups. The
mentors will be identified and assigned to
students before starting of the class. Confirmed
mentors: (Aravind Thyagarajan (F2F),Dhruv
Lakra( online and Skype) ,Suhas Gopinath
(online and Skype)
In addition 1million/1million roundtables
exclusively for students will be conducted with
Sramana Mitra. (http://1m1m.sramanamitra.com/
)
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7. Unit 1
• Innovation and Design Thinking (15
lecture sessions with 6 practice sessions)
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8. Alternative Generation and
Refinement
Interspersed among the lectures there will be an
exercise in idea creation and alternative
generation and fine tuning. The case of Equitas
will allow immediate practice in the tools and
techniques covered in class.
Participants will work together in small teams to
frame an unstructured issue, challenge
constraints given customer needs, and refine
and present an innovative approach to a
challenging strategic opportunity.
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9. Innovation and Business Strategy
The value of more and better alternatives in
decision analysis and the role of innovation in
development and execution of business
strategy are emphasized. Why innovation is
most important and introduces a new model that
recognizes and depends on the strengths of
both innovators and implementers and cycles
among them for refinement of the most valuable
ideas. The stress of this unit will be on
execution of the idea.
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10. Unit 2
• Individual Creativity
Theory and practice of identifying hurdles to individual creativity and
looking at problems in new ways will be the focus. Exercises and
games are given with interactive session to stimulate imagination
and practice new ways of thinking.
• Defining and Framing Problems
Understanding of scope is critical in defining specific issues to be
addressed in problem solving exercise. Methodology will be
provided on how to define specific issues such as musee and
exercises will be given.
• Individual Creativity and Organizational Creativity
Social conventions, habits, and group dynamics are likely to prevent
individuals’ creativity in teams and in the business context.
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11. Unit 3
• Design Thinking: Framing Problems from a
Customer's Point of View
• Using methodology specially designed for
students of SRM University on design thinking,
students are encouraged to frame problems
from customer point of view. Examples will be
from extractive sector, innovation sector
infrastructure sector and social sector.
• Customer Understanding and Customer needs
as source of ideas
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12. Unit 3
• Successful product and service innovations are the result of a
customer-centric perspective and process. IDEO Product
Development will be studied with help of case studies.
• Models and Prototypes
• Refinement and iteration of alternatives are central to successful
innovation, whether you are addressing a product in development or
a high-level business problem. Depending on where you are in the
innovation cycle, different tools can be used for communication and
insight. We explore techniques for iterative learning and idea
sharing, as well as a process and rationale for working on the most
valuable or difficult parts of a problem first.
• Road blocks to Organizational Innovation
• This unit addresses the issue of Knowing-Doing Gap, Weird Ideas
That Work, and the new Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths, and
Total Nonsense: Profiting from Evidence-Base Management.
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13. Unit 3
• Organizational Models
• The most important aspect of organizational innovation and its
success is organizational structure in the form of, right people
leading and participating, with clear and appropriate process, and
culture aligned with innovation needs. The class discusses various
components of innovation models and the structures required to
support them.
• Successful Innovation in Business
• Successful business innovators share their innovations. Aravind
Tyagarajan who has 40 patents to his credit and Chief Inventor of
HD Medical Group will share his thoughts and process of
innovation.
• Innovation and Business Strategy Integration
• Integrating innovative and evaluative thinking into decision
processes
• Creating, iterating and communicating ideas
• Implementing appropriate organizational longer-term initiatives
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14. Unit 4
• Business Models (Ten Sessions with three
practical sessions)
• This segment will address nine elements of
Business canvas. Each of the elements will be
discussed in detail with examples from three
sectors; extractive sector, manufacturing sector
and innovation sector.
• Value propositions-Customer relationships-
Customer segments-Channels-Key resources-
Key activities-Key partners-Cost structure-
Revenue streams.
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16. Unit 5
• Entrepreneurship (15 sessions with 3 practical sessions)
• Twelve case studies will be discussed in the class with
focus on how the entrepreneurial process has taken
shape. The commonalities and differences with respect
to different entrepreneurial ventures will be studied.
Reality check will be done by students to understand the
changed context and environment of the organizations.
• Case 1: Switz foods Private Limited; Case 2:
Aadharshila Design Studio ;Case 3: Subhikaha Retail
Chain; the rise and fall ;Case 4: From Stabilizer to
Theme Park; Case 5: Emerging Trends in Outsourcing
(eClerx) ;Case 6: Navnirmiti; Case 7: Foster Foods
;Case 8: 1.Entrepreneurial leader and native intelligent
achiever with a vision for future India: yatra of
Shanmugappa; Case 9: Gandhian Marxism with ethics
and values of sustainability coexisting with capitalism: lal
Salam to governance of Dayakar Reddy; Case 10:
Mirakle couriers; the business of silence and signs.
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17. Text Books
• Ramachandran, Kavil
(2009).Entrepreneurship Development,
Tata-McGraw-Hill Publication, New Delhi.
(ISBN:0070248877)
• Osterwalder, Aelexander & Pigneur Yves
(2010). Business Model Generation, John
Wiley &Sons,Inc.USA (ISBN:
978-0470-87641-1)
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18. References
• Drucker.F,Peter (2006). Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Harperbusiness.
(ISBN 0060851139)
•
• Ambrose, Gavin & Harris Paul (2009). Design Thinking, Ava Publishing,
(ISBN 2940411174).
•
• Chahal,Gurbaksh (2008).The Dream: How I Learned the Risks and
Rewards of Entrepreneurship and Made Millions, Palgrave Macmillan,
(ISBN 0230610951)
• Hisrich, Robert, Peters Michael & Dean Shepherd (2006).Entrepreneurship.
Tata McGraw Hill Education Private Limited, (ISBN 0070620172)
• Yuvnesh Modi, Rahul Kumar, Alok Kothari (2012). The Game changers: 20
extraordinary success stories of entrepreneurs from IIT Kharagpur, Random
House. (ISBN 8184002734)
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19. References
• Bansal, Rashmi (2010). Connect The Dots, Eklavya Foundation.
(ISBN 8190453025).
• Bansal, Rashmi (2010). I Have A Dream, Westland And Tranquebar
Press. (ISBN 9380658384)
• Bansal, Rashmi (2010). Stay Hungry Stay Foolish, Eklavya
Foundation, (ISBN 8190453017)
• Shankar ,Raj (2010). Entrepreneurship: Theory And Practice, Tata
Mc-graw Hill Publishing Co.ltd.-new Delhi (ISBN 8182092698)
• Roy, Rajiv (2011). Entrepreneurship. Oxford University Press. (ISBN
0198072635)
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