INNOVATION, ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND FINANCE

Opportunity identification
Innovation examples and analysis. Criteria to assess innovation ideas. Idea generation. Screening for similar and substitute products/services. Criteria for opportunity selection.

Feasibility analysis
Technology Readiness Level. Technological expertise required. Legal barriers and regulations. Patents in the specific technology areas. Financial feasibility and estimation of the investment needed.

Market analysis
Market size. Market trends and growth rate. Competitors and benchmarking. Scalability of the business.

Customers profile
Identification of customer segments. Target users profiling. Identify users’ needs/wants. Product /service positioning.

Concept generation and selection
Define product concepts (examples). Generate potential product/service concepts. Evaluate and select concepts with given criteria.

Intellectual Property Rights and the patent filing process
Patents and Trademarks. Patent claims examples. The filing processes and schedules. Costs of patents.

Product/Service Economics
Pricing. Fixed costs. Variable costs. Break-even analysis. Cash flows. Discounted Cash Flows.

The structures and contents of the Income Statement and the Balance Sheet

Project Management
Project Charter. Project Stakeholders. Work Breakdown Structure. Project Milestones. Gantt Chart. Project Scope Management. Project Quality Management. Project Risk Management.

Business Plan and Venture Creation
Building a team. Business models and Business plan. The startup life cycle.

Financing a startup and fundraising
Different sources of funds: Angel Investors and Venture Capital. Investment companies and funds: how they work. The investment process by an investor. How and what investors evaluate. The investment agreements between investors and startups