Experiences of Successful Center Directors - Baylor University

New Venture Creation
This course concentrates on how new businesses are started. Objectives of the
course are understanding entrepreneurs, seeking and evaluating opportunities
for new ventures, and gathering resources to convert those opportunities into
businesses. There are two projects: each student interviews an entrepreneur
and student teams write business plans for new ventures they have chosen.
Managing Growing Businesses
The course focuses on managing growing companies in an increasingly professional
manner, while maintaining the entrepreneurial spirit that brought the company
to its current growth position. Subject matter is organized around the following
themes: measuring economic performance and obtaining information for
management decision making; management control systems for innovative
companies; short- and long-run planning in owner-managed businesses; and
entrepreneurship and managing (professionalizing) growing companies.
Financing Entrepreneurial Ventures
This course covers various aspects of financing an entrepreneurial venture.
Major topics include attracting seed and growth capital from sources such as
individuals, venture capital, investment banking, government and commercial
banks. Among the issues discussed are valuing a company, going public, selling
out, acquisitions, bankruptcy, different legal forms of organization, partnerships
and taxes.
Franchising, Licensing and Distributorships
This course encompasses theory and practice of franchising, which is an increasingly
important sector of the economy. It is taught from the perspectives of both
franchisers and franchisees. Franchising is a highly effective inter-organizational
form. The proven operational format, trademark value and scale economies
provide a launching pad for entrepreneurship, especially rapid-growth opportunities.
The focus of the course is on business formal franchising but students also
gain an understanding of product franchising, distributorships and licensing.
Entrepreneurs in Organizations
This course provides an overview of the types of innovation managers encounter,
explores issues common to innovation, suggests how innovation impacts stakeholders
within and outside the corporation and explores the range of options
available for managing innovation along with the likely consequences of those
options.
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