KM6315:
Information Entrepreneurship
Francis Tay
francistay@ntu.edu.sg
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2Course Outline and Structure
Date Morning Session Afternoon Session
17 Aug Session 1: Introduction to Information Entrepreneurship
31 Aug Session 2: Ideation Session 3: Bankable Business and Business PlanSubmit: Personal Opinion Piece
14 Sep* Presentations: Lessons From Flops AND Project Ideas Session 4: Valuing Your BusinessSession 5: Funding and Financing Options
28 Sep Session 6: Growth and Challenges facing Start-Ups and SMEs Presentation:• Funding and Financing
19 Oct Session 7: Ethics, New Venture Teams, Unique issues affecting Start-ups, etc.
Presentation:
• Challenges and Strategies for Growth
• 2-pager of Business Transformation Plan
02 Nov Final Consultations, Work on Final Project**
08 Nov * Coaching Session (Zoom, 10 am – 5 pm)
16 Nov
Presentation:
• Business Transformation Plan
• “Elevator” Pitch – The critical 2 minutes and Final Project (Group presentation in Class)
Final Test (1.5 Hour)
* Class starts at 9 am – 1:30 pm
** Final Project to focus on Digitally Transforming an existing predominantly physical business (e.g., Retail, Logistics, etc.) NB: Term Break: 30 Sep – 5 Oct 24
Deepavali: 31 Oct 24
* FRIDAY. Teams will be given hourly slots to attend coaching consult over Zoom.
3Earning Your Grade
Written & Presentation Assignments:
Weightage Due Date
Individual Assessment
1. Personal Opinion Piece: The Future of Entrepreneurship
2. Final Test (in class – 1.5 hours)
5%
15%
31 Aug
16 Nov
Mini-Group/Individual Assignments
2. Lesson from Flops 10% 14 Sep
3. Funding and Financing Case Study 10% 28 Sep
4. Challenges and Strategies for Growth – Case Study 10% 19 Oct
Team Project Assignment
1. 2 to 3-page summary of business transformation plan
2. Business Transformation Plan and Proposal (Final Paper) & Presentation 45%
19 Oct
16 Nov
3. Elevator Pitch (2 to 3-minute pitch) 5% 16 Nov
Note: Soft copy of all assignments are to be emailed 3 days in advance.
Attendance, Class participation, Presentation, etc. will contribute towards the total marks for each assignment.
4Individual Assignment 1: Future of Entrepreneurship
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1. Businesses today are operating in an era defined by everything digital. Furthermore, we are already in what has
been defined as Industry 4.0. How will these two major circumstances – digital era and Industry 4.0 – have an
impact, in your opinion, on entrepreneurship and on being an entrepreneur?
2. You may refer to the lecture on what it takes to be an entrepreneur and what defines a successful
entrepreneurial business.
3. The paper should be concise and between 1-2 pages long, 10-point font, 1.5 line spacing.
4. There will be no presentation required, however submission must be made in class on Sat, 31 Aug 2024.
5. The paper should cover:
• What you think will be the impact of living and working in a digital era.
• What and how do you think Industry 4.0 will impact the driving force behind the entrepreneur and his
business?
6. Weightage – 5%
7. Submission of paper in hard copy only (in class).
NB: Please email soft-copies to francistay@ntu.edu.sg
个别作业 1：创业的未来
当今企业正处于一个以数字化为定义的时代。此外，我们已经进入了被称为工业4.
0的阶段。您认为这两个主要环境——数字时代和工业4.0——将如何影响创业和成
为企业家？
您可以参考讲座内容，了解成为企业家需要什么条件以及成功的创业企业的定义。
论文应简明扼要，长度在1-2页之间，使用10号字体，1.5倍行距。
不需要进行演示，但必须在2024年8月31日（周六）课堂上提交。
论文应涵盖：
您认为生活和工作在数字时代将会产生什么影响。
您认为工业4.0将如何以及如何影响企业家及其业务的驱动力？
权重 – 5%
仅接受纸质版论文提交（课堂上）。
注意：请将电子版发送至 francistay@ntu.edu.sg
5Mini Group Assignment 1: Lessons from Flops
1. Work in teams of 2 – 4 people.
2. Research on a company or project that have FAILED. Choose one that has been in the news (easier to get
information on them). The learning objective of this assignment is to learn from the failures of others in the
hope that we can avoid the same mistakes or miss-steps in our own business ventures.
3. There are two things that need to be submitted together (i.e., attach/staple the group report and the individual
perspectives) (1) The group report should be between 3-4 pages long and (2) your individual perspective in just
half to one page (max). Report to be written in 10-point font, 1.5 line spacing.
The email submission should have the following attachments: (1) The group report and (2) Individual
perspectives (e.g., if there are 3 persons in the group, then there should be three individual perspectives.
4. Selected groups (will be informed in advance) to present their findings in class on 14 Sep 2024.
5. The focus of the group paper should be on “Why and how did the company or project fail”. From an individual
perspective, make a short comparison with another similar failure.
6. Weightage – 10%
7. Due date – Soft copy (Wed, 11 Sep 2024) by 11 pm. No late submissions.
NB: Please email soft-copies to francistay@ntu.edu.sg
6Mini Group Assignment 2: Funding and Financing Options
1. Work in teams of 2 – 4 people.
2. Choose a company in any business sector for analysis on its funding and financing options. The learning
objective of this assignment is to look at the various funding and financing options available to a business.
3. There are two things that need to be submitted together (i.e., attach/staple the group report and the individual
perspectives) (1) The group report should be between 3-4 pages long and (2) your individual perspective in just
half to one page (max). Report to be written in 10-point font, 1.5 line spacing.
The email submission should have the following attachments: (1) The group report and (2) Individual
perspectives (e.g. if there are 3 persons in the group, then there should be three individual perspectives.
4. Selected groups (will be informed in advance) to present their findings in class on 28 Sep 2024.
5. The group paper and presentation should evaluate “What is the business about and how it was funded till
now?” From an individual perspective, how else could it have been funded and why?
6. Weightage – 10%
7. Due date – Soft copy (Wed, 25 Sep 2024) by 11 pm. No late submissions.
NB: Please email soft-copies to francistay@ntu.edu.sg
7Mini Group Assignment 3: Challenges and Strategies for Growth
NB: Please email soft-copies to francistay@ntu.edu.sg
1. Work in teams of 2 – 4 people.
2. Choose a company in any business sector for this assignment. Do not use your group project as the focus for
this assignment. The learning objective of this assignment is to understand the pressures of growing a company.
3. There are two things that need to be submitted together (i.e., attach/staple the group report and the individual
perspectives) (1) The group report should be between 3-4 pages long and (2) your individual perspective in just
half to one page (max). Report to be written in 10-point font, 1.5 line spacing.
The email submission should have the following attachments: (1) The group report and (2) Individual
perspectives (e.g. if there are 3 persons in the group, then there should be three individual perspectives.
4. Selected groups (will be informed in advance) to present their findings in class on 19 Oct 2024.
5. The group paper and presentation should evaluate “How the business grew to what it is today? What challenges
did it face along the way and how was it resolved? Going forward, how can it prepare for what is ahead (being
future ready)”. From an individual perspective, do you agree or disagree with the company’s strategies or
decisions?
6. Weightage – 10%
7. Due date – Soft copy (Wed, 16 Oct 2024) by 11 pm. No late submissions.
8Team Project Assignment: Business Transformation Plan and Proposal
1. Each team will consist of 5-8 people (Depending on the number of students taking the course). 4 teams (min), 7
teams (max).
2. Each team will propose a DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION initiative/project for an existing business. Focus will be on
(1) Scalability, (2) Positive Impact it will have, and (3) Critical Success Factors.
3. Write a 2 to 3-page summary of your project plan (a good place to start to bring every team member to be on
the same page). This summary can change as the business/project idea is fleshed out.
4. Write a detailed business transformation plan and proposal (detailed – 20-page limit).
5. Each team will present (in PowerPoint) their business transformation plan in class on Sat, 16 Nov 2024. There
will be peer review that will contribute up to 30% of the total marks for this assignment. Each team will also
have to do an elevator pitch at the start (a 2-min overview of what the project is about). More details later.
6. Weightage – Business Transformation Plan (45%), Elevator Pitch (5%)
7. Due dates – (1) 19 Oct 2024 – 2 to 3-page summary (Soft-copy)
(2) 16 Nov 2024 – Business Transformation Plan Presentation to class
8. Submission of business plan and proposal in hard copy and in class.
NB: Please email soft-copies to francistay@ntu.edu.sg
9Team Project Assignment: Business Transformation Plan and Proposal
NB: Please email soft-copies to francistay@ntu.edu.sg
GUIDE The digital transformation should focus on both the back-of-the-house and front-of-the house.
Back-of-the-House
- Cost Saving focus
Front-of-the-House
– Revenue Generating Focus
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Team Project Assignment: Business Transformation Plan and Proposal
NB: Please email soft-copies to francistay@ntu.edu.sg
GUIDE The transformation does not have to be done all at the same time.
On what to transform and when to transform….think about the PEST and SWOT Factors.
• Determine what your Strengths and Weaknesses are
at this moment (make assumptions where necessary).
• Identify potential revenue generating Opportunities
and possible Threats to getting at these opportunities.
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