THE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS

BA 4308: ENTREPRENEURSHIP ROOM: SOM 2.901

THURSDAY 7:00 – 9:45 PM FALL ‘05

PROFESSOR DAVID L. DEEDS

Office: 4.204 SOM

Office Hrs: TH 6:00-7:00 & by appt.
Phone: 972.883.5904
E-Mail: David.Deeds@utd.edu
Texts: Entrepreneurship, Hisrich, Peters & Shepherd, 6th Edition
Handouts and .pdf’s

Course Objectives
The main objective of this course is provide the student with an understanding of the
entrepreneurial process, the role of entrepreneurship in the US economy and the problems and
challenges facing an entrepreneur in the process of creating a business. The course will use the
development of a business plan as the focal point. Groups of students will develop a business plan
piece by piece. Each group will make 3 presentations and write 3 papers during the semester. In
addition, after each set of presentation each student will write a brief (1-2 pg.) paper evaluating
the presentations of the other groups (NOT THIER OWN) and choose one in which they would
invest (NOT THEIR OWN).

Grading
Group Project
3 Presentations 20%
3 Papers 20%
# of Investors 10%

Project Total 50%

Individual Assignments 25%
Mid Term Exam 10%
Final Exam 15%
100%

Course Policies

Attendance in this class is not optional. The impact on your grade of missing classes is as follows:

0 – 2 Absences No impact on grade

3 – 4 Absences 1 letter grade penalty on final grade (A to B)
5 – 6 Absences 2 letter grade penalty on final grade (A to C)
7 + Absences Fail Course ( final grade = F )

You are expected to have read all the assigned materials and cases prior to the start of class and
be prepared to discuss the ideas, concepts and issues they raise. You should also be prepared to
present any financial calculations required to address the issues of the case. If I find that people
are not prepared for class I will institute pop quizzes that will be factored into your Individual
Assignment grade. These quizzes cannot be made up if missed.

Late assignments will be penalized 2 letter grades and will not be accepted more then a week
after the due date. No excuses. No exceptions.

Guidelines For The Group Project

Students will work in teams of 3 or 4. The group project is 50% of your grade, a major teaching
tool of the course and a semester long project. The project requires a wide range of knowledge
including knowledge of finance and accounting. A broad range of backgrounds and knowledge
among the group members is beneficial. Choose your group members carefully.

Selection of an opportunity to pursue for the project is critical. The idea must meet a couple of
basic criteria. It must be a large enough opportunity that it will require at least $500,000 in
investment capital and it must have the potential to generate at least $10,000,000 in revenue. That
means that bars, restaurants, sports facilities, most retail models only qualify if they are scalable by
franchising or expansion to multiple locations. This expansion must be part of the business plan
being created by the group. The plan can be for the acquisition of an existing, small business, but it
must entail significant growth of the business in terms of size and revenues. As a general rule that
means at least a 5 fold increase in revenues and gross revenues in excess of $10,000,000. A great
entrepreneurial opportunity is one that brings something new, valuable, and difficult to imitate to
the market and creates a position where the industry forces (supplier power, buyer power, barriers
to entry, substitutes and rivalry) are favorable to the new venture. New ventures that go head to
head with established firms in tough industries lose.

Each group will write 3 papers and give 3 presentations on various aspects of their proposed
business.

Paper & Presentation #1: Industry Analysis and Description of Venture

This paper should be at least ten pages in length. The first section should provide a detailed
analysis of the industry in which the venture will operate. This section will include the future
outlook and trends, analysis of competitors, market segmentation and industry forecasts. The
second section will provide a detailed explanation of the idea for your start-up, a detailed
description of the strategy your firm will employ to differentiate itself, a mission statement, several
well developed objectives (short term and long term) and a description of the characteristics of the
venture (size, office requirements, equipment requirements, background of entrepreneurs, etc.)

Paper & Presentation #2: The Marketing and Organizational Plan

This paper should be at least ten pages in length. It should provide a detailed analysis of the target
market(s), including a discussion of the overall market, the specific markets, the competitive
factors and the macro-environmental trends. In addition this paper should provide a detailed
marketing plan including the marketing strategy - image of the firm, communication tools,
advertising and promotional activities, marketing budget, pricing strategy, sales forecasts and
detailed marketing budget. The second section will provide a detailed description of the ownership
and structure of the organization. This section will include the form of ownership, identification of
partners and shareholders, organizational chart, delineation of responsibilities and authority, job
descriptions and qualifications, and background of management team and board of directors.

Paper & Presentation #3: Assessment of Risk and Financial Plan

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This paper should be at least six pages in length, plus pro-forma financial statements. The first
section of this paper should present a critical assessment of the ventures weaknesses, critical
risks and contingency plans. The second section should provide a detailed discussion of the
financial resource requirements of the firm, sources and uses of the financial resources, your
strategy for obtaining the resources, equity positions and structure of the investment deal including
projected returns and pro-forma financial statements (Balance Sheet, Income Statement, and
Cash Flows) for 3 years.

Individual Assignments
Each student will complete 4 individual assignments. These assignments are listed on the syllabus.
The specific assignments will be handed out during class. These are individual assignments (hence
the name) not to be done in groups and turned in individually. If 2 or more assignments are too
close in content, etc. I reserve the right to assign those students another assignment or fail them
on that particular assignment.

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 Schedule

Week 1 Chap. 1 – The Nature & Importance of Entrepreneurs

8/18/05 Chap. 2 – The Entrepreneurial and Intrapreneurial Mind
Chap. 3 - The Individual Entrepreneur

Week 2 Chap. 5 – The Business Idea

8/25/05 Chap. 6 – Legal Issues for Entrepreneurs
Chap. 7 – The Business Plan

Case: The Beach Carrier

1. What is the nature of the product? What are its strengths and
weaknesses?
2. What are the limitations to the assumptions Ricci has made in determining
the market potential? What risks do these present?
3. How can Ricci protect her product design?
4. What are the pros and cons of the mail order marketing strategy? What
are the pros and cons of alternative distribution methods?
5. What are some of the manufacturing issues Ricci will face?
6. Is the financing sufficie nt to fund the roll out of the Beach Carrier as
planned?

IA #1 Due – 5 business cards from contacts with an paragraph for each

explaining the value of the contact

Week 3 Guest Speaker - Brendan Coughlin

9/1/05 Chap. 13 – Entrepreneurial Strategy

IA #2 Due – Opportunity Analysis assignment

Business Idea Description Due

Week 4 Reading – Porter – ‘What is strategy’

9/8/05 Reading – Porter – ‘Competitive forces’

Case: Oklahoma National Bank

1. What factors have contributed to ONB’s success?
2. What is the nature of the competitive environment?
3. Are ONB’s goals and objectives appropriate? Reasonable? Achievable?
4. What potential problems do you see in ONB’s rapid growth?

Week 5 Presentation #1: The Industry & The Idea

9/15/05 Industry & Idea Paper Due From All Groups

Week 6 Presentation #1: The Industry & The Idea

9/22/05 Chap. 8 – The Marketing Plan
Chap. 9 – The Organizational Plan

Week 7 Mid-Term Exam

9/29/05

Week 8 Guest Speaker - Robert Robb

10/6/05 Chap. 14 – Strategies for Growth

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Week 9 Presentation #2:The Marketing & Organizational Plan
10/13/05 Marketing & Organization Plan Paper Due From All Groups

Week 10 Presentation #2:The Marketing & Organizational Plan

10/20/05 Chap. 10. – The Financial Plan
Chap. 11 & 12 – Financing New Venture

IA #3 Due – Estimating Cash Requirements

Week 11 Chap. 15 – Accessing Resources for Growth

10/27/05 Chap. 16 – Going Public

Case: NeoMed Technologies

1. What are the external environmental factors and internal strategic issues
affecting NeoMed at the time of the case? How are these factors
influencing the company’s situation?
2. How are the NeoMed leaders maintaining the company morale? What
other steps should they take?
3. What are NeoMed’s options at this point in time? Which of these options
would you choose and why?

Week 12 Guest Speaker – Venture Investor

11/3/05
IA #4 Due - Investment Analysis

Week 13 Presentation #3: Assessment of Risk and Financial Plan

11/10/05 Assessment of Risk & Financial Plan Due From All Groups

Week 14 Presentation #3: Assessment of Risk and Financial Plan

11/17/05 Closing Lecture

Week 15 Final Exam

12/1/05(?)