Instructors

Description

Overview

This immersive course enables students to apply the learning and skills acquired in other courses on Entrepreneurship to the creation and development of their own new venture. Under the guidance of a faculty member serving as an entrepreneurial coach, students have a chance to apply concepts learned in the classroom and acquire new skills as they address real life challenges.

In this course, the student assumes a co-founder role in the venture. The student will operate with the mindset of a business owner (responsible for overall strategy and operations for all aspects of the venture), not a functional leader (responsible for one department such as marketing, sales, engineering or the like). The new venture that the student is building can be for-profit, not-for-profit or in the context of a government agency or university or association.

Students are expected to spend a minimum of 120 hours on their new venture throughout the semester. 

Eligible new ventures

Following are the eligibility requirements for new ventures that are a good match for this course.

• This must be an unpaid venture creation project during the Fall or Spring academic semester. Credit will not be given retroactively for past work, or work done over the summer.
• The venture should be a standalone new venture that is less than 5 years old. 
• The student should be a founder or co–founder in this venture

Enrollment Process

• Students should browse the DEC faculty directory at https://derbyecenter.tufts.edu/about/faculty and reach out to a faculty member who might be a good fit to serve as their coach. If you don’t have a faculty coach in mind, we can also help you find one. 
• Students should then email entstudent@tufts.edu to communicate their interest in taking the entrepreneurial field study course. They will be sent an intake form that includes the following key information:
  • Name and description of your new venture
  • How long you have worked on this venture
  • Other logistical information
• Our team will reach out to determine if you are eligible, and if so, we will guide you through the rest of the process to enroll in SIS.

Restrictions on Enrollment

Registration requires departmental consent. A student can receive credit for up to 2 semesters for this course. The field study course can only be taken once a semester. The student cannot receive field study credit for the same role in the same company twice. 

Pre-requisites:

Students who wish to take the field study course should ensure that they have completed coursework or have acquired training outside the classroom that gives them the skills to succeed in their proposed role. 

Learning Outcomes and Objectives

Learning outcomes

Upon completion, students will:

• Have achieved custom learning objectives jointly developed with their faculty coach and company sponsor
• Have the data to decide whether to persevere, pivot, or stop building their venture after the semester ends
• Have developed first-hand knowledge of how to start and run a new venture
• Have internalized a bias to action and the build-measure-learn and fail-fast frameworks
• Have developed practical proficiency in applicable business skills 
• Have developed good practices in managing work
• Have acquired good professional communications skills and habits 
• Have a better understanding of how well the founder lifestyle aligns with their professional aspirations and goals
• Know what areas they should invest in learning more and building skills

Shared Learning Objectives (for all students who take this course)

• Work with their faculty coach and company sponsor to develop and accomplish custom learning objectives
• Develop an agile method for planning work and iterating on project plans
• Apply relevant business skills such as marketing, sales, financial analysis, consulting, product management and more to build their new ventures
• Acquire self-management and project management skills
• Develop good habits in communicating with their cofounders, team members, and faculty coach for collaboration, and in giving and receiving constructive feedback
• Assess how the founder work style and mental models align with their professional purpose, values, and aspirations

Custom Learning Objectives (customized for each student)

Custom learning objectives will be jointly defined by the student and their faculty advisor (as well as their corporate sponsor if there is one) at the beginning of the semester, but will generally be framed around three themes:

• Learning how new venture creation works through immersion 
• Applying specific frameworks, concepts and skills learned in the classroom to real life scenarios 
• Making progress on their venture with 1×1 coaching from an entrepreneurial coach 

Please note that in an entrepreneurial environment, strategy and priorities can both change rapidly. The learning objectives should capture the spirit of the mindset and skillset that the student wishes to learn, and be revisited throughout the semester to ensure it captures any significant changes in expectations or priorities.

Interested in taking this course?

Please fill out the ENT1x1 intake form and someone will follow up. Thanks.