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ENTP 212 is three-credit introductory course that “covers a range of topics that will increase your understanding of what it takes to succeed in an entrepreneurial career.” The course “begins with an overview of entrepreneurship and the entrepreneurial process and then expands to consider how to find and evaluate a possible idea for a new business, how to buy an existing firm or acquire a franchise, how to develop a marketing and financial plan, and how to develop a feasibility study for a new business concept.” There is no pre-requisite for the course, and it is not available for challenge.
Who Should Take This Course and Why
For this course we had the opportunity to interview Jared, who is currently a full-time student working on his final courses in the Bachelor of Commerce program at AU. When we asked Jared what ENTP 212 was about he stated, “ENTP212 is a course that covers the fundamentals of starting your own business. In the course, you will explore a wide variety of topics surrounding entrepreneurship such as financing, coming up with a business idea, product testing, market testing, pricing, franchising, etc. The textbook is a great resource for the course as it features a good mix of theory and real-world examples of successful and unsuccessful entrepreneurs.”
Jared also elaborated, “ENTP212 is a great course for people who are wanting to start their own business. It gives you a good idea of what to expect when you do start your business and the information needed when creating a business proposal. I took this course because most of the courses in my degree focused on managing an already established business, so I wanted to get the perspective of starting one from scratch.”
Course, Assignments, and Participation Exercises Details
The course consists of ten lessons including an overview, assessing potential for entrepreneurial career, exploring new business ideas and opportunities, entry strategies, conducting a feasibility study, legal issues and other considerations, and where we can find the money.
The course consists of two assignments worth 30% and 60% respectively and five participation exercises worth 2% each. There are no exams for the course. Assignments for the course give students the chance to realistically assess the new venture idea in one’s own perspective and the feasibility for a small business of the idea. Students will also have the chance to complete a comprehensive feasibility study of a new business concept which will explore market and financial assessments. The course will also require participation exercises those students will apply what they have learned and received feedback from tutors. It is recommended to start on participation exercises and assignments early.
How to Be Successful in the Course
Course Coordinator’s Advice for the Course – Dr. Ana Azevedo
Dr. Ana Azevedo is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Business at Athabasca University. She teaches MBA courses in Visionary and Entrepreneurial Thinking and New Venture Development and coordinates the undergraduate entrepreneurship course. Dr. Azevedo has consulted for small and mid-size businesses in the US and Austria and implemented many applied research projects in the areas of Business/Strategic Planning, Research Methods (Survey Design and Administration), and International Market Entry. Dr. Azevedo’s current research interests include management education, cultural diversity, and entrepreneurship.
Dr. Azevedo recommends this course to all students and suggests anyone interested in the course to refer to the course syllabus.
Dr. Azevedo’s advice to students for the course is “this course includes a comprehensive feasibility study that includes the preparation of both marketing and financial plans. Sometimes students struggle with components of this study partly because they do not start early enough, partly because they need help from the tutors in addressing specific issues. My key advice to students is to start early with the feasibility study.”
Student’s Advice for the Course – Jared
When we asked Jared for his tips for the course he stated, “The best tip that I have for students working on this course is to start working on Assignment 2 very early. There is a lot of time needed to work on it and it is not an assignment that can be left to the last minute. The course recommends that students start working on Assignment 2 once they have received feedback from the first assignment and I agree with this recommendation.”
Jared also elaborated that “the final assignment was the most challenging part of the course. It is a 3,000-word paper that is worth 60% of the final grade so a lot of time is needed to do research and to work on this assignment.”
When we asked Jared about his experience with the course coordinator or academic experts he stated, “I did not reach out to the Academic Experts or the Course Coordinator for help, but the assignment marking was fairly quick, and they did provide good feedback.”
Questions?
If you have any further questions regarding the course, please do not hesitate to contact the Course Coordinator at business-support@athabascau.ca. Happy learning!
