New Venture Creation

Course Overview

Entrepreneurship involves the identification and pursuit of opportunities without regard to the resources you currently own or control. As such, entrepreneurial skills are prized not only by start-ups but also in large corporations, charities and even government departments in all parts of the world. Entrepreneurship is a core skill for the 21st Century.  The truth, however, is that much of what has been written about entrepreneurship is just plain wrong. Take for example the popular beliefs that only a ‘certain type of person’ can become a successful entrepreneur; or that a single ‘great man’ builds a business empire. The implication, of course, is that if you are not just like them you’ll never make it; so play it safe and focus on being a good employee. In reality, however, all types of people can, and do become successful entrepreneurs, many of them working in teams of like-minded individuals whose skills complement one another. 

This course will give you a world-class introduction to the exciting world of entrepreneurship and show you what you need to do to behave like a successful entrepreneur.

Cambridge Faculty: Simon Stockley, BSc, MBA

Simon Stockley is Senior Faculty in Entrepreneurship at the University of Cambridge’s Judge Business School. In this capacity, he leads the Entrepreneurship concentration on the MBA and Executive MBA programmes and also directs the School’s SME growth programmes worldwide. He is the co-founder and head of education for Accelerate Cambridge, Silicon Fen’s unique early-stage enterprise accelerator. His entrepreneurship courses have been ranked among the very best in the world by the Financial Times. Prior to joining Cambridge Simon was Director of the Full-time MBA programme at Imperial College London and a co-founder of HERA, a charity which provides training and mentoring for trafficked women. Since 1998 he has mentored over 250 technology ventures and started three of his own.

Learning Outcomes

• Differentiate between productive, unproductive and destructive forms of entrepreneurship 
• Demonstrate that entrepreneurship is a behaviour that can be learned and developed 
• Identify and create opportunities 
• Evaluate the economic and social potential of opportunities 
• Develop a successful business model using ‘lean’ principles 
• Recruit, select and lead an entrepreneurial team 
• Obtain the use of the non-financial resources required to build their business 
• Present a compelling case to potential investors 
• Raise and manage financial capital 
• Present realistic options for a successful exit