106214 - ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION

Subject type: Mandatory

Coordinator: Adso Fernández Baena

Trimester: First term

Credits: 6

Materials (articles, videos, guides, etc.) in English and Spanish are used during the course. 

The subject "Entrepreneurship and Innovation" of the Degree in Design and Production of Videogames is part of the subjects linked to the area of ​​business that together with "Business Administration", "Business Models", "Marketing" and others subjects, aim to enhance the entrepreneurial attitude among students and provide them with tools that can be useful if they decide to link themselves to entrepreneurship on the way to joining the world of work. In this case, this subject is after "Business Administration" (1st year) and before "Business Models" and "Marketing" which are taught in the following quarters of the 2nd year. It should be noted, therefore, that this subject follows a guiding thread on the business knowledge that the students have acquired in the 1st year and does not delve into the concepts of "Business models" and "Marketing" given that it goes into detail in the following quarters of the same course.

The contents of this subject have been designed to give students an overview of entrepreneurship, from knowledge of the situation in the video game industry and the generation of ideas to their execution in a viable and sustainable way. Given the need for differentiating business projects in a highly competitive environment with companies with a high innovative culture, the subject gives a high priority to creativity and the practical tools that are used in successful companies today. 

The subject has theoretical sessions, team work sessions, group discussions, research exercises, presentations by industry professionals, etc. In order to achieve the fundamental basis of the subject, teamwork is rewarded on the one hand, and on the other, the acquisition of theoretical knowledge individually.

At the end of the course the student must be able to:

• E12.1. Generate innovative ideas for video game products and analyze them as a business opportunity.
• E12.2. Demonstrate knowledge about the creation and start-up of new businesses or start-ups.
• E12.3. Describe benchmarks of independent video game studies.
• E12.4. Test start-up prototypes and analyze user feedback.
• E12.5. Develop entrepreneurial projects, taking into account the business model, its viability, the marketing and sales plan and the customer.
• E13.1. Demonstrate knowledge about the structure and organization of a company.
• E13.2. Use forecasting and business planning tools.
• E13.3. Describe the basics of marketing and market research.
• E13.4. Design a marketing strategy for a video game.
• E13.5. Describe business models related to the video game industry.
• E13.6. Design a business model and monetize a video game.
• E13.7. Analyze the economic viability of a business or line of business.

The subject uses different work methodologies: lectures, lectures, presentations, video capsules, debates and forums, case studies, collaborative learning, problem solving, research and critical reading of articles.

For group work, students will have to develop a business idea in teams of four. The methodology used is "Learning by doing".

1. INTRODUCTION TO ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION

1.1 The what and why of entrepreneurship
1.2 Innovation and type of innovation
1.3 Creative and cultural industries
1.4 Demographics of the video game industrial ecosystem
1.5 Video game development companies. The national scene.

2. DETECTION OF OPPORTUNITIES

2.1 Detection of trends
2.2 Opportunities and needs
2.3 Opportunities are created or discovered
2.4 design thinking

3. CREATIVITY AND IDEA
3.1. Foundation of creativity
3.2. Creativity techniques
3.3. Generation of ideas and solutions to identified challenges

4. PROTOTYPING

4.1. Prototyping
4.2. Validation with users

5. BUSINESS MODEL

5.1. Business Model Canvas
5.2. Business plan

6. LEAN STARTUP

6.1. Introduction to Lean Startup.
6.2. Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
6.3. Experiments and measurements

7. FINANCIAL PLAN AND VIABILITY

7.1. Finance for entrepreneurs
7.2. Balance point
7.3. Funding sources
7.4. "Affordable" loss or affordable loss

8. CREATION AND MANAGEMENT OF THE START-UP

8.1. The entrepreneurial team
8.2. Legal aspects
8.3. Company management
8.4. Growth and expansion
8.5. Expansion models

9. PITCHING

9.1. Type of pitching
9.2. Structure
9.3 Content
9.4. Presentation

With the aim of collecting evidence of the achievement of the expected learning outcomes, the following activities of an evaluative nature will be carried out (related to all the common competences):

A1. Exercises in class or at home: Exercises (Evidence of learning outcomes E12.2, E12.3, E12.4, E13.2 and E13.5)
Practical exercises done in class or at home. Some of the exercises consist of analysis, some of them based on real cases, starring national and international video game companies, that deal with strategic decisions or that end in success or failure. Usually supported by texts, viewed in class: videos or class presentations. 

A2. Group work: Startup design (Evidence of learning outcomes E12.1, E12.4, E12.5, E13.2, and E13.6) 

The objective of this group work is to carry out a simulation of a start-up idea or project, from the phase of detecting opportunities and ideation, through prototyping and validation with users, the analysis of the viability of the business and finally, the presentation to potential investors. Doing this not only exposes students to a concrete case of learning by doing, but students can experiment with a business or solution idea and test it. The work must be presented in a document and orally in a pitch.

A3. Pitching (Evidence of learning outcomes E12.2, E13.1) 

Oral presentation of the solution or idea. The structure of the presentation, the clarity and justification of the idea based on identified needs or opportunities will be assessed.

A4. Partial exam: Exam (Evidence of learning outcomes E12.2, E13.1, E13.2, E13.3, E13.5 and E13.7)
Individual partial examination of part of the syllabus. The format is test-type.

A4. Final exam: Exam (Evidence of learning outcomes E12.2, E13.1, E13.2, E13.3, E13.5 and E13.7)
Individual final exam of the course syllabus.

General criteria of the activities:

• Teachers will present a statement for each activity and the evaluation and / or rubric criteria, in class and through the virtual campus.
• The teaching staff will inform you of the dates and specifications of delivery of the activities, and it is the responsibility of the students to be aware of the deliveries and dates, as well as to deliver the work within the indicated deadlines.
• Group work is done in teams of 4 people. The variation of the number of components to a different number of students than specified will be at the discretion of the teaching staff, according to the needs of the subject/groups. The groups will be created at the discretion of the students.
• Class attendance is at least 70%, given that many activities will take place in class. 

The grade of each student will be calculated following the following percentages:

• A1. Exercises to be done in class or at home 20%
• A2. Group work: Startup design 30%
• A3. Pitch to Publisher 10%
• A4. 10% partial exam 
• A5. Final exam 30%

Considerations:

• The mid-term exam is a knowledge test that takes place in the middle of the term. It does not release matter. Therefore, the final exam includes the content of the entire course.
• 40% of the course grade corresponds to the partial and final exam. The weighted grade of the two exams must exceed the minimum grade of 4. Otherwise, the student must attend a make-up exam.
• An activity not delivered or delivered late and without justification (court summons or medical matter) counts as a zero (0).
• It is the student's responsibility to avoid plagiarism in all its forms. In the case of detecting plagiarism in any activity, regardless of its scope, it will correspond to having a grade of zero (0). 

Recovery:

• Students with a grade of less than four (4) in the exam grade will be able to recover the subject by taking a single exam that will cover all the content of the same. 

RIES, Eric (2011). The Lean Startup. NY: Crown Publishing Group.

Brown, T. (2008). Design thinking. Harvard business review, 86 (6), 84.

Bies, B. (2017). Indie Gaming: Finding Entrepreneurial Success in Video Games. New Degree Press

Porter, ME (2008). Competitive strategy: Techniques for analyzing industries and competitors. Simon and Schuster.

Baron, Robert A. (2014). Essentials of Entrepreneurship. Evidence and Practice. Edward Elgar.

READ, Stuart, SARASVATHY, Saras, DEW, Nick, & WILTBANK, Robert (2017). Effective Entrepreneurship (2nd edition). Routledge.

Gabrielsson, M., & Kirpalani, VM (2004). Born globals: how to reach new business space rapidly. International Business Review, 13 (5), 555-571.

Porter, ME, & Advantage, C. (1985). Creating and sustaining superior performance. Competitive Advantage, 167.

DEV. White Paper on the Spanish Development of Video Games. http://www.dev.org.es/es/publicaciones

Grant, RM (1991). The resource-based theory of competitive advantage: implications for strategy formulation. California management review, 33 (3), 114-135.

Sean, E. & Brown, M. (2017) Hacking Growth: How Today’s Fastest-Growing Companies Drive Breakout Success. NY: Currency. 

URBANO, D. (2005): The creation of companies in Catalonia: support organizations and attitudes towards entrepreneurial activity. CIDEM study collection. Center for Innovation and Business Development.

DEV. The 3D of Video Game Financing. Link: http://www.dev.org.es/es/3dfinanciacion

URBANO, D. & RODRIGUEZ, L. (2010): Guide for the elaboration of a business plan. Department of Labor. Government of Catalonia. 

Welch, DE, & Welch, LS (1996). The internationalization process and networks: A strategic management perspective. Journal of International Marketing, 11-28.

Lewis, JD (2002). Partnerships for profit: Structuring and managing strategic alliances. Simon and Schuster.

Chesbrough, HW (2003). Open innovation: The new imperative for creating and profiting from technology. Harvard Business Press.