Offered by the Management and Entrepreneurship department, the Entrepreneurship major is for students who are highly motivated, innovative, and impactful in the global entrepreneurial community. Through our practical, coordinated, hands-on curriculum; entrepreneurial faculty; and the Center for Entrepreneurship, you will learn how to be a successful entrepreneur.
Our core major courses take you through Suffolk University’s entrepreneurial process, including idea generation, opportunity recognition, feasibility planning, legal and financial considerations, business model and plan development, all leading to our capstone course where you will solve problems for real client startups and small organizations. Electives provide you the opportunity to tailor your major in social, global, and green entrepreneurship; small business management, family business, and other areas of interest, depending on your entrepreneurial spirit.
For students interested in starting a business during the Suffolk experience, we have a launch sequence that tailors our major courses to your specific opportunity. You will develop your opportunity with the support of practical faculty, the Suffolk Ventures alumni entrepreneurial community, and the Center for Entrepreneurship.
The Entrepreneurship major consists of a minimum of twenty-one (21) semester hours, which includes five (5) required courses and two (2) elective courses taken at Suffolk University.
The core Entrepreneurship courses occur in a five (5) semester sequence starting in your second semester of your sophomore year (you may begin in your first semester of your sophomore year, but no later than the second semester of your junior year).
SBS 101;Sophomore Standing.
3.00
Ever wonder how entrepreneurs get their ideas? In this course, you will learn a deliberate process of opportunity recognition and discovery. You will learn how to generate ideas taking into consideration rarity, value, and your entrepreneurial fit. Through this process, you will gain an understanding or your knowledge, skills and abilities intended to improve the likelihood of success. Once your opportunity is identified, you will determine the feasibility of its feasibility from concept to an industry and competitive analysis.
Offered Both Fall and Spring
ACCT 201 AND ENT 280.
3.00
Expand upon your feasibility plan from ENT 280, or identify a new opportunity, and learn about the financial and legal considerations that need to be addressed to determine whether or not your opportunity is a go or no go with respect to moving your opportunity forward towards business plan development. Legal topics include: business organization, employment practices, taxation and independent contractors, intellectual property, contracts and governance. Financial topics include: verifying the business model and related cost structure, making credible assumptions, preparing forecast financial statements, all leading to a final presentation pitching the feasibility of your opportunity.
Offered Both Fall and Spring
ENT 280
3.00
Knowledge of business alone, or having an idea, is not sufficient for the entrepreneur. You must also learn how to manage yourself and others as you prepare for you first day of business. This course is designed to provide you with the knowledge and skills to build and lead a startup or growing organization through lessons and experiential team projects. Skills covered in this course include: self management, negotiations, networking, sales, conflict/collaboration, and teams.
Offered Both Fall and Spring
ENT 300, ACCT 201, ACCT 202 and Junior Standing.
3.00
Use your knowledge from your entrepreneurship courses and experience up to this point to create a viable business plan that will lend credibility to the viability of your potential audience, which may include investors, financial institutions, suppliers, family or friends. In this course, you will write a business plan that shapes your opportunity into a model that resembles a venture. You will then defend the plan addressing the ventures business model, management team, organization, customers, markets, competitors, operations and risk, all leading to financials that will determine the amount of capital you will need, as well as financing alternatives.
Offered Both Fall and Spring
MGT 101, MKT 210, FIN 310, MGT 317, ISOM 319, ENT 315, ENT 326 and Senior Standing.
3.00
Before you launch your venture, our capstone course gives you an opportunity to assess and consult with other startups through the eyes of their founders. This course is held in an experiential setting to help entrepreneurial majors develop and practice their business skills working with real startups and small business under pro bono consulting arrangements. This course is a transition from student to professional under the supervision of a faculty member who serves as a coach and advisor. Students will learn to interview client organizations, assess the current business, negotiate a statement of work, and develop a project management plan that leads to the consultant-client negotiated deliverable(s). Depending on the client organization, this course will most likely include visiting the client location.
Offered Both Fall and Spring
SOM 101 OR MGT 101; This course was formerly MGT 324
3.00
Are you interested in leading, growing and troubleshooting the entrepreneurial small business? This course provides a detailed analysis of and hands-on experience with the competencies required to lead and grow startups and small businesses. Competencies include the utilization of teams, understanding of the team, organizational characteristics, and level of entrepreneurial thinking that will be accomplished through assessment and practical analysis. Students will complete the course with an understanding of 1) small business leadership skills, 2) team effectiveness skills, 3) decision-making in times of economic growth and stress.
Occasional
Junior Standing
3.00
Social entrepreneurs are people who harness their energy, talent and commitment to make the world a more humane, safe and just place. This is accomplished by applying vision, passion, persistence and leadership to the creation of businesses that are focused on a mission of social responsibility. While the social mission is important, so is the fact that the business funding the mission must be sustainable via revenue generation, market need, and operational efficiency. Creating balance between business effectiveness and serving the needs of the community the business is dedicate to helping, provides a unique challenge to social entrepreneurship to stay entrepreneurial in terms of the business model, thus providing the necessary resources to the social mission.
Offered Fall Term
Junior Standing
3.00
Over the past decade, the world of business and the environment has exploded. Beginning as an engineering-driven movement among a handful of companies during the 1980???s, many firms have learned that improved environment performance can save money and create a competitive advantage. In this course, we will cover how businesses of all sizes are more attentive to environmental issues and the realization that a green business: improves employee morale and health in the workplace, holds a marketing edge over the competition, strengthens the bottom line through operating efficiencies, is recognized as an environmental leader, can have a strong impact in the community and beyond, and can improve public relations.
Offered Spring Term
Junior Standing
3.00
Do you want to know how to take advantage of our global economy? This course will leverage the knowledge acquired from other entrepreneurship and global courses coupled with an overview of the global economy every entrepreneur must compete in and how to transition your business models into real world opportunities. This course will discuss the entrepreneurial process from concept to product feasibility to venture launch answering the following question: How and when should an entrepreneur plan on competing in a global market?
Offered Both Fall and Spring
Junior Standing
3.00
This course will focus on the steps that innovators/entrepreneurs need to follow that will take ideas and launch them into new products. This is accomplished by taking the concept directly to the prospective customers. This course will cover: creating specifications, product sell sheets, prototype development, drafting an executive summary, intellectual property protection, manufacturing and quality control considerations, identifying vendors, customers, and funding sources, and developing a marketing and sales plan for launching the product. During the semester, students will be required to interact with their potential customers, vendors and other key players for the launch.
Offered Both Fall and Spring
Take MKT-210 or MKT-H210 and junior standing required.
3.00
This experiential course is an entrepreneurial approach towards developing a real e-commerce business. Students will build off their marketing skills and entrepreneurial ambitions by a) advancing e-commerce ideas to opportunities, b) understanding the product, logistical, marketing, and managerial challenges associated with e-commerce startups, and c) developing financial models to predict and measure performance. This will be accomplished by students developing a launch plan for the opportunity, as well as executing portions of the launch plan.
Occasional
MGT-317, Junior standing,
3.00
Are you interested in managing the family business and the challenges of succession between generations? If so, this course focuses on the challenges of adapting corporate-type managerial skills to family-owned and operated enterprises that typically reject such practices. The goals of this course include development of a working knowledge of managing the family business, reinterpretation of corporate management concepts for the family business, and personal reflection on the roles and conditions of operating a family business.
Offered Spring Term
ENT 326 and Senior Standing.
3.00
Independent study allows students to expand their classroom experience by completing research in an area of interest not already covered by Suffolk courses. The student designs a unique project and finds a full-time faculty member with expertise in that topic who agrees to sponsor it and provide feedback as the proposal is refined. A well designed and executed research project broadens and/or deepens learning in a major or minor area of study and may also enhance a students marketability to potential future employers. Students cannot register for an Independent Study until a full proposal is approved by the faculty sponsor, department chair, and academic dean. Many Independent study proposals require revisions before approval is granted; even with revisions independent study approval is NOT guaranteed. Students are strongly encouraged to submit a proposal in enough time to register for a different course if the proposal is not accepted. For complete instructions, see the SBS Independent/Directed Study Agreement and Proposal form available online.
Occasional
ENT 326 and Senior Standing
3.00
Are you looking for guidance to launch your venture? If so, this course will allow you to earn credits through an independent study working with faculty and alumni through our Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. Students must draft a launch plan based on their business plan prepared in ENT 326, modified based on feedback received from faculty and judges during the ENT 326 presentations. Students must demonstrate enough evidence to support that the venture will be launched, as well as completing all tasks identified in the launch plan by the end of the semester to receive credit for the course. An ENT faculty member must supervise the student during the launch. The launch plan must provide evidence sufficient to support the number of credits being requested. Once the launch plan is completed, the student must attach the plan to the Independent Study request form and obtain the required approvals before the course will be opened. Maximum of 3 credits allowed.
Occasional
SOM 101, And Junior standing
3.00
This course includes a study of the modern human resources department in industry with special emphasis on the techniques and methods of management, utilization of people, and contemporary human resource issues and problems.
Offered Fall Term
SBS101 & Junior Standing
3.00
How do you manage the day-to-day challenges or working in a small business or starting a new venture? This case-driven course covers the role and importance of small business in the U.S. economy, including the application of all management functions to the operation of a small business; human resources, operations, financial, risk and growth. This course is designed around problem-solving techniques that help you research the facts of a given situation, identify the problem, develop alternative solutions and defending the best solution.
Offered Both Fall and Spring
MGT 317 or instructors consent, and junior standing
3.00
This course explores multicultural diversity in business organizations. In order to learn to effectively manage diversity in the workplace, it is first necessary to become familiar with the concepts and dynamics that underlie many of the organizational issues associated with increased diversity in the workplace. Thus, this course is structured to first study topics such as identity, perception, socialization, stereotyping, and prejudice. With these concepts as a foundation, we will explore the opportunities and challenges created by diversity in the workplace. We will consider issues and dynamics that arise in the workplace as a result of diversity in terms of gender, race, national origin, sexual orientation, and religion. After developing a rich understanding of workplace diversity dynamics, we will consider actions that individuals and organizations can take to address the opportunities and challenges inherent in a diverse workforce to gain competitive advantage. .
Offered Both Fall and Spring
MGT 101
3.00
This course provides students with knowledge of and skills in international management. Students learn how cultural factors influence behavior in the workplace and in the boardroom. In addition, the course will focus on the skills and competencies needed to successfully manage culturally diverse, cross-cultural, and geographically dispersed organizations.
Offered Both Fall and Spring
MGT 317 and Junior Standing
3.00
This course is premised on the fact that whereas a manager needs analytical skills to discover optimal solutions to business problems, a broad array of negotiation skills is needed to implement these solutions. This experiential course is designed to improve your skills in all phases of negotiation: understanding prescriptive and descriptive negotiation theory as it applies to dyadic and multiparty negotiations, to buyer-seller transactions and the resolution of disputes, to the development of negotiation strategy, and to the management of integrative and distributive aspects of the negotiation process. The course is based on a series of simulated negotiations in a variety of contexts including one-on-one, multi-party, cross-cultural, third-party and team negotiations. Please note that given the experiential nature of the course, attendance is mandatory and will be strictly enforced beginning from the first class session.
Offered Both Fall and Spring
MKT 210 or MKT H210
3.00
Students in professional selling learn many of the skills needed to prosper in a sales position. Particularly, the stages of the professional selling process are examined, as well as the role of sales in todays marketing environment. Emphasis is placed on adaptive selling techniques and developing effective interpersonal communication skills. A detailed examination of sales careers is provided.
MKT 210 or MKT H210
3.00
Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) is a cross-functional process for managing customer relationships that drive brand value. This course examines the strategic foundations of IMC, the factors and processes necessary for creating, sending, and receiving successful brand messages. Furthermore, the social, ethical and legal issues as well as measurement and evaluation of marketing communication will be examined.
MKT 210 or MKT H210
3.00
In this course we focus on people as consumers of products, services, and experiences. We do so by drawing upon theories of consumption in fields as diverse as psychology, sociology, economics, and anthropology. Students engage in projects that link theory to insights on consumer buying, using, and disposing behavior and the application of these insights in marketing programs. In the process they become more critical consumers. The classes are discussion based and active participation from students is expected.
MKT 210 or MKT H210; STATS 250 OR STATS 240 AND MKT 318 or MKT-H318
3.00
In this course, students explore the process and practice of research in a marketing context. The impact of research as it affects and shapes managerial decision making for organizations is a central focus. Specifically, we examine the process of designing and conducting qualitative and quantitative marketing research studies. We cover specific method-related practices that facilitate unbiased data collection, data analysis (via SPSS), interpretation of marketing research results, and presentation of such results for use by marketing managers.
MKT 210 or H210
3.00
This course covers the critical role of marketing for entrepreneurs and start-up companies as they attempt to define and carve out a market for a new company, product or service. We will examine through both class discussion and case study how marketing must infiltrate the entire organization beginning with the concept, the business plan and through the early stage development phase. Moreover, we will discuss the creation of the new venture marketing plan, the budgeting and human resource allocation process and its integration into the business plan. We will also look at tactics from guerilla marketing through mass media executions, the potential ROI for both and their influence on the ultimate success of the enterprise.
MKT 210 or H210
3.00
This course explores how we can use the principles of web marketing as effective marketing tools. The course will have the following learning components: lectures, guest lectures, web site analyses, and student project presentations.
MKT 210; MGT 317; FIN 310; ISOM 310; ISOM 319; IB 321
3.00
This course will integrate global business theories and concepts with practice. Topics include: Transnational strategy, foreign direct investment, regional development clusters, role and operation of the WTO, outsourcing and supply chain management, and international ethics. Students integrate discipline-specific knowledge, practice investigation and decision-making around global business issues, improve business communication skills, and practice teamwork for global business decision- making.
Offered Both Fall and Spring
3.00
An in-depth analysis of timely special issues in international business. Specific topics are announced when the course is scheduled.
ACCT 202
3.00
This first course in taxation concentrates on the federal income taxation of individuals with some discussion of business taxation. The objective of the course is to explore the basic structure of individual income taxation, including the individual tax formula, income, deductions and credits and an introduction to property transactions. A major emphasis is placed on how tax laws affect everyday personal and business decisions.
Take BLE-214
3.00
This course is designed to introduce beginning students to the concepts and principles of real estate. The class will allow students to understand the key components of each major real estate asset class (including residential, retail, commercial, industrial, hospitality, properties etc.). Students will also understand the full range of professional players in the industry and what roles they play (brokers, contractors, developers, appraisers, lenders, lawyers, architect, etc.). We will teach the basic elements of a Development Pro-forma Budget, an Operating Pro-forma Budget, and a Sources and Uses Statement? as we learn about some of the essential financial schedules. We begin our discussion with a case that will teach you how to get started and to explore the considerations and tradeoffs in evaluating a specific real estate transaction. The course format utilizes the text, case work, selected web based data sources, selected readings and field trips. Throughout the course, an emphasis is placed on the practical application of the concepts taught, the use of current examples from the industry and todays marketplace.
Offered Fall Term
FIN 310, Junior standing
3.00
This course covers the investment of funds by individuals and institutions. Focuses on analysis of investments and security markets, and the mechanics of trading and investing. A variety of investment vehicles are discussed, including stocks, bonds, futures, and options.
Offered Both Fall and Spring
FIN-310
3.00
This course focuses primarily on real estate investment and many different approaches are discussed. The course examines related areas of law, finance, insurance, taxation, appraisal and brokerage.
Offered Both Fall and Spring
Suggested prerequisite: ISOM 120.
3.00
Web Design introduces the concepts, vocabulary, and procedures associated with web design. Students will learn how to conceptualize and design professional websites using Wix.com and Microsofts Expression Web software. Topics will include website evaluation, information architecture, customer and task analysis, usability testing, web-hosting options, typography, color composition, screen layout, navigation, and cascading style sheets. Students will learn practical skills and techniques in projects involving digital photography, image editing, multimedia, and animation. ISOM 212 will also cover important web design themes such as accessibility, globalization, personalization, and trust.
Offered Both Fall and Spring
SOM 120 OR ISOM 120 OR ISOM 212
3.00
This first course in Internet application development equips students with the principles, methodology and skills required to define, develop and deploy a fully functional dynamic web application. Students will learn how to customize the content, appearance, and delivery of their website using industry-standard web development tools. Class discussion will focus on web development issues for organizations as well as the role played by development tools such as HTML5, CSS3, XML, and scripting. Each class will include hands-on lab work. A term project will be used to wrap the course content together.
Offered Spring Term
ISOM 120
3.00
This course provides a comprehensive introduction to mobile app technology and design concepts. Students learn how to design, build, and optimize cross-platform mobile app using HTML5 standards. Students use CSS3, JavaScript and several JavaScript frameworks and techniques such as jQuery, jQuery Mobile, and AJAX. In addition, students will use Web services, such as Google Maps, and Web Application Programming Interfaces (Web APIs) to integrate content into their apps. Students will learn how to convert HTML5 apps into native apps for various mobile platforms. This is an introductory course and assumes no prior programming experience.
Offered Spring Term
ISOM 310, or ISOM 423 or ACCT 430 & junior standing
3.00
This course examines the role of information systems and e-commerce in global business competition. It considers the technological, cultural, economic, social and legal issues in the development of cross-border information systems for business or social developments. Readings and cases will be used to examine current issues, as well as opportunities and challenges. Prerequisites: ISOM 310, or ISOM 423 or ACCT 430 May also be taken concurrently.
Offered Fall Term
*ENT-350, ENT-352, ENT-354 and ENT-358 require a Junior standing in order to take.
**SBS101 and Junior standing are a prerequisite for MGT-320.
The required Entrepreneurship courses occur in a four (4) semester sequence starting in your second semester of your sophomore year or your first semester of your junior year (but no later than the second semester of your junior year).
Required Courses
SBS 101;Sophomore Standing.
3.00
Ever wonder how entrepreneurs get their ideas? In this course, you will learn a deliberate process of opportunity recognition and discovery. You will learn how to generate ideas taking into consideration rarity, value, and your entrepreneurial fit. Through this process, you will gain an understanding or your knowledge, skills and abilities intended to improve the likelihood of success. Once your opportunity is identified, you will determine the feasibility of its feasibility from concept to an industry and competitive analysis.
Offered Both Fall and Spring
ACCT 201 AND ENT 280.
3.00
Expand upon your feasibility plan from ENT 280, or identify a new opportunity, and learn about the financial and legal considerations that need to be addressed to determine whether or not your opportunity is a go or no go with respect to moving your opportunity forward towards business plan development. Legal topics include: business organization, employment practices, taxation and independent contractors, intellectual property, contracts and governance. Financial topics include: verifying the business model and related cost structure, making credible assumptions, preparing forecast financial statements, all leading to a final presentation pitching the feasibility of your opportunity.
Offered Both Fall and Spring
ENT 280
3.00
Knowledge of business alone, or having an idea, is not sufficient for the entrepreneur. You must also learn how to manage yourself and others as you prepare for you first day of business. This course is designed to provide you with the knowledge and skills to build and lead a startup or growing organization through lessons and experiential team projects. Skills covered in this course include: self management, negotiations, networking, sales, conflict/collaboration, and teams.
Offered Both Fall and Spring
ENT 300, ACCT 201, ACCT 202 and Junior Standing.
3.00
Use your knowledge from your entrepreneurship courses and experience up to this point to create a viable business plan that will lend credibility to the viability of your potential audience, which may include investors, financial institutions, suppliers, family or friends. In this course, you will write a business plan that shapes your opportunity into a model that resembles a venture. You will then defend the plan addressing the ventures business model, management team, organization, customers, markets, competitors, operations and risk, all leading to financials that will determine the amount of capital you will need, as well as financing alternatives.
Offered Both Fall and Spring
In addition to the above four (4) courses, students from the College of Arts and Sciences are required to take SBS 101 Business Foundations before starting the Entrepreneurship minor
3.00
Courses in the 550s are new offerings in Entrepreneurship. Special topics are announced when the courses are scheduled. Prerequisites vary from course to course. Do You Want to Start a Business? This introductory survey course is designed to help students learn about starting a business and assess their personal interest in pursuing such activity. Topics cover the range of business start-up activities from personal assessment to opportunity recognition, market assessment, feasibility determination, financial planning, legal, human resources, and business planning.
Offered Both Fall and Spring
SBS 101;Sophomore Standing.
3.00
Ever wonder how entrepreneurs get their ideas? In this course, you will learn a deliberate process of opportunity recognition and discovery. You will learn how to generate ideas taking into consideration rarity, value, and your entrepreneurial fit. Through this process, you will gain an understanding or your knowledge, skills and abilities intended to improve the likelihood of success. Once your opportunity is identified, you will determine the feasibility of its feasibility from concept to an industry and competitive analysis.
Offered Both Fall and Spring
ACCT 201 AND ENT 280.
3.00
Expand upon your feasibility plan from ENT 280, or identify a new opportunity, and learn about the financial and legal considerations that need to be addressed to determine whether or not your opportunity is a go or no go with respect to moving your opportunity forward towards business plan development. Legal topics include: business organization, employment practices, taxation and independent contractors, intellectual property, contracts and governance. Financial topics include: verifying the business model and related cost structure, making credible assumptions, preparing forecast financial statements, all leading to a final presentation pitching the feasibility of your opportunity.
Offered Both Fall and Spring
3.00
Expand upon your feasibility plan from ENT 280, or identify a new opportunity, and learn about the financial and legal considerations that need to be addressed to determine whether or not your opportunity is a go or no go with respect to moving your opportunity forward towards business plan development. Legal topics include: business organization, employment practices, taxation and independent contractors, intellectual property, contracts and governance. Financial topics include: verifying the business model and related cost structure, making credible assumptions, preparing forecast financial statements, all leading to a final presentation pitching the feasibility of your opportunity.
ENT 280
3.00
Knowledge of business alone, or having an idea, is not sufficient for the entrepreneur. You must also learn how to manage yourself and others as you prepare for you first day of business. This course is designed to provide you with the knowledge and skills to build and lead a startup or growing organization through lessons and experiential team projects. Skills covered in this course include: self management, negotiations, networking, sales, conflict/collaboration, and teams.
Offered Both Fall and Spring
Take ENT-280 or ENT-H280; GPA of 3.3 or higher
3.00
Knowledge of business alone, or having an idea, is not sufficient for the entrepreneur. You must also learn how to manage yourself and others as you prepare for you first day of business. This course is designed to provide you with the knowledge and skills to build and lead a startup or growing organization through lessons and experiential team projects. Skills covered in this course include: self management, negotiations, networking, sales, conflict/collaboration, and teams.
SOM 101 OR MGT 101; This course was formerly MGT 324
3.00
Are you interested in leading, growing and troubleshooting the entrepreneurial small business? This course provides a detailed analysis of and hands-on experience with the competencies required to lead and grow startups and small businesses. Competencies include the utilization of teams, understanding of the team, organizational characteristics, and level of entrepreneurial thinking that will be accomplished through assessment and practical analysis. Students will complete the course with an understanding of 1) small business leadership skills, 2) team effectiveness skills, 3) decision-making in times of economic growth and stress.
Occasional
ENT 300, ACCT 201, ACCT 202 and Junior Standing.
3.00
Use your knowledge from your entrepreneurship courses and experience up to this point to create a viable business plan that will lend credibility to the viability of your potential audience, which may include investors, financial institutions, suppliers, family or friends. In this course, you will write a business plan that shapes your opportunity into a model that resembles a venture. You will then defend the plan addressing the ventures business model, management team, organization, customers, markets, competitors, operations and risk, all leading to financials that will determine the amount of capital you will need, as well as financing alternatives.
Offered Both Fall and Spring
Take ENT-300 ACCT-201 ACCT-202;
3.00
Use your knowledge from your entrepreneurship courses and experience up to this point to create a viable business plan that will lend credibility to the viability of your potential audience, which may include investors, financial institutions, suppliers, family or friends. In this course, you will write a business plan that shapes your opportunity into a model that resembles a venture. You will then defend the plan addressing the ventures business model, management team, organization, customers, markets, competitors, operations, and risk, all leading to financials that will determine the amount of capital you will need, as well as financing alternatives.
Junior Standing
3.00
Social entrepreneurs are people who harness their energy, talent and commitment to make the world a more humane, safe and just place. This is accomplished by applying vision, passion, persistence and leadership to the creation of businesses that are focused on a mission of social responsibility. While the social mission is important, so is the fact that the business funding the mission must be sustainable via revenue generation, market need, and operational efficiency. Creating balance between business effectiveness and serving the needs of the community the business is dedicate to helping, provides a unique challenge to social entrepreneurship to stay entrepreneurial in terms of the business model, thus providing the necessary resources to the social mission.
Offered Fall Term
3.00
Social entrepreneurs are people who harness their energy, talent and commitment to make the world a more humane, safe and just place. This is accomplished by applying vision, passion, persistence and leadership to the creation of businesses that are focused on a mission of social responsibility. While the social mission is important, so is the fact that the business funding the mission must be sustainable via revenue generation, market need, and operational efficiency. Creating balance between business effectiveness and serving the needs of the community the business is dedicate to helping, provides a unique challenge to social entrepreneurship to stay entrepreneurial in terms of the business model, thus providing the necessary resources to the social mission.
Occasional
Junior Standing
3.00
Over the past decade, the world of business and the environment has exploded. Beginning as an engineering-driven movement among a handful of companies during the 1980???s, many firms have learned that improved environment performance can save money and create a competitive advantage. In this course, we will cover how businesses of all sizes are more attentive to environmental issues and the realization that a green business: improves employee morale and health in the workplace, holds a marketing edge over the competition, strengthens the bottom line through operating efficiencies, is recognized as an environmental leader, can have a strong impact in the community and beyond, and can improve public relations.
Offered Spring Term
Junior Standing
3.00
Do you want to know how to take advantage of our global economy? This course will leverage the knowledge acquired from other entrepreneurship and global courses coupled with an overview of the global economy every entrepreneur must compete in and how to transition your business models into real world opportunities. This course will discuss the entrepreneurial process from concept to product feasibility to venture launch answering the following question: How and when should an entrepreneur plan on competing in a global market?
Offered Both Fall and Spring
Junior Standing
3.00
This course will focus on the steps that innovators/entrepreneurs need to follow that will take ideas and launch them into new products. This is accomplished by taking the concept directly to the prospective customers. This course will cover: creating specifications, product sell sheets, prototype development, drafting an executive summary, intellectual property protection, manufacturing and quality control considerations, identifying vendors, customers, and funding sources, and developing a marketing and sales plan for launching the product. During the semester, students will be required to interact with their potential customers, vendors and other key players for the launch.
Offered Both Fall and Spring
Take MKT-210 or MKT-H210 and junior standing required.
3.00
This experiential course is an entrepreneurial approach towards developing a real e-commerce business. Students will build off their marketing skills and entrepreneurial ambitions by a) advancing e-commerce ideas to opportunities, b) understanding the product, logistical, marketing, and managerial challenges associated with e-commerce startups, and c) developing financial models to predict and measure performance. This will be accomplished by students developing a launch plan for the opportunity, as well as executing portions of the launch plan.
Occasional
Take BLE-214 or BLE-H214; junior standing required
3.00
How do you protect yourself, your venture, and your intellectual property when starting a new business? In this course, you will learn the substantive areas of the law that are essential to entrepreneurs and an integration of that knowledge with ethics. Specifically, you will gain a stronger understanding of a) how to select a law firm that best fits the startup and b) how to protect your intellectual property through the use of trademarks, copyrights, patents, trade secrets, non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements. You will also learn how startups can protect their interests through the use of organizational structures and related equity restrictions and employment agreements. From the ethics standpoint, this course will focus on corporate governance and the importance of a management leading an ethical culture. We will examine substantive areas of the law that create legal risk and point to ethical issues within an organization. An important element for the entrepreneur is communication skills; therefore this course will have a major writing assignment along with a speaking requirement.
Occasional
MGT 101, MKT 210, FIN 310, MGT 317, ISOM 319, ENT 315, ENT 326 and Senior Standing.
3.00
Before you launch your venture, our capstone course gives you an opportunity to assess and consult with other startups through the eyes of their founders. This course is held in an experiential setting to help entrepreneurial majors develop and practice their business skills working with real startups and small business under pro bono consulting arrangements. This course is a transition from student to professional under the supervision of a faculty member who serves as a coach and advisor. Students will learn to interview client organizations, assess the current business, negotiate a statement of work, and develop a project management plan that leads to the consultant-client negotiated deliverable(s). Depending on the client organization, this course will most likely include visiting the client location.
Offered Both Fall and Spring
MGT 101 MKT 210 FIN 310 MGT 317 ISOM 319 ENT 315 ENT 326
3.00
This capstone course is held in an experiential setting to help entrepreneurial majors develop and practice their business skills working with real startups or small business under pro bono consulting arrangements. This course is a transition from student to professional under the supervision of a faculty member, coach and advisor. Students will learn to assess client situations, develop alternatives and identify and defend solutions, at times within the client organization. Prerequisites: SOM 101 or MGT 101, MKT 210 or MKT 310, FIN 310, MGT 317, ISOM 319, ENT 315, ENT 326 and Senior standing. 1 term - 3 credits.
MGT-317, Junior standing,
3.00
Are you interested in managing the family business and the challenges of succession between generations? If so, this course focuses on the challenges of adapting corporate-type managerial skills to family-owned and operated enterprises that typically reject such practices. The goals of this course include development of a working knowledge of managing the family business, reinterpretation of corporate management concepts for the family business, and personal reflection on the roles and conditions of operating a family business.
Offered Spring Term
ENT 326 and Senior Standing.
3.00
Independent study allows students to expand their classroom experience by completing research in an area of interest not already covered by Suffolk courses. The student designs a unique project and finds a full-time faculty member with expertise in that topic who agrees to sponsor it and provide feedback as the proposal is refined. A well designed and executed research project broadens and/or deepens learning in a major or minor area of study and may also enhance a students marketability to potential future employers. Students cannot register for an Independent Study until a full proposal is approved by the faculty sponsor, department chair, and academic dean. Many Independent study proposals require revisions before approval is granted; even with revisions independent study approval is NOT guaranteed. Students are strongly encouraged to submit a proposal in enough time to register for a different course if the proposal is not accepted. For complete instructions, see the SBS Independent/Directed Study Agreement and Proposal form available online.
Occasional
ENT 326 and Senior Standing
3.00
Are you looking for guidance to launch your venture? If so, this course will allow you to earn credits through an independent study working with faculty and alumni through our Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. Students must draft a launch plan based on their business plan prepared in ENT 326, modified based on feedback received from faculty and judges during the ENT 326 presentations. Students must demonstrate enough evidence to support that the venture will be launched, as well as completing all tasks identified in the launch plan by the end of the semester to receive credit for the course. An ENT faculty member must supervise the student during the launch. The launch plan must provide evidence sufficient to support the number of credits being requested. Once the launch plan is completed, the student must attach the plan to the Independent Study request form and obtain the required approvals before the course will be opened. Maximum of 3 credits allowed.
Occasional
3.00
Social entrepreneurs are people who harness their energy, talent and commitment to make the world a more humane, safe and just place. This is accomplished by applying vision, passion, persistence and leadership to the creation of businesses that are focused on a mission of social responsibility. While the social mission is important, so is the fact that the business funding the mission must be sustainable via revenue generation, market need, and operational efficiency. Creating balance between business effectiveness and serving the needs of the community the business is dedicate to helping, provides a unique challenge to social entrepreneurship to stay entrepreneurial in terms of the business model, thus providing the necessary resources to the social mission.
Occasional
3.00
Over the past decade, the world of business and the environment has exploded. Beginning as an engineering-driven movement among a handful of companies during the 1980s, many firms have learned that improved environmental performance can save money and create competitive advantage. Much of the focus over the last 30 years has been on larger businesses. But now the big businesses are encouraging their small and mid-sized enterprises vendors and partners to pay attention to these concerns also. Consequently, the greening of Small Business is of utmost importance as many small businesses are a part of the supply chains of larger companies. And improving their performance can strengthen the business relationships of all parties by becoming cleaner, greener and sustainable businesses. This course will cover all aspects of green and sustainable business from innovation to new products to greening of the supply chain. It will cover how small and large businesses like GE, GM and others are paying attention to this very critical topic and taking actions which benefit the environment as well as their bottom lines.
Junior Standing Required
3.00
Do you want to know how to take advantage of our global economy? This course will leverage the knowledge acquired from other entrepreneurship and global courses coupled with an overview of the global economy every entrepreneur must compete in and how to transition your business models into real world opportunities. This course will discuss the entrepreneurial process from concept to product feasibility to venture launch answering the following question: How and when should an entrepreneur plan on competing in a global market?
ACCT 201, ACCT 202, and Junior standing required
3.00
Did you ever wonder how you are going to start a business or run an existing small business without enough capital? This is a very common phenomenon where startups and small businesses are typically undercapitalized and need to maximize internally-generated cash flow to not only start of run the business, but to also grow. Centered around an experiential process, this course will identify how to internally generate cash flow with the realization that more than 90% of all ventures operate in a bootstrapping environment. This course will identify a strong understanding of cash inflows, outflows, and maximizing both components to generate additional capital necessary for the businesss requirements.
3.00
This course will focus on the steps that innovators/entrepreneurs need to follow that will take ideas and launch them into new products. This is accomplished by taking the concept directly to the prospective customers. This course will cover: creating specifications, product sell sheets, prototype development, drafting an executive summary, intellectual property protection, manufacturing and quality control considerations, identifying vendors, customers, and funding sources, and developing a marketing and sales plan for launching the product. During the semester, students will be required to interact with their potential customers, vendors and other key players for the launch.
Professors: Dumas, MacLean, Mazen, O'Neill, Ornstein, Webber (Chair), Zanzi
Associate Professors: Levesque
Assistant Professors: Demirkan, Huvaj, Lam, Nagy, Roussin
Executive in Residence: Stybel
Instructor: Detjen, Moker
