ETBS
Entrepreneurship and Technology-Based Startups
a course in Entrepreneurship for all PhD students
Universities have a large enterprise-creation potential that is still underutilized. The ETBS course aims to improve the entrepreneurial knowledge of researchers in order to let them translate scientific results in an entrepreneurial venture. The program is open to all PhD students, Post-Docs and researchers of the University of Padova, from any research area (Engineering, Sciences, Life Sciences, Humanities, etc.). ETBS is organized in two levels:
- ETBS-1 : it's organized in 7 classes (20-hours) and provides the resources to develop knowledge and attitude in the entrepreneurial field.
- ETBS-2 : it's a highly practical program for research teams who actually want to transform the results of their research into an entrepreneurial project.
ETBS-1: course contents
From the idea to the market
- From a research project to an entrepreneurial project
- Recognize and evaluate an entrepreneurial opportunity
- Market dimension, customers profiles and value proposition
- Development of the product/service concept
- Go-to-Market strategies
Intellectual Property Rights
- Types of IPR (patent, copyright, trademark)
- The structure of a patent application (description, claims, etc)
- Getting a patent: the patenting process (step by step)
- When to file a patent application: priority date, Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
- Where to protect an invention
- Different IPR strategies
The team and the early decisions
- The creation of the founders' team
- Types and characteristics of founders' teams
- Founders' decisions and their consequences
- Frequent mistakes and suggestions deriving from experience
The economic and financial aspects of a startup
- The fundamental economic and financial operations of a technology-based startup
- The structures of the financial statements
- Income Statement, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow
- Evaluation of the value of the company
- Sources and cost of capital
Funding a startup
- Different sources of funds: Angel Investors and Venture Capital
- Investment companies and funds: how they work
- How and what investors evaluate
- The investment agreements between investors and startups
- New ventures’ funding options
ETBS-2: advanced-level program
- It is strictly based on an entrepreneurial project proposed by the participants
- Participants need to develop their own project and are followed on an individual or group level
- A selection is made to accept only a few promising projects
- It is possible to participate individually but the participation of groups is encouraged
- Interaction between participants and teachers could be in presence but also with any other communication tool/device (at a distance)
- The activation of the course is "on demand" and can take place at any time. There are no deadlines
- The duration of the course is variable according to the stage of the project
