Minor Building Your Own Business

From start to finish, you will lay out your individual development as an entrepreneur (Your Drive). This will be guided by your coach. You will work on your own business idea (Your Dream) Moby attending classes, workshops and Q&As with experienced entrepreneurs, and weekly team meetings. 

The minor begins with a boot camp. Working in a team, you will set up a business to explore entrepreneurship in its essence. After that, your team will work on a real business challenge. You will also attend classes on practical entrepreneurship, covering topics related to running your own business.

After the first few weeks, it is time to start your individual project. In twelve weeks’ time, you go through the design circle: inspiration, ideation and implementation.   

Halfway through, Global Entrepreneurship Week takes place, featuring guest speakers and Q&As. Searching for Loeihard, Sassybot or Twirlbound on Google will give you an idea of the visiting companies. 

More information:

Language of instruction

English.

Admission requirements

Admission requirements for BUas students:

• Personal intake interview, an entrepreneurial mindset and 3 years of a bachelor’s programme
• Propaedeutic certificate obtained

Admission requirements for external students:

• The Building Your Own Business minor is intended for students in their fourth year of the programme (CB Year 3). This minor is for motivated, proactive young professionals with an entrepreneurial mindset.  
  The minor is taught in English. Please bear in mind that you will be working long hours. Most weeks, you will have lectures in the morning and time to work on your projects in the afternoon.
• Propaedeutic certificate obtained

Learning outcomes & competencies

• You will develop a professional and reflective approach to entrepreneurial practice and personal skill development.
• You will learn to generate, interpret and apply relevant insights in order to identify and assess potential business directions. 
• You will learn to design and critically evaluate business model scenarios, using evidence and KPIs to validate them.
• You will learn to assess the viability, desirability, feasibility and social responsibility of the developed business case.

To achieve this, you will 

• conduct and reflect on a multitude of research methodologies: explore, define, and analyse trends, markets, and customers to identify and assess potential business directions;
• generate, analyse and evaluate ideas to validate business scenario’s; 
• develop and assess your business case in terms of viability, desirability, feasibility, and (corporate) social responsibility;
• develop entrepreneurial competencies and creative and entrepreneurial skills such as reflective, planning, goal setting, leadership, risk-taking, networking and teamwork skills.

Topics and structure of the minor

This minor will help you explore your entrepreneurial ambitions and even kick-start your own company, which is especially interesting when you choose to do an entrepreneurship graduation project after this minor.   
From start to finish, you will lay out your individual development as an entrepreneur (Your Drive). This will be supported with guidance with your coach. Your Dream (read: My Dream) is central in the programme. You will work on your own business idea by attending classes, workshops and Q&A's with experienced entrepreneurs, and weekly team meetings. Also, you will have regular 1:1 meetings about your development with your coach.  

The first weeks  
The minor begins with a boot camp lasting approximately two weeks. Working in a team, you will set up a business to explore entrepreneurship in its essence. After that, your team will work on a real business challenge (approximately 3 weeks). You will also attend classes on practical entrepreneurship, covering topics related to running your own business.

My Dream 
After the first few weeks, it is time to start your individual project. In recent years, students came up with all kinds of business ideas, such as a vegan lunch spot, a jewellery brand and a new video game. In twelve weeks’ time, you go through the design circle: inspiration, ideation and implementation.   

During the inspiration phase, you conduct various types of research. For example, you explore market trends, identify relevant markets and gain solid customer insight. The aim of all this research is to provide insight into business opportunities. 
During the ideation phase, you consider alternatives and generate creative ideas. You analyse all the research data to generate several good ideas. 
In the implementation phase, you work on your marketing and financial plans. Your final product is the plan that you present to your lecturers at the end of the minor.   
Halfway through, Global Entrepreneurship Week takes place, featuring guest speakers and Q&As. Searching for Loeihard, Sassybot or Twirlbound on Google will give you an idea of the visiting companies. You will also attend several external workshops of your choice, for example on sales, marketing or sustainability.

What’s in it for you?
Taking this minor will help you explore your entrepreneurial ambitions and even kick-start your own company. This is particularly interesting if you choose to complete an entrepreneurship graduation project after taking the minor.   
From start to finish, you will use an entrepreneurial scan (Your Drive) to measure your progress as an entrepreneur. You will also have one-to-one conversations with your coach and an interview with an experienced entrepreneur.

During the 20 weeks, you will work on your personal development in the ‘Drive’ section. You will have access to personal and business coaching. Following Brown’s design cycle, the course consists of three main parts: Inspiration, Ideation, and Implementation. 

Teaching & assessment

Interactive lectures and workshops, tutorials, coach meetings, milestone meetings and guest lectures

5 ECTS    Boost Camp – presentation (pass/fail) 
               Team up for Business  - memo + presentation (0-10 grade) 
5 ECTS    My Drive – Individual project (0-10 grade) 
20 ECTS  My Dream – portfolio + presentation (0-10 grade) 

Minor coordinator

Jelmer Weijschede: [email protected]