Courses
In close collaboration with the department of Management Science and Engineering (MS&E), the Stanford Technology Ventures Program delivers entrepreneurship and innovation courses for both undergraduate and graduate students. For detailed information on each course, visit explorecourses.stanford.edu.
Special thanks to Fenwick & West for generously supporting STVP courses taught
by adjunct professors, in partnership with MS&E. 
Jump to a course:
- ENGR 140A Leadership of Technology Ventures
- ENGR 140B Leadership of Technology Ventures
- ENGR 140C Leadership of Technology Ventures
- ENGR 145 Technology Entrepreneurship
- MS&E; 140 Accounting for Managers and Entrepreneurs (MS&E; 240)
- MS&E; 175 Innovation, Creativity, and Change
- MS&E; 178 The Spirit of Entrepreneurship
- MS&E; 180 Organizations: Theory and Management
- ME 208 Patent Law and Strategy for Innovators and Entrepreneurs (MS&E; 278)
- ENGR 245 Technology Entrepreneurship and Lean Startups
- MS&E; 270 Strategy in Technology-Based Companies
- MS&E; 271 Global Entrepreneurial Marketing
- MS&E; 272 Startup Boards
- MS&E; 273 Technology Venture Formation
- MS&E; 276 Entrepreneurial Management and Finance
- MS&E; 277 Creativity and Innovation
- MS&E; 280 Organizational Behavior: Evidence in Action
- MS&E; 283 Scaling up Excellence in Organizations
- MS&E; 371 Innovation and Strategic Change
- MS&E; 372 Entrepreneurship Doctoral Research Seminar
- MS&E; 376 Strategy Doctoral Research Seminar
- MS&E; 472 Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders' Seminar
ENGR
140ALeadership of Technology Ventures
3-4 units, undergraduate
Offered: 2012-2013 Spring [Byers, T]
First of three-part sequence for students selected to the Mayfield Fellows Program. Management and leadership within high technology startups, focusing on entrepreneurial skills related to product and market strategy, venture financing and cash flow management, team recruiting and organizational development, and the challenges of managing growth and handling adversity in emerging ventures. Other engineering faculty, founders, and venture capitalists participate as appropriate. Recommended: accounting or finance course (MS&E 140, ECON 90, or ENGR 60).
ENGR
140BLeadership of Technology Ventures
1-2 units, undergraduate
Offered: 2012-2013 Autumn [Byers, T]
Open to Mayfield Fellows only; taken during the summer internship at a technology startup. Students exchange experiences and continue the formal learning process. Activities journal. Credit given following quarter.
ENGR
140CLeadership of Technology Ventures
2-3 units, undergraduate
Offered: 2012-2013 Autumn [Byers, T]
Open to Mayfield Fellows only. Capstone to the 140 sequence. Students, faculty, employers, and venture capitalists share recent internship experiences and analytical frameworks. Students develop living case studies and integrative project reports.
ENGR
145Technology Entrepreneurship
4 units, undergraduate
Offered: 2012-2013 Winter [Eesley, C]
2012-2013 Summer [Kosnik, T]
2012-2013 Winter [Eesley, C]
2012-2013 Summer [Kosnik, T]How do you create a successful start-up? What is entrepreneurial leadership in a large firm? What are the differences between an idea and true opportunity? How does an entrepreneur form a team and gather the resources necessary to create a great enterprise? This class mixes mentor-guided team projects, in-depth case studies, research on the entrepreneurial process, and the opportunity to network and ask questions of Silicon Valley's top entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. For undergraduates of all majors who seek to understand the formation and growth of high-impact start-ups in areas such as information, green/clean, medical and consumer technologies. No prerequisites. Limited enrollment.
MS&E;
140Accounting for Managers and Entrepreneurs (MS&E; 240)
3-4 units, undergraduate
Offered: 2012-2013 Autumn [Stanton, F]
2012-2013 Winter [Stanton, F]
2012-2013 Summer [Stanton, F]Non-majors and minors who have taken or are taking elementary accounting should not enroll. Introduction to accounting concepts and the operating characteristics of accounting systems. The principles of financial and cost accounting, design of accounting systems, techniques of analysis, and cost control. Interpretation and use of accounting information for decision making. Designed for the user of accounting information and not as an introduction to a professional accounting career. Enrollment limited. Admission by order of enrollment.
MS&E;
175Innovation, Creativity, and Change
3-4 units, undergraduate
Offered: 2012-2013 Autumn [Stanton, F]
2012-2013 Winter [Stanton, F]
2012-2013 Summer [Stanton, F]Problem solving in organizations; creativity and innovation skills; thinking tools; creative organizations, teams, individuals, and communities. Limited enrollment. (Katila)
MS&E;
178The Spirit of Entrepreneurship
3 units, undergraduate
Offered: 2012-2013 Autumn [Belani, R]
2012-2013 Winter [Roizen, H]
2012-2013 Spring [Corey, T]Is there more to entrepreneurship than inventing the better mouse trap? This course uses the speakers from the Entrepreneurial Thought Leader seminar (MS&E472) to drive research and discussion about what makes an entrepreneur successful. Topics include venture financing, business models, and interpersonal dynamics in the startup environment. Students meet before and after MS&E 472 to prepare for and debrief after the sessions. Enrollment limited to 50 students. Admission by application.
MS&E;
180Organizations: Theory and Management
4 units, undergraduate
Offered: 2012-2013 Autumn [Siino, R]
2012-2013 Spring [Hinds, P]For undergraduates only; preference to MS&E majors. Classical and contemporary organization theory; the behavior of individuals, groups, and organizations. Limited enrollment. Admission by application. Students must attend first session.
ME
208Patent Law and Strategy for Innovators and Entrepreneurs (MS&E; 278)
2-3 units, graduate
Offered: 2012-2013 Autumn [Schox, J]
Inventors and entrepreneurs have four concerns related to patent law: protecting their inventions in the very early stages of product development, determining the patentability of their invention, avoiding infringement of a competitor's patent, and leveraging their patent as a business asset. This course will address each of these concerns through the application of law cases and business cases to an invention of the Studentâ¿¿s choice. Although listed as a ME/MSE course, the course is not specific to any discipline or technology.
ENGR
245Technology Entrepreneurship and Lean Startups
3-4 units, graduate
Offered: 2012-2013 Winter [Blank, S; Feiber, J; Miura-Ko, R]
2012-2013 WinterApply emerging entrepreneurship principles including the popular "lean startups" and "customer development" frameworks to prototype, test, and iterate your product while discovering if you have a profitable business model. Work and study in teams or, in rare cases, alone. Proposal required during first week of the quarter. Proposals can be software, physical good, or service of any kind. Projects are treated as real start-ups, so work will be intense. Perquisite; interest and passion in exploring whether a technology idea can become a real company.
MS&E;
270Strategy in Technology-Based Companies
3-4 units, graduate
Offered: 2012-2013 Winter [Katila, R]
For graduate students only. Introduction to the basic concepts of strategy, with emphasis on high technology firms. Topics: competitive positioning, resource-based perspectives, co-opetition and standards setting, and complexity/evolutionary perspectives. Limited enrollment.
MS&E;
271Global Entrepreneurial Marketing
3-4 units, graduate
Offered: 2012-2013 Winter [Kosnik, T; Novitsky, D; Ramfelt, L; Smith, L]
2012-2013 Spring [Kosnik, T; Novitsky, D; Ramfelt, L; Smith, L]Skills needed to market new technology-based products to customers around the world. Case method discussions. Cases include startups and global high tech firms. Course themes: marketing toolkit, targeting markets and customers, product marketing and management, partners and distribution, sales and negotiation, and outbound marketing. Team-based take-home final exam. Limited enrollment. Admission by application.
MS&E;
272Startup Boards
3 units, graduate
Offered: 2012-2013 Spring [Korver, C]
Accelerate your startup through hands-on guidance from a board of venture capitalists and experienced entrepreneurs custom built for your team. Like real startup boards, your board will help your team identify critical milestones, assist in achieving them, and hold your team accountable through regular board meetings. Learn how to avoid common mistakes which lead to ineffective board meetings, fired CEOs, and sometimes even the failure of an otherwise promising venture. Topics include designing a board, recruiting board members, managing board meetings, making strategic decisions, conflicts of interests, fiduciary responsibilities, ethical responsibilities, and CEO succession. Limited enrollment. Admission by application. Preference given to teams with demonstrated commitment to a viable startup business.
MS&E;
273Technology Venture Formation
3-4 units, graduate
Offered: 2012-2013 Autumn [Fuchs, J; Lyons, M; MacLean, A]
Open to graduate students interested in technology driven start-ups. Provides the experience of an early-stage entrepreneur seeking initial investment, including: team building, opportunity assessment, customer development, go-to-market strategy, and IP. Teaching team includes serial entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. Student teams validate the business model using R&D plans and financial projections, and define milestones for raising and using venture capital. Final exam is an investment pitch delivered to a panel of top tier VC partners. In addition to lectures, teams interact with mentors and teaching team weekly. Enrollment limited. Recommended: 270, 271, or equivalent.
MS&E;
276Entrepreneurial Management and Finance
3 units, graduate
Offered: 2012-2013 Spring [Byers, T; Loy, T]
For graduate students only with a preference for engineering and science majors. Emphasis on managing the challenges high-growth ventures experience, especially those based on technology products and services. Students develop a set of skills and approaches to becoming effective entrepreneurial managers. Topics include business model management, deal structure and negotiation, raising capital and financial management, venture operations and organizational administration, managing the interplay between ownership and growth, and handling adversity as well as failure. Limited enrollment. Admission by application. Prerequisite: 140/240, or equivalent.
MS&E;
277Creativity and Innovation
3-4 units, graduate
Offered: 2012-2013 Spring [Britos Cavagnaro, L; Seelig, T]
Experiential course explores factors that promote and inhibit creativity and innovation in individuals, teams, and organizations. Teaches creativity tools using workshops, case studies, field trips, expert guests, and team design challenges. Enrollment limited to 40. Admission by application. See https://creativity.stanford.edu.
MS&E;
280Organizational Behavior: Evidence in Action
3-4 units, graduate
Offered: 2012-2013 Autumn [Siino, R]
2012-2013 Winter [Sutton, R]Organization theory; concepts and functions of management; behavior of the individual, work group, and organization. Emphasis is on cases and related discussion. Enrollment limited; priority to MS&E students.
MS&E;
283Scaling up Excellence in Organizations
4 units, graduate
Offered: 2012-2013 Winter [Rao, H; Sutton, R]
A problem for every manager is to make 'good' behaviors spread quickly and to shrink 'undesirable' behaviors quickly. This course provides you practical frameworks to accomplish these managerial goals. We will examine issues such as scaling Idea generation, scaling knowledge sharing, scaling the adoption of ideas across firms, scaling change in global firms. We will be using a newly written series of cases for this course and also draw on guest speakers.
MS&E;
371Innovation and Strategic Change
2-3 units, graduate
Offered: 2012-2013 Winter [Rao, H; Sutton, R]
Doctoral research seminar, limited to Ph.D. students. Current research on innovation strategy. Topics: scientific discovery, innovation search, organizational learning, evolutionary approaches, and incremental and radical change. Topics change yearly. Recommended: course in statistics or research methods.
MS&E;
372Entrepreneurship Doctoral Research Seminar
1-3 units, graduate
Offered: 2012-2013 Winter [Eesley, C]
Classic and current research on entrepreneurship. Limited enrollment, restricted to PhD students. Prerequisites: SOC 363 or equivalent, and permission of instructor.
MS&E;
376Strategy Doctoral Research Seminar
3 units, graduate
Offered: 2012-2013 Spring [Eisenhardt, K]
2012-2013 AutumnClassic and current research on business and corporate strategy. Limited enrollment, restricted to PhD students. Prerequisites: SOC 363 or equivalent, and permission of instructor. Course may be repeated for credit.
MS&E;
472Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders' Seminar
1 unit, graduate
Offered: 2012-2013 Autumn [Byers, T; Kosnik, T; Seelig, T]
2012-2013 Winter [Byers, T; Kosnik, T; Seelig, T]
2012-2013 Spring [Byers, T; Kosnik, T; Seelig, T]Entrepreneurial leaders share lessons from real-world experiences across entrepreneurial settings. ETL speakers include entrepreneurs, leaders from global technology companies, venture capitalists, and best-selling authors. Half-hour talks followed by half hour of class interaction. Required web discussion. May be repeated for credit.
Sponsored by Draper Fisher Jurvetson
