Frank Guldenmund
Course description
Successful entrepreneurship begins with an adequate analyses of firm, product, and market. This course introduces the fundamental issues of business economics which technical entrepreneurs would encounter in practice. The emphasis is on financial economic aspects, among others: how to decide on investment projects? Which financial means are available for (start-up) firms? How to justify the financial performance of an entrepreneurial venture? How to arrive at an accurate cost-benefit analysis, particularly in high-tech firms, where investments such as intellectual capital and innovative capacity increasingly determine economic performance? How must these intangible assets be included in the balance sheet of the entrepreneurial firm? Which financing forms – stocks, bank credits, venture capital – is the most beneficial to innovation intensity?
Course organization
The course consists of seven lectures and three workshops. In the lectures, students learn fundamental theories and concepts. To put theories from the lectures into practice, three workshops are organized for the minor participants to do exercises that are based on the concepts discussed during the lectures.
Objectives
After taking this course the student will be able to:
- Interpret financial statements
- Evaluate financial performance of companies
- Identify financial instruments and markets
- Examine choices of proper financing instruments
- Apply relevant techniques for evaluating risk and alternatives in investment projects
Assessment
Written exam
Literature
- Textbook: Richard A. Brealey, Stewart C. Myers, and Franklin Allen (2014). Principles of Corporate Finance. 11th Edition, McGraw-Hill. ISBN:0078034760
- Slides from lectures