Foundations of Entrepreneurial Opportunity

This unit introduces students to the core concepts of entrepreneurship: how ideas become opportunities, how to evaluate markets and customers, and the basic operational, legal, and financial decisions that shape a nascent venture. It builds foundational skills and judgment that prepare students for advanced venture planning, prototyping, and practicum experiences in subsequent units.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze personal entrepreneurial readiness, industry structure, macroeconomic conditions, and global trends to determine the feasibility of a proposed business opportunity
• Apply customer discovery techniques, segmentation, and minimum viable product (MVP) testing to validate target customers and estimate demand
• Demonstrate selection and justification of appropriate business models, legal forms, supply chain/logistics options, and intellectual property protections for a business concept
• Evaluate core financial and growth factors—including components of a financial plan, adoption patterns, scaling constraints, and contingency strategies—to prepare a preliminary go-to-market and risk-mitigation plan