Before we started studying in the EDHEC Business School in Nice we had some readings to do. On Tuesday we ‎met professor in the University and went to the lecture. It was funny to notice that how different ‎was the class room and how different was the way how professor was teaching. Professor had so ‎much energy and he was funny that it didn’t feel so hard to be in classroom for hours. First day ‎professor was teaching about there isn’t applied science what will teach you how you will be ‎entrepreneur. It is just something what starts from you, and from your own ideas. Also just the ‎classroom was different, they were using just PowerPoint in teaching. It was also nice to get to ‎know the MBa students, and hear what they were thinking about teaching and about teachers. I think I can say that the first days were very mind opening. After classes we all ‎relaxed in the center, what was nice after long hours in classroom. ‎

Thursday we had again lecturer who had some good points about entrepreneurship. He was telling ‎about entrepreneurs who are succeeded well in their business. I think everyone can learn ‎something from people who has done something right in their business careers and as an ‎entrepreneur. What is also different from Finnish school system is the lunch break. Every day we ‎had lunch break what was about 1,5 hours or even two hours. Also the school days were longer till ‎six or seven in the evening. So again after school we were going to the center to listen either jazz ‎or just hangout. About Nice, I didn`t know that there is so good places where you can listen live ‎music. I really liked the atmosphere what was in Nice generally. ‎
On Friday we were again learning new things. I think there was so much information in few days ‎that it was hard to remember and take in all. Anyway some of us went to visit in Monaco Monte ‎Carlo. I didn’t go because I was there before the camp started. But I think Monte Carlo is one of ‎the best and beautiful places where I have ever been. From Nice it is easy to go to Monte Carlo ‎because the train takes just 20 minutes and you can see beautiful sights from there. ‎

Last day of the camp


Saturday was our last day in Entrepreneurship camp. We were in school at 9 in the morning and ‎then we had to represent our business plans. There was 3 business angels and our professor (very ‎smart people) listening our ideas. It was very nice to hear what they were thinking about our ‎ideas. Because when you get comments you can develop your business plan more and maybe you ‎can fix the problems what you might have in your business plan, At least I understood that I didn`t ‎share enough information in my presentation, and that`s why they didn`t quite understood the ‎idea. So for me that time with those people was very effective. Thao get very good comments ‎about her business idea and I think that it encourages the rest of us to develop more our business ‎plans.

Anyway the week in Nice went very fast because we were in school every day from 9 till 7 ‎in the evening, so we didn`t have much free time. It was also interesting to meet other MBA ‎students and see how they study and how different it is compared to Finland.

Teachers in that ‎camp were excellent. I think that camp gave us all more innovation and more business sense. I am ‎very happy that I was part of the camp and I would love to go again! Anyway Nice is great place to ‎study and visit and I will miss our new friendships what we made in the school and other places :)‎

by Anna-Maria Peltonen

Some pictures

26-04-2011

By Monday 25th April 2011 we were all in the Hotel just in front of Nice Airport. We spent time walking through the sunny streets to the center of Nice and finally we seat in beautiful bar and restaurant just in the beach of Nice.

and next the routine start wake up take shower, breakfast and then march up to school. The classes were started from 9:15 am till 5 pm. After this hard long lectures we all agreed to spent time in some cool place with chilled beer, wine and delicious food. Whenever I remember those moment, my mouth would be filled with water.

The very first day, a group of 10 students from Laurea along with mentor Anna and Vesa arrived to EDHEC Business School Nice. The school building was a piece of sound architecture. Charles the professor for MBA at EDHEC welcomed all of us and leaded us to the auditorium. The auditorium was filled with MBA student (so called expertise of their field). Laurea student took their seat and listen to the lecture. Today, Charles was introducing us to the Business Model. Professor Charles is a very cherish, proactive and smart in his teaching.

From his teaching and presentation and comparing this theory to my own business model, I have figured out that Business plan should also cover finance along with market analysis, management team, product and business. My business plan related to location based business model; which is still untested and underdeveloped was hard to forecast in terms of income statement and balance sheet. Thus, it is very important to know more about finance and to forecast into your own business plan. Every Business is created by opportunity. Opportunity refers to gap in between demand and supply. The product or business should solve specific problem to the consumers’ need. In my case, I m Shopper is an application meant to design to simplify shopping. In another hand it will help companies to minimize their marketing overhead and maximize the return. Thus, the product is manifesting of opportunity. It is very important to prepare business model. Business model will help to make business plan stronger. In business model, we have to show where the money (revenue) is coming from and how, what is our cost structure, how long wills the business took time to generate profit. The very first day covered topic mainly on business plan and business model. I am very overwhelmed to take part in the curse in EDHEC Business School. I am hoping these learning will support me to develop my own business idea into great business model.

--------by Bishnu Sapkota

Laurea Business Venture

During the EDHEC Business camp, I have learned many new topics on entrepreneurship ‎which gives me more knowledge. The first thing I remember ‘Practice is important to ‎develop idea’. So, obviously entrepreneur needs to practice more and more in practical. ‎For entrepreneur, they should know what they do not know. Also should know, what they ‎know. In decision model sometimes they should act in sense.‎

Entrepreneurial Reasoning:
Three elements

1. Opportunity
What is the opportunity of your business in market? It will describe a ‎real need.‎

2. Product
Professor explained about it ‘a product that responds to a precise aspect/ ‎a precise manifestation of the opportunity’.‎

3. Business model
It simply should research is it possible to make a profit out of this ‎business plan?? This is the finality.‎

I also acquired enough idea about different business model. How Business model ‎works, importance of cash flow management. I also point out another two vital ‎reasons for business failure from professor’s lecture.

There are- 1) Not ‎understanding the business, 2) Cash-flow failure (insolvency). Cash flow nirvana: ‎Buy low, sell high, collect early, pay late- potentially perfect solvency.
As a ‎entrepreneur this model can help to deal business perfectly.‎

Some key technical points: How to write a great business plan ‎
• Numbers (Too many) versus information(Too little)‎
• Four independent factors critical to (determining?) The success of every new ‎venture, and the specific questions related to each factor.‎
• Economically viable access to customers, and the cash-flow implications of ‎the new venture idea.‎

Source: Sahlam, William A, How to write a great business plan, Harvard Business ‎Review (July-August 1997)98-108‎

Finally it is good to remember that business plan should follow KISS (keep it short ‎and simple).

But also refer to often and update and change frequently according to ‎environmental changes of business. ‎

Professor Charles Hampden-Turner from University of Cambridge delivered an ‎Indispensable lecture in EDHEC business camp. The topic was ‘Paradox and ‎Dilemma’. Personally the topic was hard for me to understand properly. But at last I ‎got a question answer what makes good leader different than common leader? The ‎answer was- ‘A good leader always have ability to take enough risk for ‎businesses’.‎

This part is for academic learning issues. But I enjoyed a lot and get a nice ‎experience from beautiful Nice. Nice city itself very pleasant. The international ‎environment in school motivated me to go ahead with my business plan.The ‎business angels were really experienced person. It was really great conversation ‎with them to have a checklist for own business plan. Overall EDHEC business camp ‎was very effective for me from different prospective.‎

I would like to thanks who were involve in selection. It’s my pleasure to attend this ‎business camp. Thank you LAUREA.‎

By Abeera Sultana

Programme of the course @EDHEC Business School

EDHEC BUSINESS SCHOOL – LAUREA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES ‎
Entrepreneurship Study and Development Week – 26-30 April 2011 ‎

Entrepreneurship: Dialogue between Theory and Practice

INTRODUCTION: During the week of Tuesday 26 April – Saturday 30 April 2011, selected students ‎from the Laurea University of Applied Sciences, Helsinki, Finland will attend and participate in mini-programme on entrepreneurship of the EDHEC full-time MBA in ‎Nice, France.

OBJECTIVE

This course and the quest lectures focus on the theory and practice of entrepreneurship from three different ‎perspectives: entrepreneurship as a style of management and the special collection of skills possessed by an ‎entrepreneur; entrepreneurship as an analytical and organisational process; and entrepreneurship as cognition. ‎The course will be based on the interplay of conceptual frameworks and current best practice. A particular ‎emphasis will be placed on systematic approaches to entrepreneurial idea creation and evaluation. ‎

Session 1‎ ENTREPRENEURIAL OPPORTUNITIES ‎
‎(26 APR 11 morning)‎ Nature and identification of opportunities. ‎
Networking and development phases. ‎Managerial aspects of entrepreneurship. ‎

Readings: ‎
- Kim & Mauborgne, “Creating New Market Space” ” Harvard Business Review (January/February 1999) ‎
- Kuemmerle, "A Test for the Fainthearted." Harvard Business Review (May 2002). ‎
- Background: ‎ Muzyka, "Spotting the Market Opportunity." and “Marking the Key Points on the ‎Opportunity Map.” in Sue BIRLEY and Dan MUZYKA, Mastering Entrepreneurship. ‎Harlow, UK: Financial Times–Pearson, 2000. ‎
- Shane, Finding Fertile Ground: Identifying Extraordinary Opportunities for ‎New Ventures. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Wharton School Publishing / Pearson ‎Education, ‎‎2005. ‎
- Stevenson, “The Six Dimensions of Entrepreneurship.” in Birley & Muzyka, ‎Mastering ‎
Entrepreneurship. Harlow, UK: Financial Times–Pearson, 2000, 8-13. ‎
- Timmons & Spinelli, New Venture Creation: Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century. 7th ‎(International) Edition, McGraw-Hill, 2007, pp.88-96. ‎


Session 2‎ CONTEXTUAL CONSIDERATIONS AND THE BUSINESS PLAN
‎(26 APR 11 afternoon)‎ Contextual dynamics and the search for entrepreneurial opportunities. ‎Business Plan as document and as process.‎

Readings: ‎
- Kim & Mauborgne, “Knowing a Winning Business Idea When You See One.” ‎Harvard ‎Business Review (September-October 2000). ‎
- Sahlam, "How to Write a Great Business Plan." Harvard Business Review ‎(July-August 1997). ‎
- Background: ‎ Obringer, « How Business Plans Work. » from Internet site How Stuff Works ‎http://money.howstuffworks.com/business-plans.htm ‎


Session 3 ‎ BUSINESS MODELS ‎
‎(27 APR 11 morning)‎ Underlying business logic: numbers and narratives.‎ Revenue and cost streams: aspects of the financial context of entrepreneurship; ‎

Readings: ‎
- Hamermesh et al., Note on Business Model Analysis for the Entrepreneur. Boston: ‎Harvard Business School, 2002. ‎
- Magretta, "Why Business Models Matter." Harvard Business Review (May 2002).‎
Background: ‎ Yip, Georges S. "Using Strategy to Change Your Business Model." Business Strategy ‎Review (Summer 2004).‎

Session 4 ‎ ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION IN THE GLOBAL CONTEXT (Part 1) ‎(27 APR 11 afternoon)‎ Guest Lecturer: Professor Charles Hampden-Turner ‎

Readings: ‎
- The specific readings for Professor Hampden-Turner’s lectures will be announced ‎later.‎
Background: ‎ Hampden-Turner, Charles and Trompenaars, Fons, Mastering the Infinite Game: How ‎Asian ‎Values are Transforming Business Practices. Stateline, NV: Capstone, 1997. ‎
- Hampden-Turner, Charles, Teaching Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Building on ‎the ‎
Singapore Experiment. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2009 ‎
- Trompenaars, Fons and Hampden-Turner, Charles, Innovating in a global crisis: ‎Riding the ‎whirlwind of recession. Oxford, UK: Infinite Ideas, 2009. ‎

Session 5 ‎ ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION IN THE GLOBAL CONTEXT (Part 2) ‎
‎(28 APR 11 morning)‎ Guest Lecturer: Professor Charles Hampden-Turner ‎

Session 6 ‎ Presentation and group discussion with exemplary local entrepreneur. ‎
‎(28 APR 11 afternoon)‎

Session 7 ‎ IMPLEMENTATION DYNAMICS ‎
‎(29 APR 11 morning)‎ Networking and development phases.‎ Management aspects of successful entrepreneurship. ‎

Readings: ‎
- Chakravorti, “The New Rules for Bringing Innovations to Market.” Harvard ‎Business Review. (March 2004), pp.59-67. ‎
- Bhide, "How Entrepreneurs Craft Strategies That Work." Harvard Business Review (March-April 1994).‎
Background: ‎ Chruchill and Lewis, “The Five Stages of Small Business Growth.” Harvard Business ‎Review, (May-June 1983). ‎


Session 8 ‎ Guest Lecture. Trademarks and patents,(29 APR 11 afternoon)‎ ‎

Session 9 (30 APR 11 morning)‎ Presentation of the entrepreneurial project (with special emphasis on the business ‎model) of selected members of the LUAS visiting students before a panel of business angles and ‎other ‎experienced entrepreneurs. ‎This will be followed by a round table discussion among the students and the panel ‎ members.‎

TEACHING METHODS

Lectures and class discussions based on articles or book excerpts.‎
Additional shorter readings will be assigned as the course progresses.‎
Discussion themes and key technical points for each reading will be supplied. ‎

COURSE EVALUATION

Any formal evaluation of the efforts of the LUAS students during this one-week programme will be at ‎the ‎discretion of LUAS. ‎