Entrepreneurial Finance

Introduction, Material, Educational process, Evaluation and Course

schedule

Massimo G. Colombo (massimo.colombo@polimi.it) &

Vincenzo Butticè(vincenzo.buttice@polimi.it)
Introduction: Overview of the course
• Aim of the course:
• understand decisions of (innovative) privately-held entrepreneurial firms as regards access to early stage finance;
• understand decisions of managers of financial intermediaries as regards early-stage financing of (innovative)
privately-held entrepreneurial firms;
• use theory and empirical evidence on entrepreneurial finance to learn how to make better financial decisions;
• given the large uncertainty, information asymmetries, and agency problems traditional financing methods are
often inappropriate.
• Course participants may become:
• Entrepreneurs able to make financial decisions according to the specific characteristics of their start-up and the
external financial and institutional environment;
• Managers of financial intermediaries (including banks) and large corporations able to evaluate risks and returns
involved in providing financing to (innovative) entrepreneurial firms;
• Governmental officers able to understand the financing needs of entrepreneurial firms and to design eefctive
policy support schemes.

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Introduction: Lecturers

Massimo G. Colombo Expertise: high-tech entrepreneurship, venture capital, corporate

Massimo.Colombo@polimi.it
venture capital, crowdfunding, alliances & acquisitions,
entrepreneurship & innovation policy.

Vincenzo Butticè Expertise: crowdfunding, entrepreneurship in cultural and

vincenzo.buttice@polimi.it
creative industries, serial entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial
learning

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Introduction: Course scheduling

Formal Schedule Actual Schedule Rooms

14:30 – 18:00
Tuesday: 14:15 – 18:15 (30 min break between 16:00 – BL27.07
16:30)

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Material
• Slides, case studies and videos will be made available through the course website on
BeeP

• There is not a unique reference textbook, but rather a collection of textbook chapters /
papers /case studies from different sources that complement an active participation
during classes

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Educational process: Premise
• The course will actively engage students in an experiential learning process

• Participants in the course are expected to:

• Attend class regularly and contribute to class discussions
• Be fully prepared for class (by accomplishing the pre-assigned tasks)
• Actively participate in team projects and activities outside of class, and contribute to team learning

• The main educational process is thought for students who will actively participate in class
and who will engage in team-based activities. The course offers students who are not
able to provide this form of active participation, an alternative educational process

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Educational process: Attending students
Lecture sessions: they aim at illustrating, sharing and discussing models, conceptual frameworks, tools and empirical
evidence.

Case study sessions: they aim at making students learn how to make financing decisions in real world situations by
leveraging insights from theory and empirics. Students have to read case study materials in advance of the class
sections.

Group evaluation project: it aims at making students learn how to evaluate an entrepreneurial firm.

The Individual Written Exam, scheduled at the end of the course (exact date will be communicated later), is designed
to assess the students’ ability to solve mini cases by using theories, conceptual frameworks and all the insights
provided during the lectures and case study sessions.

Testimonials: guest speakers (entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, business angels) invited to share their practical
experience with the class.

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Educational process: Not-Attending students
• Not-attending students are those who—for some major constraints that should be clearly explained to the
faculty by email—are not able to participate to more than 30% of classes and/or team activities

The exam is oral and scheduled in the off-lectures period

Individual case study: This activity substitutes the case study analysis that attending students accomplish in teams. The
case contains a relevant current issue that the student has to analyse. The student is expected to prepare a maximum
two page report (single spaced) explaining and analysing the case with respect to the theories and conceptual
framework presented during the course. Send an email before 10 th of January 2018.

Individual evaluation project: this activity substitutes the evaluation project that attending students accomplish in
teams. The Individual evaluation project is about the same topic – evaluation of an entrepreneurial firm, proposed to
the teams along the semester. Individual design projects are discussed during the oral exam. Not-attending students
have to send one week before the oral exam their report (maximum 6.000 words) to Vincenzo Butticè.

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Evaluation: Attending students

Written exam: It is based on closed questions to mini case studies in multiple choice format and is organized before
the end of the semester. It is an open-book exam, however no access to the internet is allowed. Weight: 50%.

Case study: Each individual group member is evaluated on the basis of the quality of the report (max two single-
spaced pages) and of her active participation in the plenary discussion of the case issues. Weight: 25%.

Team-Based evaluation project: report sent before 1st January 2018. Weight: 25%.

After the first exam session, attending students who do not pass the exam or who intend to reject the
examination grade, will be evaluated as not attending students. Case Study grade will be kept valid. Team-Based
evaluation project grade will be lost.

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Evaluation: Not-Attending students
Oral exam (scheduled in the off-lectures period): open questions about a mini case study that the students must
analyse with the theories, conceptual frameworks, empirical results and other insights presented in the course.
Weight: 50%.

Individual case study: report sent one week before the oral exam and presentation (if required) during the oral
exam. Weight: 25%.

Individual evaluation project: report sent one week before the oral exam and presentation (if required) during the
oral exam. Weight: 25%.

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 Opportunity for thesis
Large research group on Entrepreneurial Finance committed to (and capable of) producing high quality research to be
published in top scientific journals in entrepreneurship, finance, economics & management. Examples: Science,
Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, Journal of Business Venturing, Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, Journal of Banking
and Finance, ……..
Research group (additional) members: Annalisa Croce, Chiara Franzoni, Giancarlo Giudici, Massimiliano Guerini, Evila Piva,
Cristina Rossi Lamastra, Vincenzo Butticè, Francesca Tenca, Silvia Stroe
Thesis:
• Students are assigned a specific research oriented task that is part of a larger research project;
• They are supervised by the project leader (see below);
• Schedule depends on the schedule of the project and needs to be closely coordinated with the project leader.
Thesis topics vary depending on project portfolio: examples:
• Interplay between venture capital, business angels and crowdfunding;
• Performance impact of venture capital, business angel and crowdfunding finance;
• IPO;
• Factors determining the demand for venture capital investments;
• Corporate venture capital and radical innovation.
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