Facoltà di Economia

LEARNING OUTCOMES: The general aim of the course "STARTUP LAB: LEARNING HOW TO GENERATE INNOVATIVE BUSINESS IDEAS" is to provide students with basic knowledge and practical tools useful for generating innovative ideas that can potentially be transformed into concrete and sustainable business opportunities. In line with the competence area "Ideas and Opportunities" of the European Entrepreneurship Competence Framework (EntreComp), the specific objectives are to foster the development of a series of knowledge, skills, and attitudes useful for the ideation of a startup. These competencies concern opportunity spotting, creativity, vision, valuing ideas, and ethical and sustainable thinking.

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING: Understanding the different areas of entrepreneurial competencies and how these are suitable for stimulating creativity to identify and propose solutions that can meet unmet or latent needs.

APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING: Understanding the different areas of entrepreneurial competencies and how these are suitable for stimulating creativity to identify and propose solutions that can meet unmet or latent needs.

MAKING JUDGEMENTS: Using tools such as SWOT analysis to critically assess the feasibility and sustainability of a business idea in relation to current trends, the characteristics of the competitive environment, and the necessary resources.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS: Working collaboratively and constructively in teams, in order to communicate the values and mission of one's startup clearly and persuasively.

LEARNING SKILLS: Acquiring new knowledge and skills both autonomously (through research and analysis of information) and indirectly (through the discussion of case studies in class and testimonials from startuppers).

General Management

The course comprises five sections of theoretical and practical content, distributed over nine two-hour lectures. Lessons will be interspersed with exercises, simulations on digital platforms, case study discussions, and testimonials.

Part I: INTRODUCTION TO NASCENT ENTREPRENEURSHIP (2 hours)
- Nascent Entrepreneurship: Between Creativity and Innovation
- The Entrepreneurial Mindset and the EntreComp Framework
- The Startup Way: From Business Idea to Nascent Enterprise
- Testimonials of Innovative and Successful Startup Journeys

Part II: IDENTIFYING BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES (2 hours)
- Differences Between Ideas and Opportunities
- Sources of Entrepreneurial Opportunities
- Approaches and Tools for Their Identification
- Building an Entrepreneurial Vision
- Group Discussion

Part III: EVALUATING AND SELECTING BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES (4 hours)
- Criteria for Evaluating Business Opportunities
- Evaluation Tools: SWOT Analysis and Other Visual Tools (Canvases)
- Selection Criteria and Comparison of Different Identified Opportunities
- Examples of Creating and Exploiting Business Opportunities

Part IV: GENERATING CREATIVE SOLUTIONS (8 hours)
- Creative Processes for Business Solution Ideation
- Brainstorming, Mind-Mapping, and the SCAMPER Method
- Design Thinking for Creative Problem Solving
- Practical Group Exercises

Part V: ASSESSING THE IMPACTS OF BUSINESS IDEAS (2 hours)
- Entrepreneurial Ethics and Sustainable Value Creation
- Areas of Sustainability and Impact Assessment Approaches
- Climate Footprint, Inclusivity, and Other Entrepreneurial Challenges
- Examples of Social, Economic, and Environmental Impact Assessment of Business Ideas

BACIGALUPO M., KAMPYLIS P., PUNIE Y. & VAN DEN BRANDE L. (2016), EntreComp: The Entrepreneurship Competence Framework, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxemburg, https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC101581.
BACIGALUPO M., WEIKERT GARCÍA L., MANSOORI Y. & O’KEEFFE, W. (2020), EntreComp Playbook. Entrepreneurial learning beyond the classroom, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC120487.
BLANK S. & DORF B. (2020), The Startup Owner's Manual: The Step-By-Step Guide for Building a Great Company, Wiley, New Jersey.
DE BONO E. (2016), Six Thinking Hats: The multi-million bestselling guide to running better meetings and making faster decisions, Penguin Life, London.
GRAY D., BROWN, S. & MACANUFO J. (2010), Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers, O'Reilly Media, Sebastopol.
KELLEY T. & KELLEY D. (2013), Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All, Crown Business, New York.
KELLEY T. & LITTMAN J. (2005), The Ten Faces of Innovation: IDEO's Strategies for Beating the Devil's Advocate & Driving Creativity Throughout Your Organization, Currency Doubleday, New York.
LEWRICK M., LINK P., & LEIFER L. (2020), The Design Thinking Toolbox: A Guide to Mastering the Most Popular and Valuable Innovation Methods, Wiley, New Jersey.
MAURYA A. (2012), Running Lean: Iterate from Plan A to a Plan That Works, O'Reilly Media, Sebastopol.
MCDONOUGH W. & BRAUNGART M. (2002), Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, North Point Press, Berkeley.
MICHALKO M. (2006), Thinkertoys: A Handbook of Creative-Thinking Techniques, 2nd ed., Ten Speed Press, Berkeley.
MORGAN T., JASPERSEN L.J. (2022), Design Thinking for Student Projects, SAGE, Thousand Oaks.
OSTERWALDER A, PIGNEUR Y., BERNARD G. & SMITH A. (2014), Value Proposition Design: How to Create Products and Services Customers Want, Wiley, New Jersey.
RIES E. (2011), The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses, Crown Business, New York.
SCOTT J.T. (2019), The Sustainable Business: A Practitioner's Guide, Routledge, London.
SILVERSTEIN D., SAMUEL P. & DECARLO N. (2009), The Innovator's Toolkit: 50+ Techniques for Predictable and Sustainable Organic Growth, Wiley, New Jersey.

BACIGALUPO M., KAMPYLIS P., PUNIE Y. & VAN DEN BRANDE L. (2016), EntreComp: The Entrepreneurship Competence Framework, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxemburg, https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC101581.
BACIGALUPO M., WEIKERT GARCÍA L., MANSOORI Y. & O’KEEFFE, W. (2020), EntreComp Playbook. Entrepreneurial learning beyond the classroom, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC120487.
BLANK S. & DORF B. (2020), The Startup Owner's Manual: The Step-By-Step Guide for Building a Great Company, Wiley, New Jersey.
DE BONO E. (2016), Six Thinking Hats: The multi-million bestselling guide to running better meetings and making faster decisions, Penguin Life, London.
GRAY D., BROWN, S. & MACANUFO J. (2010), Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers, O'Reilly Media, Sebastopol.
KELLEY T. & KELLEY D. (2013), Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All, Crown Business, New York.
KELLEY T. & LITTMAN J. (2005), The Ten Faces of Innovation: IDEO's Strategies for Beating the Devil's Advocate & Driving Creativity Throughout Your Organization, Currency Doubleday, New York.
LEWRICK M., LINK P., & LEIFER L. (2020), The Design Thinking Toolbox: A Guide to Mastering the Most Popular and Valuable Innovation Methods, Wiley, New Jersey.
MAURYA A. (2012), Running Lean: Iterate from Plan A to a Plan That Works, O'Reilly Media, Sebastopol.
MCDONOUGH W. & BRAUNGART M. (2002), Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, North Point Press, Berkeley.
MICHALKO M. (2006), Thinkertoys: A Handbook of Creative-Thinking Techniques, 2nd ed., Ten Speed Press, Berkeley.
MORGAN T., JASPERSEN L.J. (2022), Design Thinking for Student Projects, SAGE, Thousand Oaks.
OSTERWALDER A, PIGNEUR Y., BERNARD G. & SMITH A. (2014), Value Proposition Design: How to Create Products and Services Customers Want, Wiley, New Jersey.
RIES E. (2011), The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses, Crown Business, New York.
SCOTT J.T. (2019), The Sustainable Business: A Practitioner's Guide, Routledge, London.
SILVERSTEIN D., SAMUEL P. & DECARLO N. (2009), The Innovator's Toolkit: 50+ Techniques for Predictable and Sustainable Organic Growth, Wiley, New Jersey.

The course incorporates a blend of:
- lectures, exercises and testimonials (8 hours);
- exercises, case study discussions, and group presentations (10 hours), including through online platforms.
The pedagogical methods employed contribute to providing knowledge, skills, and attitudes related to the specific learning objectives (opportunity identification, creativity, vision, opportunity assessment, ethical and sustainable thinking).

To obtain credit for the course, the following requirements must be met:
- Minimum attendance of 80% of the scheduled activities (corresponding to 7 out of 9 lessons);
- Successful completion of the final assessment (group project: development of a business idea according to the format provided by the Professor).
The criteria for the evaluation are qualitative: pass or fail.

Attendance is mandatory for at least 80% of the lectures and will contribute to the final assessment. Attendance will be monitored through a dedicated electronic register with access via QR code at the beginning and end of each lesson.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: The general aim of the course "STARTUP LAB: LEARNING HOW TO GENERATE INNOVATIVE BUSINESS IDEAS" is to provide students with basic knowledge and practical tools useful for generating innovative ideas that can potentially be transformed into concrete and sustainable business opportunities. In line with the competence area "Ideas and Opportunities" of the European Entrepreneurship Competence Framework (EntreComp), the specific objectives are to foster the development of a series of knowledge, skills, and attitudes useful for the ideation of a startup. These competencies concern opportunity spotting, creativity, vision, valuing ideas, and ethical and sustainable thinking.

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING: Understanding the different areas of entrepreneurial competencies and how these are suitable for stimulating creativity to identify and propose solutions that can meet unmet or latent needs.

APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING: Understanding the different areas of entrepreneurial competencies and how these are suitable for stimulating creativity to identify and propose solutions that can meet unmet or latent needs.

MAKING JUDGEMENTS: Using tools such as SWOT analysis to critically assess the feasibility and sustainability of a business idea in relation to current trends, the characteristics of the competitive environment, and the necessary resources.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS: Working collaboratively and constructively in teams, in order to communicate the values and mission of one's startup clearly and persuasively.

LEARNING SKILLS: Acquiring new knowledge and skills both autonomously (through research and analysis of information) and indirectly (through the discussion of case studies in class and testimonials from startuppers).

General Management

The course comprises five sections of theoretical and practical content, distributed over nine two-hour lectures. Lessons will be interspersed with exercises, simulations on digital platforms, case study discussions, and testimonials.

Part I: INTRODUCTION TO NASCENT ENTREPRENEURSHIP (2 hours)
- Nascent Entrepreneurship: Between Creativity and Innovation
- The Entrepreneurial Mindset and the EntreComp Framework
- The Startup Way: From Business Idea to Nascent Enterprise
- Testimonials of Innovative and Successful Startup Journeys

Part II: IDENTIFYING BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES (2 hours)
- Differences Between Ideas and Opportunities
- Sources of Entrepreneurial Opportunities
- Approaches and Tools for Their Identification
- Building an Entrepreneurial Vision
- Group Discussion

Part III: EVALUATING AND SELECTING BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES (4 hours)
- Criteria for Evaluating Business Opportunities
- Evaluation Tools: SWOT Analysis and Other Visual Tools (Canvases)
- Selection Criteria and Comparison of Different Identified Opportunities
- Examples of Creating and Exploiting Business Opportunities

Part IV: GENERATING CREATIVE SOLUTIONS (8 hours)
- Creative Processes for Business Solution Ideation
- Brainstorming, Mind-Mapping, and the SCAMPER Method
- Design Thinking for Creative Problem Solving
- Practical Group Exercises

Part V: ASSESSING THE IMPACTS OF BUSINESS IDEAS (2 hours)
- Entrepreneurial Ethics and Sustainable Value Creation
- Areas of Sustainability and Impact Assessment Approaches
- Climate Footprint, Inclusivity, and Other Entrepreneurial Challenges
- Examples of Social, Economic, and Environmental Impact Assessment of Business Ideas

Material (slides, readings, case studies, templates) will be made available through the official course channels.

BACIGALUPO M., KAMPYLIS P., PUNIE Y. & VAN DEN BRANDE L. (2016), EntreComp: The Entrepreneurship Competence Framework, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxemburg, https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC101581.
BACIGALUPO M., WEIKERT GARCÍA L., MANSOORI Y. & O’KEEFFE, W. (2020), EntreComp Playbook. Entrepreneurial learning beyond the classroom, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC120487.
BLANK S. & DORF B. (2020), The Startup Owner's Manual: The Step-By-Step Guide for Building a Great Company, Wiley, New Jersey.
DE BONO E. (2016), Six Thinking Hats: The multi-million bestselling guide to running better meetings and making faster decisions, Penguin Life, London.
GRAY D., BROWN, S. & MACANUFO J. (2010), Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers, O'Reilly Media, Sebastopol.
KELLEY T. & KELLEY D. (2013), Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All, Crown Business, New York.
KELLEY T. & LITTMAN J. (2005), The Ten Faces of Innovation: IDEO's Strategies for Beating the Devil's Advocate & Driving Creativity Throughout Your Organization, Currency Doubleday, New York.
LEWRICK M., LINK P., & LEIFER L. (2020), The Design Thinking Toolbox: A Guide to Mastering the Most Popular and Valuable Innovation Methods, Wiley, New Jersey.
MAURYA A. (2012), Running Lean: Iterate from Plan A to a Plan That Works, O'Reilly Media, Sebastopol.
MCDONOUGH W. & BRAUNGART M. (2002), Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, North Point Press, Berkeley.
MICHALKO M. (2006), Thinkertoys: A Handbook of Creative-Thinking Techniques, 2nd ed., Ten Speed Press, Berkeley.
MORGAN T., JASPERSEN L.J. (2022), Design Thinking for Student Projects, SAGE, Thousand Oaks.
OSTERWALDER A, PIGNEUR Y., BERNARD G. & SMITH A. (2014), Value Proposition Design: How to Create Products and Services Customers Want, Wiley, New Jersey.
RIES E. (2011), The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses, Crown Business, New York.
SCOTT J.T. (2019), The Sustainable Business: A Practitioner's Guide, Routledge, London.
SILVERSTEIN D., SAMUEL P. & DECARLO N. (2009), The Innovator's Toolkit: 50+ Techniques for Predictable and Sustainable Organic Growth, Wiley, New Jersey.

The course incorporates a blend of:
- lectures, exercises and testimonials (8 hours);
- exercises, case study discussions, and group presentations (10 hours), including through online platforms.
The pedagogical methods employed contribute to providing knowledge, skills, and attitudes related to the specific learning objectives (opportunity identification, creativity, vision, opportunity assessment, ethical and sustainable thinking).

To obtain credit for the course, the following requirements must be met:
- Minimum attendance of 80% of the scheduled activities (corresponding to 7 out of 9 lessons);
- Successful completion of the final assessment (group project: development of a business idea according to the format provided by the Professor).
The criteria for the evaluation are qualitative: pass or fail.

Attendance is mandatory for at least 80% of the lectures and will contribute to the final assessment. Attendance will be monitored through a dedicated electronic register with access via QR code at the beginning and end of each lesson.