Courses
ENT 101. Exploring Entrepreneurship (3)
This course is intended to provide students with an entrepreneurship experience that brings to life the entrepreneurial process by blending introductory business knowledge with experiential learning focused on the development of a business idea towards an entrepreneurial venture. Specifically, students will learn about and engage in creativity and idea generation, elevator pitches, marketing, proof of concept, business model canvas, and an investor pitch via lectures, workshops, videos, readings, exercises, and skills tests. Upon completion, students will be positioned to engage in various entrepreneurship opportunities at CSUN as well as apply gained entrepreneurial skills and competences throughout their career as both an entrepreneur and an entrepreneurial employee within a larger organization. (Available for General Education, E Lifelong Learning.)
ENT 310. Foundations of Entrepreneurship (3)
Prerequisite: ENT 101. This course is intended to help students gain knowledge and skills that are the foundation to become a successful entrepreneur in business. The course provides aspiring entrepreneurs a preview of the journey starting from an idea through the initial phases of a business venture. Students will learn about business model formation, early stage capital, small business market development and sales, small business operation and modeling, and project management. Students will acquire or enhance problem identification/definition aptitude, self-help ability, solution development know-how, as well as communication and collaboration skills.
ENT 320. Social Entrepreneurship (3)
The objective of this course is to explore the field of social entrepreneurship. Social entrepreneurship is about the dynamics associated with ventures seeking to create social value or collective good for society through entrepreneurial and innovative approaches. This focus on social value serves as their primary focus over profitability and can encompass many different contexts such as community, environment, health, etc. and legal structures such as for-profit, benefit corporations, or nonprofit. In this course, we will explore how social entrepreneurship and innovation can be used to facilitate social change and create social value. Through a combination of lectures, case studies, guest speakers, and an experiential project, students will learn the foundations of social entrepreneurship and innovation and be immersed in real-life examples. Students should expect to engage in lively conversations learning about challenges and solutions to social needs globally.
ENT 330. Entrepreneurial Family Business (3)
This course is devoted to understanding the unique issues faced by family-owned and entrepreneurially operated businesses. Family businesses face unique opportunities and challenges associated with the interactions of family, management, and ownership that can extend from one family generation to the next. In particular, family businesses struggle from moving from the founder to successor family generations and encounter challenges in institutionalizing management practices that will sustain the long-term viability of the business. Many family businesses do not succeed or survive when transitioning to second and third generations without intentional interventions. Students will gain the tools and knowledge to lead a family business towards long-term, multi-generational viability.
ENT 410. Business Development and Operation for Entrepreneurs (3)
Prerequisite: Grade of “C” or higher in ENT 310. This course is intended to help students gain knowledge and skills that are critical for developing and running a successful business as an entrepreneur. The course provides aspiring entrepreneurs with a business model and the tools to grasp the essential operational aspects of a business venture both in the U.S. and abroad. Students will learn about business formation, fundraising, business development, operation setup, process design and automation, revenue generation, management of innovation and change, and new venture governance. Students will acquire or enhance problem identification/definition aptitude, self-help ability, solution development know-how, as well as communication and collaboration skills.