Entrepreneurship (ENTR) Courses

ENTR2001 Introduction to Entrepreneurship

This is an introductory course in entrepreneurship. The course demonstrates how entrepreneurs recognize business opportunities, develop ideas and identify markets. Students experiment with different methods of opportunity identification and ideation. Special focus is given to the application of design thinking to solve everyday problems. Students use this course to identify several alternative business ideas, assess their feasibility and choose the idea they wish to develop throughout their entrepreneurship studies. Students identify resources within and outside the university to help with their business development.
Offered at Charlotte, Online, Providence
3 Semester Credits

ENTR2005 Introduction to Cannabis Entrepreneurship

This is an introductory course in entrepreneurship with a focus on the legal cannabis industry. The course demonstrates how entrepreneurs recognize business opportunities, develop ideas and identify potential gaps within the fast growing cannabis industry. Students experiment with different methods of opportunity identification and ideation. Special focus is given to identifying niches within the evolving market and developing scalable product lines. Students use this course to identify several alternative business ideas, assess their feasibility and choose the idea they wish to develop throughout their entrepreneurship studies. Students identify and engage with resources within and outside the university to help with their business development.
Offered at Providence
3 Semester Credits

ENTR2030 Pitching & Planning New Ventures

This course teaches students how to develop and present a business plan to pursue the opportunities they identified in ENTR2001 or ENTR2005. Students conduct a business plan canvas to gather information and validate their ideas. Students utilize a web-based business-planning platform to help them organize and format their plans in a professional manner. Students prepare an executive summary, a 30-second elevator pitch and short presentation to “sell” their business concept to investors.
Prerequisite(s): ENTR2001 or ENTR2005.
Offered at Charlotte, Online, Providence
3 Semester Credits

ENTR3015 Small Business Management

This course helps students put their business ideas into action by developing an operations plan and project schedule for new and existing small business owners. Classroom study focuses on the foundational aspects of running a new or existing small business, looking at operational, legal, risk management, and human resource issues throughout the start-up phase and the first few years of a business. Finance and Marketing issues are briefly addressed but will be studied in-depth in other courses. Project work focuses on drafting a project plan, and classroom learning is incorporated into the plan. Case studies that highlight the various challenges faced by new and existing small businesses are analyzed and discussed and creative problem solving is encouraged.
Prerequisite(s): Sophomore status.
Offered at Charlotte, Online, Providence
3 Semester Credits

ENTR3025 Growth and Sustainability for Small Business

This course covers the different methods emerging companies use to expand nationally and internationally. Emphasis is on the use of each strategy to accomplish growth and sustainability objectives and initiatives. Topics include methods for growing an emerging company, evaluating franchising systems, expansion tactics for small and large corporations, careers in emerging companies, and financing the expansion of a company. This course is relevant for any student interested in working as a change agent in an established company or starting and/or expanding his or her own company.
Prerequisite(s): ENTR2030 or ENTR3015.
Offered at Charlotte, Online, Providence
3 Semester Credits

ENTR3030 Marketing for Entrepreneurs

This course teaches future entrepreneurs how to market products and services effectively with limited resources. Entrepreneurs need to market to all constituents including customers, suppliers, lenders/investors and the community in which they operate. Students learn to interview potential customers, select their target market, construct basic web sites and social media pages and analyze marketing results. Special focus is placed on helping entrepreneurs build their brand.
Prerequisite(s): ENTR2030 or ENTR3015.
Offered at Charlotte, Online, Providence
3 Semester Credits

ENTR3060 Financing New Ventures

This course covers the financing of new business ventures. In this course students develop the financial portion of a business plan to include revenue estimates, expense projections, and an evaluation of their break-even point. Students construct professional Pro-Forma financial documents including the Income Statement, Balance Sheet, and projected cash flows. This is followed by a comparison of debt and equity financing options. Upon evaluation of the alternatives students recommend a financing plan for their business.
Prerequisite(s): ENTR2030.
Offered at Charlotte, Online, Providence
3 Semester Credits

ENTR3120 Small Business Management — Cannabis Operations

This course helps students put their cannabis business ideas into action by developing an operations plan and project schedule for new and evolving businesses. Classroom study focuses on the foundational aspects of running a new or evolving small business, looking at operational, legal, financial risk management, and human resource issues throughout the startup phase and the first few years of a new business in an emerging industry. Cannabis industry specific issues pertaining to finance and marketing are addressed and studied in-depth. Semester project work focuses on drafting a cannabis centered business plan, and classroom learning incrementally incorporates current cannabis industry issues into the plan. Case studies that highlight the various challenges faced by new and evolving small cannabis businesses are analyzed and discussed and creative problem solving is guided by the instructor.
Prerequisite(s): ENTR2005.
Offered at Providence
3 Semester Credits

ENTR4010 Change and Innovation Management

This course explores the process of change and innovation as it relates to the development and implementation of knowledge to improve organizational competencies and enhance business performance. Change, both incremental and disruptive, is related to innovation through the analysis of its effect on the organization's ecosystem to include its customers, employees, suppliers, etc. Topics include knowledge as a meaningful resource and competitive advantage; the innovation gate process; the difference between a knowledge creation organization and an information processing one; change as an instrument of innovation; and the various concepts and strategies of change to include Lewin's Three Step Theory, Lippett's Phases of Change Theory and the Disruptive Innovation Theory.
Prerequisite(s): ENTR2030 or ENTR3015.
Offered at Charlotte, Online, Providence
3 Semester Credits

ENTR4055 Entrepreneurship Seminar

In this Entrepreneurship capstone course, students are required to synthesize knowledge gained from previous coursework to finalize their business plan and prepare to launch their businesses. Students finalize their business plans, prepare to pursue financing for the businesses, and either launch their business, create an MVP (Minimally Viable Product) of their business, or run a meaningful market test in this course. It is a hands-on, action-focused course that enables students to make final preparations to launch their business upon graduation.
Prerequisite(s): ENTR2030 or ENTR3015 or ENTR3060.
Offered at Charlotte, Online, Providence
3 Semester Credits