Objectives and competences
Students in this course:
1. understand the basic concepts of entrepreneurship and the role of entrepreneurship in the economy and society;
2. distinguish between entrepreneurs, small business owners, and different types of entrepreneurship;
3. identify simple business ideas and entrepreneurial opportunities based on needs, problems, and market signals;
4. apply basic tools for describing customers, value propositions, and business models;
5. develop a basic understanding of opportunity assessment and introductory business planning;
6. strengthen teamwork, communication, and presentation skills in the context of entrepreneurship.
Content (Syllabus outline)
1. Introduction to entrepreneurship: meaning, role, and basic types of entrepreneurship.
2. The entrepreneur: characteristics, motivation, and entrepreneurial mindset.
3. Entrepreneurship as a process: from idea generation to venture creation.
4. Creativity, business ideas, and entrepreneurial opportunity recognition.
5. Basic opportunity assessment and development of a business concept.
6. Introduction to the business environment and basic venture requirements.
7. Basics of value creation, customer need, and value proposition.
8. Introduction to the Business Model Canvas and its use for developing a basic business model.
9. Purpose, structure, and key elements of a basic business plan.
10. Preparation and presentation of a simple entrepreneurial idea, business model, or business plan outline.
11. Selected examples of entrepreneurship in Slovenia and the international environment.
Learning and teaching methods
- interactive lectures with guided explanation of concepts and practical examples;
- practical exercises based on simple entrepreneurship tasks;
- guided discussions of selected case studies;
- step-by-step development of a business idea, a business model using the Business Model Canvas;
- group work and short presentations of interim results;
- guided collection and basic interpretation of customer or market feedback;
- guest lectures by entrepreneurs or startup practitioners.
Intended learning outcomes - knowledge and understanding
Development of knowledge and understanding
Students:
1. define the basic concepts of entrepreneurship, entrepreneur, and entrepreneurial opportunity;
2. explain the role of entrepreneurship in society and the economy;
3. describe the entrepreneurial process from idea generation to basic business planning;
4. identify the basic elements of the business environment, business model, and business plan;
5. explain the role of customers, value creation, and market needs in venture development.
Intended learning outcomes - transferable/key skills and other attributes
Cognitive/Intellectual skills
Students:
1. identify a basic entrepreneurial problem, need, or opportunity in a selected case;
2. compare simple business ideas using basic opportunity screening criteria;
3. analyse a simple entrepreneurial case from the perspective of customer need and value proposition;
4. use basic concepts and selected sources to support entrepreneurial decision-making.
Key/Transferable skills
Students:
1. search for and use basic information from entrepreneurship literature and practice;
2. communicate entrepreneurial ideas clearly in written and oral form;
3. work individually and in small groups on introductory entrepreneurship tasks;
4. develop a more autonomous approach to learning and problem solving.
Practical skills:
Students:
1. develop a basic business model for a selected entrepreneurial idea;
2. prepare a simple outline of a business plan;
3. collect and interpret basic customer or market feedback;
4. present a selected entrepreneurial idea and justify its basic feasibility.
Readings
Obvezna študijska literature (Compulsory textbooks):
1. Carpenter, K. (2021). Introduction to Entrepreneurship. Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Available online: https://kpu.pressbooks.pub/introtoentrepreneurship/
2. Swanson, L. A. (2017). Business Plan Development Guide. University of Saskatchewan / Open Textbook Library. Available online: https://mountainscholar.org/items/6207c869-cf76-4829-9e67-6a93dca1ae9d
3. Hisrich, R. D., Peters, M. P., & Shepherd, D. A. (2021). Entrepreneurship (11th ed.). McGraw-Hill. (selected topics)
4. Blank, S. (2013). Why the Lean Startup Changes Everything, Harvard Business Review, May 2013. Dostopno na: https://hbr.org/2013/05/why-the-lean-start-up-changes-everything
5. Osterwalder, A., Pigneur, Y. Business model generation. Dostopno na/available at: http://www.businessmodelgeneration.com/downloads/businessmodelgeneration_preview.pdf str. 14 – 44.
6. Osterwalder, A., Pigneur, Y., Bernarda, G., Smith, A., Value Proposition Design. Dostopno na/available at: https://assets.strategyzer.com/assets/resources/value-proposition-design-book-preview-2014.pdf. Str. 15-38.
7. ŠIREC, Karin, CRNOGAJ, Katja, BRADAČ HOJNIK, Barbara, RUS, Matej, TOMINC, Polona. Entrepreneurship at the advancement of digitalization and artificial intelligence : GEM Slovenia 2024 : executive summary. 1st ed. Maribor: University of Maribor, University Press, 2025. 1 spletni vir (1 datoteka PDF (19 str.)), ilustr. Globalni podjetniški monitor Slovenija (Online). ISBN 978-961-286-983-0. ISSN 3023-9877. https://press.um.si/index.php/ump/catalog/book/973, DOI: 10.18690/um.epf.4.2025
Dodatna študijska literatura (Additonal textbooks):
8. Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, izdaje zadnjih 3 let, dostopno na/ editions of last 3 years, available at: www.ipmmp.um.si
9. Tominc, P., Rebernik, M., Bradač Hojnik, B., & Širec, K. (2019). Danube region entrepreneurship observatory: entrepreneurship ecosystem, women and youth entrepreneurship. Pearson.
10. Izbrani članki in poslovni primeri / Selected articles and business cases
11. Carrizo Moreira, A., Leitao Dantas, J. G., & Valente, F. M. (Eds.). (2018). Nascent entrepreneurship and successful new venture creation. IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-2936-1.
12. HBR’s 10 must reads on entrepreneurship and startups. (2018). Harvard Business Review Press.
Dodatna literatura in študije primerov (vključno z izbranimi članki iz mednarodnih znanstvenih revij ter primeri iz poslovne prakse) bodo študentom posredovani na predavanjih. (Additional readings and case studies (including selected articles from international academic journals and practical business cases) will be provided to students during lectures.)
Prerequisits
A passing grade in the written exam is a prerequisite for the consideration of other assessment elements (seminar paper, coursework, class participation).
Additional information on implementation and assessment - written exam; 60%
- project; 20%
- coursework.20%
