MAN 669: Technology Ventures – From Invention to Innovation
Contents
This course is offered as part of the Global Innovation Challenge (see further information)
Recent research suggests that technological invention – the generation of technology-based ideas – has slowed over the past half century. At the same time, our societies need to further increase the rate of technological innovation, i.e. the economic and societal application of technology-based ideas, to remain competitive and resilient. The bridge between invention and innovation is most often a technology venture. Both academics and practitioners argue that there is much room for improvement in bridging the gap between technological invention and innovation. Given the slowdown in invention, increasing the likelihood of successful bridges to innovation has arguably become more important than ever. This course discusses the available evidence on „how“ to better build such bridges.
The venturing process, also known as technology start-ups or entrepreneurship, is surrounded by many myths: Entrepreneurs are born, not made; technology-based ideas require STEM (Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics) teams to succeed; and the venture must be based in Silicon Valley. Many of these ideas are not just myths but can be shown by evidence-based research to be wrong, potentially leading to poor decisions by scientists, entrepreneurs, businesses and policy makers. At a macro level, this is problematic for the progress of our societies.
At the micro level, this fragile bridge between invention and innovation is problematic because labor market statistics in many leading economies indicate that up to one in three people will be entrepreneurs during their working lives, and many more will work for a start-up or young company at some point.
Students will learn about the different stages of a technology venture and will be exposed to recent research in competitive strategy, financial economics, innovation, organizational theory, science of science and sociology on how to think more systematically about the evaluation of ideas, scaling and eventual exit of a technology venture. As aspects of the venturing process clearly benefit from practical experience, the course will invite industry and policy experts to enrich the practical exercises and classroom discussions.
Learning outcomes
While the course is based on rigorous theory and empirical evidence, it also has a very practical focus: how can technology ventures improve their chances of success?
Students will gain a deeper understanding of technology ventures and the practical steps involved. By the end of the course, students will be able to answer questions such as
- Identify what makes an attractive technology-based venture idea
- Identify characteristics of successful ventures, founders and start-up teams
- Understand strategies for overcoming challenges in attracting resources, such as financial and human capital
- Analyze business case materials and how to make decisions based on this information
- Analyze the role of technology ventures in our economy and their wider societal applications
The course will have a strong international flavor with approximately 20–35 participants joining from the international partner network “GIC”. The course is planned as a two-week block course in late June/
Necessary prerequisites
–
Recommended prerequisites
Master-level courses on innovation, strategy, and organization theory. Basic knowledge of finance and economics is also helpful but not necessary.
| Forms of teaching and learning | Contact hours | Independent study time |
|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 3 SWS | 14 SWS |
| ECTS credits | 6 |
| Graded | yes |
| Workload | 180h |
| Language | English |
| Form of assessment | Class participation and polls (30%), individual exercise on major problem identification of an example tech-based venture (10%), and final team project (60%). |
| Restricted admission | yes |
| Further information | You have to apply separately via email for this course. A list of the required application documents, the application deadline and further details can be found at the following link. Please read the information carefully: https://www.bwl.uni-mannheim.de/en/international/global-innovation-challenge/#c256744 Take a look at our Partner Schools courses in Summer 2025. |
Examiner Performing lecturer |  | Prof. Dr. Marc Lerchenmüller Prof. Dr. Marc Lerchenmüller |
| Frequency of offering | Spring semester |
| Duration of module | 1 semester |
| Range of application | M.Sc. MMM, M.Sc. Bus. Edu., M.Sc. Econ., M.Sc. Bus. Inf., M.Sc. Bus. Math. |
| Preliminary course work | – |
| Literature | Selected Readings:
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| Course outline | The course is taught through lectures and the case study method. Classes will be delivered in nine 3-hour blocks, spaced across the first six days of the course. To prepare case-based classes, students are expected to read the case and submit brief polls the night prior to class. Module 1: Getting started Class 1 | Technology ventures: What are we talking about Class 2 | Starting-up: (Co-) founders, naming, structuring Class 3 | Raising capital Class 4 | Technologies that will change the world Module 2: Scaling (and failing) Class 5 | Protecting the idea Class 6 | Product-market fit and pricing Class 7 | Pivots Module 3: Exit Class 8 | Selling a company Class 9 | Reflections on career development Most of the second week of the course, will be focused on developing the final team project in partnership with a technology venture. |