MAN 523 (MAN 5230): Designing your future: AI, Family Entrepreneur­ship & Business Model Innovation

Contents
The course provides a creative learning environment in which students apply parallel thinking and innovation management techniques to explore and design meaningful entrepreneurial pathways as next-generation start-up founders or successors in family enterprises. Students gain a deeper understanding of how social capital is built across digital and physical contexts. They learn how to build trust by sharing stories and by creating content relevant to their future vocation in an empathetic way. Students develop practical skills in communicating, experimenting with, and establishing business model innovations in family firms and entrepreneurial contexts. They learn to combine AI-supported exploration with human judgment when evaluating entrepreneurial opportunities and future pathways. The course includes role-playing elements, conversations, and input from off-campus professionals and industry practitioners, as well as mentoring and coaching sessions to iterate and refine ideas. Students craft a video campaign, a website, a campaign plan, and a business plan using AI-assisted tools as a first step toward turning their entrepreneurial vision into reality. The course was co-developed with and features lessons from co-lecturers of the d.school at Stanford University.

Learning outcomes
AI literacy competencies:
- Development of professional and applied AI skills
- Integrating AI to enhance efficiency in design, innovation and entrepreneurial processes
- Using AI to enhance creative and expressive capabilities in business contexts
- Building confidence in applying AI tools in everyday professional work and larger projects
After the course, students will be able to:
- understand how digital interactions can foster meaningful in-person engagement in a highly connected world.
- discuss the impacts of digitalization and AI on contemporary entrepreneur­ship and business.- critically evaluate entrepreneurial opportunities and make informed resource allocation decisions based on incomplete information.
- understand the limits and biases of contemporary AI tools.
- (re-)design, experiment with, and iterate their future vocation and business model innovation using classical and AI-assisted tools.
- use classical and AI-assisted tools craft a B-to-C campaign including short videos, a webpage, and a campaign and business plan.
- use presentation, AI, and video-making tools to communicate and visualize a desirable future.

Necessary prerequisites
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Recommended prerequisites
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Examiner Performing lecturer

PD Dr. habil. Jan-Philipp Ahrens PD Dr. habil. Jan-Philipp Ahrens