One of the greatest professional joys I experience is as a teacher/guest-lecturer of several courses offered at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
These courses are offered during the Summer Session, are 100% online, and I serve as the instructor:
BDIC 391B: Introduction to Entrepreneurship (3 credits) – In this 3-credit course, students explore the entrepreneurial career path. Those with ideas will learn how to attract a team and turn ideas into reality. Those seeking ideas will be shown how to create and evaluate opportunities. Students will be encouraged to form real ventures – nonprofit and for profit, it doesn’t matter. By the end of the course students will have gone through an intensive, hands-on, iterative writing process culminating in a an executive summary suitable to be shown to mentors and advisors.
View syllabus (in the works :)) | Enroll
UWW297E: Funding Sustainable Enterprises (3 credits) – In this 3-credit course, students are introduced to the many different “flavors” of capital available to early stage ventures. Ventures require capital from different flavors depending on their age, growth trajectory, and mission. Each flavor’s strengths and weaknesses is described to help entrepreneurs identify the right flavor for their venture to approach and when. Students are next shown how to build the key relationships needed to help them secure the desired flavor of capital.
View syllabus | Enroll
This course is offered in the Fall & Spring semesters, is in-person, and I serve as a guest lecturer:
Introduction to Entrepreneurship (1 credit, guest lecturer) – In this 1-credit course, students explore the entrepreneurial career path. Those with ideas will learn how to attract a team and turn ideas into reality. Those seeking ideas will be shown how to create and evaluate opportunities. Students will be encouraged to form real companies. The course is also designed to teach leadership skills that will be useful in any profession. By the end of the class student will have completed an executive summary suitable to be shown to mentors and advisors.
View syllabus
My thanks to Natasha Goncharova for her suggestions on how to better communicate the benefits of these classes. You’ll also find that there is a dedicated page for my courses.
Paul G. Silva 