Proposed syllabus

I used to think I wanted to be a professor, but then I learned that meant writing a lot of papers and thinking about esoteric academic things - neither of those activities would work for me. I am excited, though, that I might get to teach a class at University of Chicago Law School this spring. It will be a "quasi-law" class that focuses on the business side of entrepreneurship, aimed at law students who are interested in starting companies or just in understanding the process better. The proposed syllabus is below. If the class works out, I'll post all the materials online and it should lead to some good discussion.

The course will focus on the non-legal tactical details of entrepreneurial endeavors. The legal specifics of corporate formation, tax, contracts, etc, are well covered by a variety of other courses at the Law School. Students who are interested in either starting companies or working with startup founders as their legal counsel will solidify their foundations in this course. There will be no textbook – course materials will include Powerpoint slides, readings from various entrepreneur and venture capital blogs, sample business plans, and other sources. Grades will be based on a 30-60 minute oral business plan presentation with Q&A or on a 3-hour in class written exam at the student’s option.

Section I – Forming a business

1. The business plan
a. Executive summary
b. Team
c. Marketing
d. Sales
e. Technology (if relevant)
f. Competitors
g. Financials
2. The founding team
3. The financing strategy
4. Should you or shouldn’t you?

Section II – Running a business

1. Hiring
2. Firing
3. Compensation
4. Sales
5. Strategy
6. Board meetings
7. Various documentation
a. NDAs
b. PII agreements
c. Stock agreements
8. Working as the legal counsel for a startup (GUEST LECTURER)

Section III – Exiting a business (if there’s time)

1. Acquisition process
2. IPO (GUEST LECTURER)
3. Should you or shouldn’t you?
4. Various documentation

Technorati: University of Chicago, law school