In an innovative complement to the case method of instruction, the entire Class of 2013 spent the 15-week Winter Term practicing what they were learning from their required courses as they worked in small teams to build viable microbusinesses.

The business-building exercise capped the new, yearlong FIELD course. FIELD 3, the final module, thrust students into experiencing the real-world roles of entrepreneur, analyst, marketer, and investor. It challenged them to refine the leadership and teamwork skills they learned in FIELD 1 last fall, and the product or service development skills they practiced while working with global partner organizations during FIELD 2.

“Our objective with FIELD 3 was to provide students with an opportunity to apply and integrate the knowledge, skills, and tools acquired in the first-year curriculum,” says Senior Associate Dean Youngme Moon, chair of the MBA Program. “It exposed the entire class to the challenge and excitement of being an entrepreneur, creating an idea, and making it a reality.

“The focus was on taking action, learning from the response to that action, and making changes to improve your chances of success,” Moon continues. “Almost all successful ventures go through this ‘pivoting’ process multiple times as they probe and test their ideas. FIELD 3 uniquely challenged students to experience that process and learn from it.”

Beginning January 30, six-member teams had roughly two weeks to develop a product or service idea. The 15 teams in each of the 10 sections then pitched their ideas to another section. Afterward, the entire class participated in a stock-market simulation, with each student investing in the 15 business ideas pitched to his or her section. The stock market exercise was repeated two more times during the term.

After the first market simulation, students had two months to refine their ideas and develop a customer sales pitch, all leading up to Launch Day in mid-April. At that point, teams with a viable idea advanced to IPO Day on May 14.

“This wasn’t just a theoretical exercise in which students devised ‘plans’ to go to market,” explains Moon. “They actually had to launch a real business and generate real arm’s-length revenue.”

Teams that didn’t make the cut moved to the “failed business track,” where they focused on writing an analysis of why their team project fell short, what should have been done differently, and why one of the successful teams managed to perform so well.

Post a Comment