Universitat Internacional de Catalunya

Entrepreneurship: Business Creation

Entrepreneurship: Business Creation
3
16353
4
First semester
OB
Main language of instruction: Catalan

Other languages of instruction: English, Spanish,

Introduction

With the aim of ensuring that the projects proposed by students in class are viable in their future professional careers, this course introduces students to the process of ideating and developing new business initiatives, with a particular focus on the communication and advertising industries. It integrates the knowledge acquired throughout the degree (strategy and creativity in communication and marketing) with a general understanding of the local and global business environment.

Pre-course requirements

No. 

Objectives

  • To foster an entrepreneurial mindset

  • To understand the stages of the business creation process

  • To design business proposals in the field of communication

  • To assess the feasibility of business projects

  • To identify entrepreneurial opportunities in the field of communication

  • To formulate a differentiated value proposition

  • To develop a basic business plan

  • To present and defend a business initiative before an audience

Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme

  • CN02 - Recognise the textual, graphic and audiovisual expressive and narrative resources used to create effective persuasive messages in advertising and public relations.
  • CN03 - Identify the key stakeholders, departments and professional roles within advertising and public relations agencies, understanding their functions in the design and implementation of communication campaigns.
  • CN05 - Recognise the principal artificial intelligence tools with applications in advertising, marketing and public relations.
  • CN07 - Identify emerging trends in digital communication, social media and interactive environments for planning advertising and public relations activities in digital and multi-platform contexts.
  • CP04 - Manage creative communication projects in advertising and public relations, optimising technical, material and time-related resources.
  • CP05 - Manage relationships between advertisers and agencies effectively, applying media planning and buying strategies in multi-channel advertising and public relations environments.
  • CP08 - Manage corporate communication budgets and advertising and public relations campaigns, optimising resources and drawing on a broad understanding of the economic context and the advertising and public relations industry.
  • HB02 - Use a range of media research and documentation resources.
  • HB03 - Resolve problems in interactions with clients and members of the public.
  • HB04 - Design strategic communication and public relations plans that respond to the needs of organisations across different sectors.
  • HB05 - Use advertising language and narrative techniques to develop persuasive messages for advertising and public relations campaigns.
  • HB07 - Analyse macroeconomic data and market statistics using digital tools, including artificial intelligence.
  • HB08 - Develop creative advertising messages, adapting language and style to different contexts and formats.

Learning outcomes of the subject

Students will be able to:

  1. To analyse audiences in order to predict consumer behaviour through the use of AI.

  2. To acquire a basic understanding of organisations in the fields of advertising and public relations, their structure, and the legal, economic and ethical framework within which they are established and develop.

  3. To understand the current landscape of the production and distribution of goods and services at local and global levels, recognising the main microeconomic factors and macroeconomic indicators.

  4. To manage brand positioning by defining and expressing its purpose and values, with the support of AI-based tools to help monitor brand perception on social media and adjust strategic messages.

  5. To recognise successful cases of business entrepreneurship at local and international levels, as well as the main steps involved in developing and launching a business.

  6. To recognise the main products, occupations and specialised terminology of companies operating within the creative industries.

Syllabus

  1. Entrepreneurial ecosystem

  2. Types of business projects (startup, agency, freelance, intrapreneurship)

  3. Creativity and innovation

  4. Opportunities and threats

  5. Business model: value proposition; customer segmentation

  6. Visual strategic management models and tools for designing, developing, and presenting business projects

  7. Market analysis; target audience definition

  8. Business plan

  9. Feasibility assessment

  10. Basic legal structures; sources of funding

  11. Project presentation: pitch; presentation and defense techniques

Bibliography and resources

Hisrich, R. D., Peters, M. P., & Shepherd, D. A. (2017). Entrepreneurship. McGraw-Hill Education.

Jarvis, P. (2019). Company of one: Why staying small is the next big thing for business. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Osterwalder, A., Pigneur, Y., Bernarda, G., & Smith, A. (2020). The invincible company: How to constantly reinvent your organization with inspiration from the world’s best business models. Wiley.

Thiel, P., & Masters, B. (2014). Zero to one: Notes on startups, or how to build the future. Crown Business.

Torrecilla, R. (2023). Which start-ups do accelerators prefer? A comprehensive approach [Doctoral dissertation, Universitat Internacional de Catalunya].https://hdl.handle.net/10803/688421

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