Entrepreneurial Mindset and Ideation (TIMS1301)

What is Entrepreneurship?

What makes an entrepreneur different from a manager? And how are start-ups different from established organisations? This lecture introduces students to the foundational question: What is entrepreneurship? It explores how entrepreneurs identify and pursue opportunities under conditions of uncertainty, and how this differs from managing existing resources within stable environments.

Learning outcomes: L01

Introduction to Entrepreneurship

In this workshop, students will examine how entrepreneurship is defined by experimentation, risk-taking, and resource constraints—and how this contrasts with the structures, routines, and performance metrics of more established organisations. The workshop briefly introduces key entrepreneurial traits, mindsets, and behaviours that will be revisited throughout the course.

Learning outcomes: L01

Developing an Entrepreneurial Mindset

This lecture introduces students to the entrepreneurial mindset as a way of thinking and acting under conditions of uncertainty. It explores how entrepreneurs approach problems with creativity, resilience, and a willingness to learn through experimentation. Students will be introduced to three foundational approaches that support early-stage venture creation: effectuation, which emphasises starting with available means and adapting through co-creation; ideation, which focuses on generating and refining innovative ideas; and design thinking, which centres on empathy, prototyping, and iterative problem-solving.

Learning outcomes: L01, L04, L05

Developing an Entrepreneurial Mindset

In this workshop, students will apply the entrepreneurial mindset through practical activities designed to prepare them for their upcoming assessment: conducting a customer discovery interview. Using tools from ideation, effectuation, and design thinking, students will learn how to identify meaningful problems and craft thoughtful questions that uncover real customer needs.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L04

Customer Discovery

Understanding customers is at the heart of successful entrepreneurship. This lecture introduces the practice of customer discovery as a core method for testing assumptions and uncovering real needs. Students will learn how to move beyond idea-driven thinking to engage directly with potential users through interviews and observation.

Learning outcomes: L02, L04

Customer Discovery

Rather than judging customer needs from the outside, students will learn how to uncover the often surprising, diverse, and context-specific factors that shape what people truly value. This workshop places emphasis on developing effective interview techniques, identifying early adopters, and making sense of qualitative insights. This module prepares students for their upcoming assessment by equipping them with the tools and mindset needed to conduct a meaningful customer discovery interview and apply those insights to refine their venture ideas.

Learning outcomes: L02

Creating Ideas with Potential

How entrepreneurs move from personal hunches to validated concepts that others also recognise as valuable. Students will learn how to transform first-person ideas—rooted in personal experience or intuition—into third-person opportunities that resonate with real customer needs.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03

Creating Ideas with Potential

This workshop explains how entrepreneurs move from personal hunches to validated concepts that others also recognise as valuable. Students will learn how to transform first-person ideas—rooted in personal experience or intuition—into third-person opportunities that resonate with real customer needs.

Learning outcomes: L03

Lean Startup Approach

Turning a validated idea into a viable venture requires more than a plan—it demands experimentation. This lecture introduces the Lean Startup approach as a disciplined method for reducing uncertainty through rapid testing and iterative development.

Learning outcomes: L02, L03, L05

Lean Start -up

Students will learn how to develop minimum viable products (MVPs), run experiments, and make data-informed decisions. Emphasis is placed on validated learning: discovering what works (and what doesn't) before scaling.

Learning outcomes: L01, L03

Building High Performing Entrepreneurial Teams

No scalable venture succeeds alone. This module explores how high-performing entrepreneurial teams are formed, developed, and sustained. Students will examine what makes teams effective—not just in terms of technical skills, but also cognitive diversity, shared purpose, and interpersonal trust.

Learning outcomes: L01

Building High Performing Entrepreneurial Teams

This week students are encouraged to make a team around some shared core interests in entrepreneurship. Emphasis is placed on assembling complementary capabilities, managing roles and conflict, and how to identify gaps and cultivate the talent, networks, and culture needed for growth.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02

Value Proposition Canvas

Great ideas fail when they don’t meet real needs. This week's lecture focusses on the Value Proposition Canvas (VPC) as a practical tool for designing offerings that align closely with customer jobs, pains, and gains. Building on earlier insights, students will critically assess the “fit” between their ideas and real customer segments.

Learning outcomes: L02, L03

Value Proposition Canvas

In this workshop, emphasis is placed on practical application: constructing, critiquing, and iterating canvases based on actual customer discovery insights. The goal is to refine value propositions that are not only desirable, but also feasible and differentiable.

Learning outcomes: L02, L03

Business Models & Multi-sided Platforms

A strong value proposition needs a business model to match. This lecture explores how entrepreneurs design business models that create, deliver, and capture value—especially in complex, multi-sided contexts. Students will examine how platforms like Airbnb or Uber orchestrate relationships between distinct user groups, manage network effects, and monetise interactions.

Learning outcomes: L02, L03

Business Models & Multi-sided Platforms

In this workshop, emphasis is placed on visualising and stress-testing business models using tools such as the Business Model Canvas. Students will also critique different revenue models, scalability strategies, and the risks of platform dependence.

Organisational Support & Financing

Ideas don’t scale on passion alone. This lecture explores the critical organisational and financial resources needed to support entrepreneurial growth. Students will examine how new ventures secure external funding—from bootstrapping and angel investment to venture capital and government grants—alongside internal systems that support operational stability.

Learning outcomes: L01, L03, L05

In-Semester Break

No scheduled classes this week

Organizational Support and Financing

In this workshop, emphasis is placed on aligning financing choices with business model dynamics, understanding investor expectations, and building organisational capabilities (such as governance, HR, and financial control) that enable sustainable scaling. Real-world examples and funding scenarios will help students critically assess different growth pathways.

Learning outcomes: L02, L03

Entrepreneurship and Ethics

Scaling a venture raises not only strategic questions but moral ones. This lecture explores the ethical dimensions of entrepreneurial practice—how choices around growth, funding, labour, and impact shape the kind of organisation being built. Students will critically examine their responsibilities toward customers, employees, communities, and the environment, with a particular focus on Indigenous perspectives and knowledges. Topics include ethical decision-making under uncertainty, stakeholder tensions, and the risks of extractive business models.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L05

Entrepreneurship and Ethics

In this workshop, emphasis will be given to Indigenous principles such as relationality, reciprocity, and Country. Students will explore how entrepreneurship can be grounded in more-than-human ethics and long-term custodianship. Students will develop the capacity to lead ventures that are not only innovative and profitable, but also just and culturally responsive.

Learning outcomes: L01, L05

Building Legitimacy & Pitching

Ideas alone don’t persuade—legitimacy does. This lecture focuses on how entrepreneurs build credibility in the eyes of investors, customers, partners, and the public. Students will learn how to craft and deliver compelling venture pitches, but also how to strategically signal trustworthiness, competence, and alignment with audience values.Drawing on theory and practice, the lecture explores different forms of legitimacy (cognitive, moral, pragmatic) and how entrepreneurs manage impressions, narratives, and institutional expectations.

Learning outcomes: L01

Pitch Finalisation

This workshop aims to finalise their pitch presentations and select who in their team will deliver their elevation pitch according to pitching concepts. Emphasis is placed on tailoring communication to context—whether pitching for funding, forming partnerships, or building early customer trust. Students will apply these insights in a final pitch presentation, synthesising all previous activities into a clear, credible, and persuasive venture story.

Learning outcomes: L02

Research trends in entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is not only a practice—it’s also a dynamic field of research. This lecture introduces students to key trends, debates, and emerging questions in entrepreneurship scholarship. From opportunity recognition and effectuation to ecosystems, Indigenous entrepreneurship, and sustainable innovation, students will explore how academic research shapes—and is shaped by—the real-world challenges entrepreneurs face.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05

Synthesising practical and conceptual approaches to entrepreneurship

This workshop introduces students to a curated set of influential conceptual papers that have shaped the field. The focus is on understanding how these frameworks connect to real-world practice, and how theoretical insight can enrich entrepreneurial judgment. These papers form part of the examinable content for the final assessment, and students will develop skills in analytical reading and conceptual application.

Learning outcomes: L01, L04

Course overview

This lecture brings together the key concepts, tools, and experiences explored throughout the course. Students will revisit major themes—from value creation and customer discovery to ethics, financing, and legitimacy—and reflect on how these ideas were applied in workshops, team projects, and venture development. Students will be encouraged to draw on their experiential learning to demonstrate insight, critical thinking, and the capacity to apply entrepreneurial concepts in context.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05