This is an experiential course where key marketing strategies and principles, methods, and execution best practices are learned through the creation and launch of an entrepreneurial venture. Students will purchase a software simulation tool that provides a step-by-step process to design, execute, and analyze the effectiveness of multiple lean marketing experiments, referred to as a “minimum viable product” (MVP). With an emphasis on limited resources and customer-driven product and marketing decisions, students learn the fundamentals of customer discovery and market research, customer problem validation and solution ideation, creating differentiation, and launching a marketing campaign to test the viability of your value proposition.  This course is fast-paced, operating like a true entrepreneurship with same decisions start-up and early-stage entrepreneurs face every day. Topics include: Discovering purposes and vision; Customer interviewing and analysis; Marketing planning and business modeling; value proposition and messaging; Developing marketing communications and implementing a marketing mix.

AI in Business: Ethics, Equity, and Impact is a course designed to explore the ethical, social, and economic implications of artificial intelligence in contemporary business. Students will delve into the potential benefits and drawbacks of AI technologies, examining issues such as algorithmic bias, data privacy, job displacement, and the ethical considerations surrounding AI development and deployment. The course will equip students with a critical understanding of the ethical frameworks governing AI and the tools to evaluate the societal and environmental impacts of AI-driven business practices.

In a technology-intensive society, personal and economic relationships often originate and flourish on-line. The people and content in our social media feeds influence the jobs we obtain, the brands we admire, and even how we feel about ourselves. Without coding, this course introduces analytic concepts and software tools for listening and interpreting on-line social discourse. Business applications of text and network analysis are emphasized. Students will begin to understand how machines “read” and summarize human languages in ways valuable to customer communications. Students will also explore how digital communities are built around conversational topics. We will examine the structure of conversational networks and then explore how social content flows across a network.

This course explores topics in conservation, including what to conserve and how to accomplish it, techniques and strategies, legal structures, economic and business opportunities and constraints, and wider impacts on communities. Emphasis on discussion and both actual and hypothetical case studies.

It is never too early to design a meaningful life and career. This course helps you figure out who you are, who you want to be, and where you want to go. It teaches you to use the Design Thinking process to actively create the life you want based on your interests, strengths, characteristics, and values. Together we will apply a framework, tools, and a community of peers and mentors to work on these issues through assigned readings, reflections, and in-class exercises. The course is based on the popular book “Designing Your Life: How to build a well-lived, joyful life” by Stanford professors Bill Burnett and Dale. Life is dynamic and iterative. DYL-based techniques are portable, equipping you with strategic thinking skills and tools that allow you to map, pivot, and build a fulfilling life and career. Instructor: Lora Louise Broady, Stanford-certified DYL instructor

Dramatic advances throughout the world are driving the globalization of business: information technology, communication, transportation, and the global supply chain, to name a few. While opportunities for international commerce have never been greater, the challenges are substantial. An understanding of international business is essential in today’s interdependent, global world. This course will provide the knowledge and ability to understand the macro (political, cultural, technological, micro (marketing, operations, human resources, and strategic elements (positioning, competition, leadership, value proposition) required for global success. The course will challenge you to develop a more comprehensive understanding of how the global environment affects management decisions.

This course examines entrepreneurial ecosystems in Colorado Springs and the Mountain West through a critical lens that emphasizes place-based and community-driven approaches to economic and community development. By examining characteristics of prominent regional ecosystems (e.g., Silicon Valley, Boston) and the structures of local ecosystems - including Indigenous economic systems, military-industrial-space industry, religious institutions, sports/environment/tourism, and food systems - students will analyze how historical and contemporary forces shape access to entrepreneurial resources and opportunities. We will investigate structural barriers and enablers to evaluate how various entrepreneurial ecosystems reflect and challenge existing power dynamics, while considering solutions for more equitable economic development. Field trip course.

This course explores topics in conservation, including what to conserve and how to accomplish it, techniques and strategies, legal structures, economic and business opportunities and constraints, and wider impacts on communities. Emphasis on discussion and both actual and hypothetical case studies.

AI in Business: Ethics, Equity, and Impact is a course designed to explore the ethical, social, and economic implications of artificial intelligence in contemporary business. Students will delve into the potential benefits and drawbacks of AI technologies, examining issues such as algorithmic bias, data privacy, job displacement, and the ethical considerations surrounding AI development and deployment. The course will equip students with a critical understanding of the ethical frameworks governing AI and the tools to evaluate the societal and environmental impacts of AI-driven business practices.