Entrepreneurship

Building & Growing Your Business

During this minor, you'll work on all the essential aspects of launching and scaling your own business. You have the freedom to decide which steps are most crucial for your start-up at any given time while following proven methods designed to guide and accelerate your growth.

To keep you on track, we organize regular check-in moments where you present your start-up’s progress and receive feedback on your entrepreneurial development. These sessions provide valuable insights into what you’ve learned and offer opportunities for refinement and strategic adjustments.

Learning by Doing: A Hands-On Approach

At the core of this minor is experiential learning—you learn by doing. We apply key principles from The Lean Start-Up by Eric Ries, with the build-measure-learn cycle as the foundation. You’ll rapidly develop your product or service, gather market feedback, analyze the results, and refine your approach accordingly.

Through hands-on workshops, brainstorming sessions with fellow students, and personalized coaching from experienced entrepreneurs, you’ll continuously sharpen your business idea and execution.

Collaboration & Networking: Expanding Your Opportunities

Beyond business methodology, collaboration plays a vital role in your journey. Through interdisciplinary sessions, you’ll work alongside students from various fields, gaining fresh perspectives and innovative ideas.

Additionally, we organize networking events where you’ll have the opportunity to pitch your product or idea to real investors, mentors, and industry experts. These events provide not only valuable feedback but also potential connections that could support your future entrepreneurial endeavors.

Developing a Scalable & Profitable Business Model

Throughout the minor, you'll work on creating and validating a repeatable, scalable, and profitable business model—one that delivers real value to customers, generates societal impact, and allows you to sustain yourself financially.

Your business development will unfold in three key phases:

✅ Phase 1: Value Proposition
Identify your target customer, understand their needs, and develop a prototype tailored to them.

✅ Phase 2: Road to Market
Determine the best channels to reach your customers and test your prototype in the real world.

✅ Phase 3: Business Model
Develop a sustainable business model for your product, validate it, and stress-test its viability.

By the end of the program, you'll have a well-founded business concept, a deeper entrepreneurial mindset, and the confidence to take your venture to the next level! 🚀

Throughout this program, you will develop key competencies through hands-on assignments and collaborative work. Together, you’ll progress through various milestones, building both your business and your entrepreneurial skill set.

At the end of the program, it’s up to you to showcase your expertise and growth. To evaluate this, we organize an Assessment Day, where you’ll be assessed both individually and as a team. This evaluation includes a presentation, an interview, and a review of your business progress, ensuring a comprehensive assessment of your entrepreneurial journey.

Essential Competencies for Building a Viable Business

To establish a successful and sustainable business, the following core competencies are crucial:

1) Analyzing Challenges

The foundation of any successful business starts with selecting a strategic (niche) market based on thorough market research and logical reasoning. You will:

• Identify lucrative market opportunities by analyzing trends and developments.
• Understand customer pain points and what drives their decisions.
• Step into the shoes of your target audience, ensuring your business is built on real needs and opportunities.

2) Creating Value

Once you’ve identified your audience’s primary challenge, the next step is to develop an innovative product or service that effectively addresses their needs. This involves:

• Ensuring your solution genuinely resonates with your target market.
• Actively involving customers in the development process to maximize value creation.
• Solving financial, social, or environmental challenges through meaningful innovation.

3) Achieving Impact

A great product or service needs a sustainable and scalable business model. To ensure long-term viability, you must:

• Develop strategies to effectively reach and engage customers.
• Set competitive pricing that ensures profitability.
• Build a business that is not just functional but also impact-driven.

4) Managing Complexity & Uncertainty

Entrepreneurship is a journey of trial and error. Success often comes from navigating uncertainty and embracing adaptability. You will:

• Learn to recognize hidden opportunities, even in challenging situations.
• Utilize creativity and problem-solving to pivot when needed.
• Develop resilience by assessing risks, learning from mistakes, and making well-informed strategic decisions.

5) Inspiring & Engaging Others

A successful business isn’t built alone. Effective entrepreneurs build strong relationships with customers, investors, and team members. You will:

• Understand what motivates your stakeholders and how to engage them.
• Seek and integrate feedback for continuous improvement.
• Translate challenges into an inspiring vision that mobilizes your team and community.

6) Self-Awareness & Personal Growth

Entrepreneurship requires a strong sense of self-awareness and perseverance. To grow as a business leader, you will:

• Develop self-regulation skills, including motivation, resilience, and adaptability.
• Assess your strengths and weaknesses to build a well-rounded entrepreneurial mindset.
• Cultivate the skills necessary to thrive in a fast-changing business landscape.

By mastering these competencies, you’ll not only build a viable business but also develop the mindset and skills necessary for long-term entrepreneurial success. 🚀

This minor will take place during the September – January semester.   

After completing your exchange programme at Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, you will receive a:

• Transcript of records

For course related questions, please contact Ms. Sharon Dzwairo (content representative/programme coordinator) and Ms. Tineke van der Gaast (International Academic Coordinator, Rotterdam Business School).