Introduction to Entrepreneurship

Academic unit or major

Entrepreneurship courses

Instructor(s)

Akira Kurabayashi / Keisuke Yamada / Yoshiki Shiraishi / Yuri Matsuzaki / Mayu Watanabe

Class Format

Exercise

Media-enhanced courses

-

Day of week/Period
(Classrooms)

Class

-

Course Code

ENT.B201

Number of credits

010

Course offered

2026

Offered quarter

3-4Q

Syllabus updated

Mar 6, 2026

Language

Japanese

※ Courses with parentheses in the course number have different subject codes depending on the student's year of admission.

Syllabus

Course overview and goals

Subtitle: Thinking about entrepreneurship with leading venture capitalists: Understand the current state of entrepreneurship as an option from the perspective of social needs and the motivations of those involved, and learn its essence in a practical way.

Leading venture capitalists who discover, incubate, and invest in promising startups, and startup executives who are creating new value, will share the latest information on each topic, including corporate structures, the significance and societal needs of starting a new business, challenges facing corporate organizations, and the motivations, goals, and challenges faced by entrepreneurs themselves, with students. In addition, they will also share how they understand “entrepreneurship" that they have gained from their daily work with students and discuss the aims of using such entrepreneurship with students.

We welcome both Mr. Kurabayashi, Head of Japan, and Mr. Shiraiashi, Partner, from DNX Ventures, a Japan/US venture capital firm with a proven track record of investments and incubating many startups, as part-time lecturers for this course.
Although the focus is on startups, the lecture themes are based on the latest information on business in general, not just startups, and the two sessions with startup managers will also touch on the motivations and goals of the individual entrepreneurs, which will directly broaden the perspectives and options for participating students.
We would like all students to participate in the discussions, not just those interested in startups, but also those with future aspirations in academia or research, aspiring to become government officials, or working for large enterprises.

We believe that this course is the foundation of our "Entrepreneurship Courses" and we hope that students will go on to participate in various entrepreneurship development workshops offered in the “Fundamental Group Work " courses, as well as the business development program (LLP) and web service development program (PBC) offered in the “Practical Group Work" courses.

Course description and aims

1. Understand the social background and needs of "starting a business" and the mechanisms of motivation and intentions of the parties involved.
2. Improve skills in empathy, sorting out issues, setting goals, and ensuring logic through communication with lecturers and business managers.
3. Demonstrate "entrepreneurship" and use it as a step to connect to actions to "develop and create new value."

Student learning outcomes

実務経験と講義内容との関連 (又は実践的教育内容)

The knowledge and experiences of faculty members who are well versed in the practical aspects of business development is essential to this course.

Keywords

Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Creating new business, Start ups, Initiative, Value Creation

Competencies

• Specialist skills
• Intercultural skills
• Communication skills
• Critical thinking skills
• Practical and/or problem-solving skills

Class flow

1. This is an intensive course, and the specific dates and content of each session will be announced at the Entrepreneurship "Leadership and Value Creation" course information session (pre-registration required) held at the beginning of the term, as well as the Academy for Leadership (ToTAL)nwebsite (https://www.total.titech.ac.jp/).
2. Those who wish to enroll are strongly encouraged to attend the information session, check the schedule, and then declare their enrollment.
3. If there are more applicants than the capacity, selection may be required.

Course schedule/Objectives

Study advice (preparation and review)

Detailed dates for each session and assignments will be announced at the briefing session about Entrepreneurship "Leadership/Value Creation" course (pre-registration required) held at the beginning of the term, as well as on the Center for Entrepreneurship Education (CEE) website (https://www.cee.titech.ac.jp/) and the Academy for Leadership (ToTAL) website (https://www.total.titech.ac.jp/).

Textbook(s)

None

Reference books, course materials, etc.

Reference books, lecture materials, etc. will be provided during class from time to time.

Evaluation methods and criteria

1. Because participation and communication between the instructor and students are important, attending all sessions ishould be stringly recommended.
2. Grades (score evaluation) will be determined based on a comprehensive assessment of attendance at each session, contribution to group work and discussions, and completion of the reflection sheet.

Related courses

• ENT.L201 ： Group Work for Leadership Basics A
• ENT.L202 ： Group Work for Leadership Basics B
• ENT.V201 ： Group Work for Value Creation A
• ENT.V202 ： Group Work for Value Creation B
• ENT.V203 ： Group Work for Value Creation C
• ENT.V204 ： Group Work for Value Creation D
• ENT.V205 ： Bachelor's Practical Group Work for Value Creation A
• ENT.V206 ： Bachelor's Practical Group Work for Value Creation B

Prerequisites

None

Contact information (e-mail and phone) Notice : Please replace from ”[at]” to ”@”(half-width character).

Prof. Yamada (yamada.k.9f82[at]m.isct.ac.jp）

Office hours

Personal meetings can be booked upon request; we also have drop-in virtual office hours on Friday, 13:00-14:00, except for holidays. For detail please submit a request from the form below:
https://forms.gle/kCDtXz2NcwHy8kSC9