Wk1-1 Program INTRO and meet instructor

Welcome to The Business Model Canvas, An Entrepreneur and Innovator's Tool. The lead instructor for this course is Dan Stotz. Dan is a member of the faculty at Kennesaw State University and has over 30 years' experience teaching courses in management, leadership, and entrepreneurship. During his career, Dan has also been an entrepreneur running a publishing firm with his two brothers, and he spent five years directing a small business development center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Dan has a passion for helping people reach their fullest potential as leaders, innovators, and change makers. So sit back, enjoy the program, and learn how the Business Model Canvas can help you turn a new idea Into a new profitable reality. » [SOUND] » Welcome, and thanks for registering for this Coursera program. My name is Dan Stotz, and I'm a faculty member in the Management and Entrepreneurship Department at Kennesaw State University. You may not know a lot about Kennesaw State University. We are located just north of Atlanta, Georgia, and we are one of the largest universities in the United States with over 33,000 students. Last year, US News and World Report ranked KSU number four as an up and coming university, and just recently we were ranked in the top 20 as one of the most innovative universities in the country. So we are both pleased and proud that Coursera chose us to design and deliver this program titled The Business Model Canvas, An Entrepreneur and Innovator's Tool. This course is what Coursera calls a project based learning program, which means together we'll be both learning and doing. So let's get to work. In the first module, we'll learn about the nine building blocks that make up the business model canvas. And together we'll discover how the business model canvas can play a key role in helping us transform a new idea into a profitable reality. As you may already know, the business model canvas was invented by Alex Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur, authors of the best selling book Business Model Generation. Their book is a practical, inspiring handbook for anyone striving to improve a business model or craft a new one. And Alex and Yves practice what they preach. They wrote the book with the help of 470 business model canvas practitioners from 45 countries. So the business model canvas tool has been validated by university researchers and field tested by innovators and entrepreneurs. So let's begin. We'll start by watching a short video called Getting from Business Idea to Business Model. It is a story of Beth and Carl in an idea that they believed could become a great business. This video is the first of a series of six. The video was produced by the Strategizer Company and made available to us through the generosity of the Kauffman Foundation. So, sit back, go to the next session of the module, and enjoy the video.