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Disruptive Entrepreneurship

MDST 2011

Disruption has become a hallowed achievement in contemporary business culture, to the point that we forget it used to be a bad thing. What, exactly, do entrepreneurs, investors, and internet evangelists mean by the word? What have been the great disruptions of our time, and who wound up disrupted?

This course is a hands-on exploration of disruptive media cultures, intended for entrepreneurs, critics, and activists alike. We will encounter disruptions in the world around us and devise some of our own. Students should expect to enlarge their entrepreneurial repertoires, but also to experience fresh trepidation about entrepreneurship's possible effects.

Instructor

Nathan Schneider (“Nathan” or “Professor Schneider”)
nathan.schneider@colorado.edu
Armory 1B24, meetings by appointment via email (etiquette suggestions)
Website: nathanschneider.info

Objectives

  • Gain familiarity with discourses surrounding media entrepreneurship and disruptive innovation
  • Encounter the social impacts and enablers of economic disruptions
  • Cultivate habits of ethical entrepreneurship in media economies

The business model

The course consists of six evaluated components; three are consecutive and three are ongoing.

Phase one: Report

20 points

Early in the course, each student produces a brief, researched report on a past disruption. Write an internal memo by an employee of an incumbent organization as it comes to terms with the disruption taking place. Explain it clearly to colleagues and suggest possible responses that the incumbent organization might take. The report should be between 1,200 and 1,500 words, formatted and written appropriately (and creatively) in the guise of an official document from the organization. Evaluation criteria are as follows:

  • Completion of the assignment with clarity, stylistic correctness, and creativity
  • Comprehension of the disruption and explanation of what qualifies it as disruptive
  • Evidence of self-directed research, including at least two peer-reviewed academic sources, using appropriate citation
  • Meaningful engagement with at least two assigned materials from the course

Phase two: Presentation

20 points

The second project for the course is a presentation to the class about the effects of a disruptive innovation. Students should interview at least two people (outside the CU community) with direct experience of having their way of life or livelihood challenged by the disruption. In the presentation, students will share interviewees' insights, alongside an explanation of the nature of the disruption and its broader context. This assignment is conducted in pairs, who will present 10-to-12 minute presentations with slides. Each presentation should cover a unique topic. Evaluation criteria are as follows:

  • Completion of the assignment with clarity, stylistic correctness, and creativity
  • Comprehension of the disruption and explanation of what qualifies it as disruptive
  • Evidence of self-directed research, including at least two peer-reviewed academic sources, and appropriate citation
  • Meaningful engagement with at least one assigned material from the course

Students may form groups of three as well; these will required to present three interviews and three peer-reviewed sources, rather than the otherwise required two.

Phase three: Whitepaper

20 points

At the conclusion of the course, students produce a whitepaper outlining an original proposal for a disruption involving networked digital media. In between 1,500 and 1,800 words, describe the nature of the disruption, its economic and technological context, and the means of its financing and growth. Be sure to also consider its potential social effects.

Students will twice present their ideas to the class as a two-minute pitch with one informative but parsimonious slide—first as a practice run for feedback and second as a peer-judged class contest.

Evaluation criteria are as follows:

  • In-class pitches, including practice run and pitch contest
  • Completion of the assignment with clarity, stylistic correctness, and creativity
  • Comprehension of the disruption and explanation of what qualifies it as disruptive
  • Evidence of self-directed research, including at least two peer-reviewed academic sources, and appropriate citation, along with meaningful engagement with at least two assigned materials from the course

Class participation

15 points

All students should contribute to class discussions as active listeners, question-askers, commentators, and critics. Respectful disagreement with the instructor and fellow students is welcome and encouraged. Students will also pitch their own disruptive ideas to the class. Attendance will not be taken formally, but meaningful participation is not compatible with absence. Be prepared to discuss each week's assigned materials by the start of that week's first meeting.

Evaluation takes place at the midterm and the end of the course, with each evaluation period weighted equally. Evaluation is based on the following:

  • Comments and questions that advance the conversation, with evidence of listening to others and engagement with assigned materials
  • In-class pitch exercises assigned the meeting before
  • Flash quizzes at random intervals

Online participation

15 points

Each week, students should engage with the assigned materials by using the Hypothesis annotation platform, where technically possible. Both quality and quantity will be taken into account. Annotations for each week's assigned materials are due by the start of that week's first meeting. Evaluation takes place at the midterm and the end of the course, with each evaluation period weighted equally.

It may not be necessary to read every assigned word with equal care. Expect to read effectively but strategically. Evaluation criteria are as follows:

  • Volume of annotations and distribution throughout assigned materials; annotate every (annotatable) reading at least once and go deep on at least one of the readings each week
  • Evidence of reflection and insight
  • Engagement with fellow students' annotations

Entrepreneurial events

10 points

Part of the course is participation in two live events in CU's and Boulder's entrepreneurial community. Before the end of the day after each event, submit a discussion post in Canvas about your experience there. With this, include proof of participation (such as a photo of yourself there) or a documented, pre-approved excuse for non-attendance. Evaluation criteria are as follows:

Entrepreneurship-related events can be found at the campus Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative website, Silicon Flatirons, Startup Digest, and Meetup.

Grading

Based on the stated point structure, grades will be awarded as follows: A (94-100), A- (90-93), B+ (87-89), B (83-86), B- (80-82), C+ (77-79), C (73-76), C- (70-72), D+ (67-69), D (63-66), D- (60-62), F (0-59). The minimum passing grade is 60 for undergraduates and 70 for graduate students.

Terms and conditions

Together, we agree to:

  • Work together to foster a respectful, mature, convivial community based on discussion, accommodation, and attention
  • Adhere to all university policies regarding academic integrity, accessibility, behavior, discrimination, misconduct, and religious observances; we take responsibility for understanding them and the relevant procedures
  • Respect student privacy, keeping any materials or statements shared in class confidential unless permission is granted to do otherwise
  • Refrain from the use of screen devices during class, except upon agreement with the instructor or for reasons of accessibility

If you find yourself in a position where lack of access to food, housing, health care, or other basic necessities interferes with your studies, consider seeking support from the Dean of Students and, if you feel comfortable doing so, your instructor. We will work to assist you however we can.

Fall 2019 calendar

Due dates are at 2 p.m.:

  • Select Phase One project topic (shared document): 9/10
  • Phase One project (Canvas dropbox): 10/1
  • Select Phase Two project topic and date (shared document): 9/24
  • Midterm participation evaluations: 10/22
  • Phase Two project (Canvas dropbox): Various presentation dates, 10/8-11/7
  • Phase Three pitch practice: 12/3
  • Phase Three pitch contest: 12/12
  • Phase Three whitepaper (Canvas dropbox): 12/14

Entrepreneurial events:

Topics

The course topics, like the assignments, proceed in three phases. First, we acquaint ourselves with some processes and ideologies associated with Silicon Valley-style entrepreneurial culture and discourses of disruption. Second, we consider the human impacts of disruptive change. Third, we step back and explore some broader social, philosophical, and political consequences of disruptive thinking.

Phase one: Disruption

The universal calling (9/3)

Theory and cliché (9/10)

Organizational vessels (9/17)

Raising rounds (9/24)

Origin stories (10/1)

Phase two: Disrupted

The core assignment for this phase will be a close reading of an important recent book, Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power (PublicAffairs, 2019), along with supplemental readings.

"Home or Exile in the Digital Future" (10/8)

  • Zuboff, Introduction
  • Rebecca Solnit, “Diary: Google Invades,” London Review of Books 35, no. 3 (February 7, 2013)

"The Foundations of Surveillance Capitalism" (10/15)

"The Advance of Surveillance Capitalism" (10/22)

10/24: Panel on “Economic Development for Creative District Leaders from Urban and Rural Colorado,” UMC Aspen Rooms (2-3 p.m.)

"Instrumentarian Power for a Third Modernity" (10/29)

"A Coup from Above" (11/5)

Phase three: Disruptionism

Natural and unnatural (11/12)

Work and post-work (11/19)

Decentralize everything (12/3)

The new citizen (12/10)

Further resources