Name: Peter Vroom

Short Bio:
Peter Vroom is Principal of Vroom & Associates, an Adelaide firm that specialises in working with early stage technology start ups and turning ideas and passion into business value.

The firm has a track record of assisting clients with strategies to build their technology business as well as to achieve a successful business exit.

Peter has a technology business building background since founding his first venture in the 1970s, an online computer service bureau business (nowadays known as ‘Software as a Service’ or ‘SaaS’). He has been involved in numerous technology ventures over the years as founder, investor, director, advisor, or mentor. His international experience covers doing business in Asia Pacific, the US, and Western Europe. Peter completed the Master of Science and Technology Commercialisation in 2000


Email: peter.vroom@adelaide.edu.au

Phone: 0412 830 830 

Opening intensive:
Monday 4 & Tuesday 5 Aug 2014
9am-5pm
Masonic Hall, B3, Seminar Room West

Closing intensive:
Monday 1 & Tuesday 2 September 2014
9am-5pm
Masonic Hall, B3, Seminar Room West

The overall aim of this course is to equip you to contribute to the planning and implementation of marketing thinking and activities that could contribute to the success of an entrepreneurial venture including the commercialisation of new technologies and innovations.

1	To explain key aspects of ‘marketing’ as applied to a new technology business entering a new market
2	To conduct and analyse primary and secondary research and present results / recommendations critical to technology business issues within a limited timeframe.
3	To apply key aspects of marketing technology and innovation in the practical simulation of an Individual and Team Role Play project.
4	To conduct effective communication with people responsible for various business functions and across diverse cultures, using modern technology communication tools as appropriate.

The University’s preferred textbook supplier is Unibooks: http://www.unibooks.com.au/

Textbooks:
Blank, Steve & Dorf, Bob 2012, ‘The Startup Owner’s Manual’, K&S Ranch
ISBN-10: 0984999302; ISBN-13: 978-0-9849993-0-9

The following readings will be made available through MyUni:



Week 1:

Blank, S. ‘Customer Development’ in Stanford eCorner
http://ecorner.stanford.edu/authorMaterialInfo.html?mid=2056
 
Instagram Founders, ‘8 Startup Myths’ in Stanford eCorner
http://ecorner.stanford.edu/authorMaterialInfo.html?mid=2735

VC Experts, (2014). ‘Box Secures 150M’ in VC Experts Newsletter, (10 Jul 2014). PDF

 
Bennett, R. (2014). ‘Status of Guerilla Warfare Marketing in 2014’ in Sandhill Business Strategy Newsletter, (May 14 2014) PDF

 
Week 2:

Adams, R., (2002). ‘You Don’t Know Your Customer As Well As You Think You Do’ in A Good Hard Kick In The Ass, (pp. 43-71). Crown Business,.

 Instagram Founders, ‘Finding the Problem is the Hard Part’
http://ecorner.stanford.edu/authorMaterialInfo.html?mid=2738

 
Week 3:

Katsoros, J and Christy, P., (2008). ‘Knowing Where and How to Move’, in Getting It Right First Time, (pp. 73-96). Praeger,


 Week 4:

Pricing Prophets, (2012). ‘Roadmap to Best in Class Pricing’ in Pricing Prophets Download Centre. www.pricingprophets.com  (requires free registration to download)

 
Rangaswami, M. (2014). ‘Five Sources of Software Pricing Pressure’ in Sandhill Business Strategy Newsletter, (June 11 2014). PDF

 
Week 5:

Blank, S. (2006). ‘Customer Creation’ in The Four Steps to the Epiphany, (pp 121-157). Quad Graphics,


Week 6:

Kawasaki, G. (2014). ‘10 Tips to Evangelize your Product’  in StartupSmart Newsletter, (3 July 2014). PDF

 
Week 7:
 
Marshall, P. (2013). ‘80/20 Sales and Marketing, pp. 1-6, 163-170, 179-184. Entrepreneur Press


Week 8

Godin, Seth, (1999). ‘Chapters 1 to 4’ in Permission Marketing. Simon & Schuster. Available for free download at http://www.sethgodin.com/permission

 
Lindegaard, Stefan. (2012). ‘Social Media for Corporate Innovators and Entrepreneurs’, Chapter 6 ‘Building your innovation brand through social media’, www.15inno.com

 
Week 9:

Rackham, N. and De Vincentis, J. (1998). ‘The New Selling’ in Rethinking the Sales Force’, pp.1-31. McGraw Hill

 
Schultz, M. and Doerr J. (2014). ‘Sales Winners Sell Differently’ in Insight Selling, (pp. 1-23). Wiley

 
Zoltners, A, Sinha, P. and Lorimer, S. (2004). ‘Sales Strategy’ in Sales Force Design for Strategic Advantage, (pp. 54-96). Palgrave Macmillan

 
Jordan, J. and Vazzana, M. (2012). ‘What can we really Manage?’ in Cracking the Sales Management Code, (pp.13-35). McGraw Hill

 
Week 10:

Murphy, J  - ‘Product Managers in Startups: What’s their Role?’ http://www.pragmaticmarketing.com/resources/Creating-Product-Management-at-a-Startup

 
Alvarez, C, 2014. ‘How-do-customer-development-and-product-management-fit-together’ in Your
Favorite Posts Updated. PDF

 
Cagan, M, ‘The Top 12 Product Management Mistakes’ in Silicon Valley Product Group. www.svproduct.com   PDF

There is a wide range of material on the course topic available. The following provide some additional reading guidance if you are interested in reading further on the topic:



·        Adams, Rob, 2002, A Good Hard Kick In The Ass, Crown Business
·        Godin, Seth 1999, Permission Marketing, Simon & Schuster
·        Rackham, Neil and De Vincentis, John, 1998, Rethinking the Sales Force, McGraw Hill
·        Schultz, M. and Doerr J. (2014). Insight Selling, Wiley
·        Zoltners, A, Sinha, P., and Lorimer, S, (2004). Sales Force Design for Strategic Advantage.
Palgrave Macmillan
·        Jordan, J. and Vazzana, M. (2012). Cracking the Sales Management Code. McGraw Hill
·        Cagan, M. 2008. Inspired: How To Create Products Customers Love. Amazon
·       Marshall, P. (2013). 80/20 Sales and Marketing. Entrepreneur Press
·        Mohr, J., Sengupta, S. & Slater, S. (2009) Marketing High-Technology Products and  Innovations. 3rd.ed. Pearson Prentice Hall
·        Jolly, V.K. (1997) Commercialising New Technologies. Harvard Business School Press.
·        Viardot, E. (2004) Successful Marketing Strategy for High Tech Firms. 3rd.ed. Artech House, Boston, USA.
·        Millier, P. (1999). Marketing the Unknown. Wiley.
·        Rogers, E. M. (2003) The Diffusion of Innovations. Free Press.



Library Resources
The University of Adelaide’s Barr Smith Library provides a range of learning resources including texts, journals, periodicals, magazines, and access to online databases and information services. It also offers a virtual library which is accessible via the University’s website. The University Library web page is: http://www.adelaide.edu.au/library/ 
From this link, you are able to access the Library's electronic resources.

MyUni is the University of Adelaide's online learning environment. It is used to support traditional face-to-face lectures, tutorials and workshops at the University. MyUni provides access to various features including announcements, course materials, discussion boards and assessments for each online course of study (see: https://myuni.adelaide.edu.au)

This course is offered in blended learning mode with the face-to-face component offered as intensives.

As a guide, a 3 unit course comprises a total of 156 hours work (this includes face-to-face contact, any online components, and self directed study).

This is a draft schedule and session dates are a guide only. The timetable may be changed during the course delivery if necessary.

Week	Topics	Readings and Activities
1	Introductions to Program and Participants Overview of Course Marketing in a Technology/Innovation Startup environment	Preliminary Reading (before Week 1) • Textbook: Introduction, Chapter 1 & 2 Blank and Dorf (2012) Readings (Week 1) • Lecture slides and notes • Watch videos Activities: • Discussion Forum • Team/Role Play Project • Introduction to Market Research assignment
2	Customer Discovery	Readings: • Lecture slides and notes • Textbook: Chapter 3-7 Blank and Dorf (2012) • Article: Rob Adams (2002) Activities: • Discussion Forum • Online Q&A, Wed 8pm CST • Team/Role Play Project - Allocate Team Roles, Interviews, Plan for Q1 to Q6
3	Customer Validation	Readings: • Lecture slides and notes • Textbook: Chapter 8-12 Blank and Dorf (2012) • Article: Karsaros & Christy (2005) Activities: • Discussion Forum • Online Q&A, Wed 8pm CST • Team/Role Play Project- Q1 • Submit Team/Role Play – Group Report 1
4	Pricing for Value	Readings: • Lecture slides and notes • Textbook: pp. 182-185, 236, 240-242, 375 Blank and Dorf (2012) • Article: Roadmap to Best in Class Pricing (2012) • Article: Five Sources of Software Pricing Pressure (2014) Activities: • Discussion Forum • Online Q&A, Wed 8pm CST • Team/Role Play Project Q2 • Submit Team/Role Play Project – Individual Report 1
5	Sending the Right Messages	Readings: • Lecture slides and notes • Article: Blank, The Four Steps to the Epiphany (2005) pp. 147-152 • Textbook: Chapter 9, pp. 291-303, Blank and Dorf (2012) Activities: • Discussion Forum • Online Q&A, Wed 8pm CST • Team/Role Play Project • Submit Team/Role Play – Group Report 2
6	Initial Customer Creation	Readings: • Lecture slides and notes • Textbook: pp. 375-410, Blank and Dorf (2012) • Article: Kawasaki (2014) Activities: • Discussion Forum • Online Q&A, Wed 8pm CST • Team/Role Play Project- Q4
7	Business Model Reality Check	Readings: • Lecture slides and notes • Textbook: Chapter 12 Blank and Dorf (2012) • Article: Marshall (2013) Activities: • Discussion Forum • Online Q&A, Wed 8pm CST • Team/Role Play Project Q5 • Submit Team/Role Play – Group Report 3
8	Marketing Activities and Campaigns	Readings: • Lecture slides and notes • Textbook: pp. 41-42, 134, 150-154, 163, 296-303, 381, 402, • Article: Godin (1999) • Article: Stefan Lindegaard via website Activities: • Discussion Forum • Online Q&A, Wed 8pm CST • Team/Role Play Project, Q6
9	Sales and Sales Management   Team / Role Play Group Presentations (see also FAQ at end of Learning Activities Summary)	Readings: • Article: Rackham (1999) • Article: Schultz, Doerr (2014) •  Article: Zoltners, etc (2004) •  Article: Jordan (2012)   •  Article: Marshall (2013 Activities: • Discussion Forum • Team/Role Play Project
	Product Management	Readings: • Lecture slides and notes • Article: Murphy (2014) • Article: Alvarez (2014) • Article: Cagan (2014) Activities: • Discussion Forum • Team/Role Play Project • Submit Team/Role Play – Group Report 4 • Submit Team/Role Play – Individual Report 2

Frequently Asked Questions
Q: If we are unable to give our presentation during an intensive or online session due to scheduling constraints or some other understandable reason, how do we record audio over our slides and submit as a movie file?

A: Adding audio to PowerPoint presentations is actually quite easy. Explore the following resources to help you get started. When you are finished creating your presentation with recorded audio simply go to “File” > “Save as Movie…”

http://office.com/en-us/powerpoint-help/add-sound-and-video-to-a-powerpoint-presentation-HA001159312.aspx

http://www.gcflearnfree.org/powerpoint

In addition to the Learning Actties Summary in 4.3 above, the additional activety requirements can be found in two places:

• The Discussion Board will have weekly topic threads.

Each week the Discussion Board will focus on a topic and will have notes on that topic as well as associated tasks / questions.

The Discussion Board activity is an important aspect of the course and you are expected to be an active participant. It forms part of the assessment.

• In Course Materials there will be summary document (PDF) containing the slides and supplementatry notes for Course Topics 1 to 10.

There will also be a comprehensive document on the Team / Role Play Project.

An overview of the course assessment appears in the following Table. Details appear in the following section:

Assessment No.	Form of Assessment/Collaborative Task	Length (in word count)	Weighting	Due Date	Learning outcomes covered (see 2.1 for detail)
1	Forum Discussion and Participation	2,000 words in aggregate	30%	See MyUni	1, 4
2	Team / Role Play Project Reports x 2 (Individual)	Reports x 2: 3,000 words in aggregate	40%	See MyUni	1-4
34	Team / Role Play Project (Group)	Reports x 4: 6,500 words in aggregate Presentation: 7-8 slides	30 % (Reports 24%, Presentation 6%)	See MyUni	1, 4
	Total		100%

 

Students should attend all classes in order to pass the course. There is considerable experiential learning in workshops during the intensive classes that build your knowledge and thus enable you to be
successful in this course.  

Course results are subject to moderation by the ECIC Board of Examiners

Assessment detail will be made available to students enrolled in the course.

All text based assignments must be submitted via MyUni.
Please refer to step by step instructions: http://www.adelaide.edu.au/myuni/tutorials/files/AssignmentStudentSubmission.pdf

There are a few points to note about the submission of assignments:

• Assignment Submission:  Assignments should not be emailed to the instructor; they must be lodged via the MyUni Course site (unless specified to do both). Note that assignments may be processed via TURNITIN, which is an online plagiarism prevention tool.
• Cover Sheet:  Please submit, separate to your assignment, the completed University of Adelaide Assessment Cover Sheet providing details of yourself and your team members (if applicable), your assignment, the course, date submitted, etc. as well as the declaration signed by you that this is your (your team’s) work.  Note that the declaration on any electronically submitted assignment will be deemed to have the same authority as a signed declaration.
• Backup Copy of Assignments:  You are advised to keep a copy of your assignments in case the submitted copy goes missing.  Please ensure that all assignment pages are numbered. If your assignment contains confidential information, you should discuss any concerns with the Course Lecturer prior to submission.
• Extensions of Time:  Any request for an extension of time for the submission of an assignment should be made well before the due date of the assignment to the Course Lecturer.  Normally, extensions will only be granted for a maximum of two weeks from the original assignment submission date.  Extensions will only be granted in cases of genuine extenuating circumstances and proof, such as a doctor’s certificate, may be required.
• Failure to submit: Failure to submit an assignment on time or by the agreed extension deadline may result in penalties and may incur a fail grade.  Note that a late penalty of 5% of the total available marks for that assessment item will be incurred each day an assignment is handed in late (Unless otherwise stated in 'Assessment Related Requirements' or 'Assessment Detail' above).  Assignments handed in after 14 days from the due submission date will fail even if a 100% mark is granted for the work.