CCOURSE NUMBER: MBA290E.1

Cross-listed with COE and SIMS

COURSE TITLE: Marketing for High Tech Entrepreneurs

UNITS OF CREDIT: 3

INSTRUCTOR: Andrew M. Isaacs

E-MAIL ADDRESS: isaacs@haas.berkeley.edu

MEETING DAY(S)/TIME: Monday and Wednesday, 4:00-5:30 PM

PREREQUISITE(S): none

CLASS FORMAT: Lectures, cases and discussion in a seminar format.

REQUIRED READINGS: Texts plus cases.

BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE: No exams will be given. Grades are based on one group project (30%), case study questions (60%) and class participation (10%).

ABSTRACT OF COURSE'S CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES:

This course is intended to provide the core marketing skills needed for the management of entrepreneurial high technology ventures, regardless of the student's "home" skill set, whether technical or managerial. We examine in depth the marketing approaches most likely to succeed for entrepreneurial companies as a function of their markets and technologies. Emphasis is placed on the special requirements for creating and executing marketing programs in a setting of rapid technological change and limited resources. The course is particularly suited for those who anticipate founding or operating technology companies.

Primary Objectives: The primary goal of this course is to develop the marketing skills needed to compete aggressively as an entrepreneur in technology fields. Upon completion of this course, the student should have developed the following skills:

- The ability to assess and predict customer needs in markets that may not yet exist;

- The ability to create and execute marketing plans that necessarily integrate sophisticated technological development with rapidly evolving customer requirements;

- The ability to create and grow a focussed marketing organization rapidly and efficiently;

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:

Andrew Isaacs is Executive Director of UC Berkeley's Management of Technology Program, a partnership of Berkeley's Haas School of Business, College of Engineering, and School of Information Management and Systems. He teaches three courses in the MBA program at Haas, "Marketing for High Tech Entrepreneurs", "Introduction to Management of Technology" and "Opportunity Recognition: Technology and Entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley".

Isaacs is also President of California Technology International, Inc., a consulting firm he founded in 1990. CTI grew rapidly, and in 1994 and 1995 was ranked among the fastest growing companies in Silicon Valley. CTI's offices in Silicon Valley and Tokyo specialize in strategy and marketing for US and Japanese high tech companies.

Prior to founding CTI, Isaacs was a marketing executive for public and private high tech companies in Silicon Valley, and was Senior Scientist at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston.