GFSU SS2025

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Summary

Time and place:	Block seminar with preliminary meeting (online) + three mandatory lecture and presentation dates (and group work in between). The lecture will be held on 13.06.2025. The student presentations will be held in two separate dates thereafter. For details, see "Seminar Dates and Content" below. The seminar sessions in SS25 will be onsite! Attendance is mandatory for all four course dates. Access links to the course materials will be distributed to the participants shortly before the seminar start.
Exam:	Intermediate and final presentation in a team (3-4 students) with contribution from each team member, submission of presentation slides, and financial plan.
Registration:	Via TUMonline, opening date 10.03.2025(registration is now closed). See course page. Important: The seminar has a limited capacity (and many applicants!). Spots will be distributed via TUMonline. If you receive a spot in the seminar, you will be informed in April via TUMonline about your "Fixplatz". If you do not get a "Fixplatz", this means TUMonline did not select you to participate. We are sorry about that. If there is an open spot, we will inform you depending on your spot on the waiting list. If you get a "Fixplatz" but do not want to participate anymore, please de-register to give a chance to your fellow students from the waiting list.
Contacts:	Lecturer: Steffen Vierkorn of Qunis GmbH For organizational questions: Stephen Meisenbacher

 

Goal and Structure

From idea to start-up

How can a good business idea become a successful company? The seminar shows aspiring graduates using the example of a young software and consulting company, how to start and run a start-up. The focus is on practical tips, which must be taken into account on the way from the business idea to the marketing of the product or service.

Seminar structure

The event is divided into two parts:

1. Within the theory block, you learn about founding and leading small software-oriented companies
2. This is followed by group work (in teams of ~4 participants) in which the newly acquired knowledge is to be applied and deepened by creating presentations and a business plan using a case study. The results are presented and evaluated in an intermediate and a final presentation.

Position in the curriculum (non-binding information, please refer to your module catalog)

• For all degree programs of the Department of Informatics, the assignment is included in the module catalog.
• For all degree programs of other faculties, the examination office (Prüfungsamt) of the corresponding department has the information, e.g. TUM-BWL, WI, etc.
• GFSU ist not a "Hauptseminar" or "Proseminar", it's a cool seminar though

 

Seminar Dates and Content

Preliminary Meeting (online): 11.06.2025, 17:00 - 18:00 (Location: Zoom)

In this meeting, we will discuss the setup of the course, confirm attendance, and get to know each other (useful for team building!).

The meeting will be held via Zoom - the link will be sent via Moodle beforehand.

 

Lecture date: 13.06.2025, 09:00 - 16:00 (Location: 5901.02.013- TUM Garching, Elektrotechnik)

Organizational information (course structure, group formation of ~4 students each, expectations for the presentation)

Lecture on the topics:

• Structure of a business plan, market analysis and market entry
• Product design and pricing
• Corporate strategy
• Financial planning, cash flow and income statement (GuV)

 

Intermediate presentation date: 04.07.2025, 13:00 - 16:00 (Location: 5901.02.013- TUM Garching, Elektrotechnik)

The intermediate presentation is on the topic “market entry” (15 minutes per group) and has to be prepared by the respective groups.

• This presentation will present the product / service and the market entry strategy for a sample company in the start-up phase.
• The aim is to highlight the benefits of the product / service to a potential buyer target group and to identify a target market and formulate a market entry strategy (e.g., distribution channels, etc.). A rough financial planning and pricing has to be prepared.
• The groups receive constructive feedback regarding their ideas and presentation.

 

Final presentation date: 11.07.2025, 13:00 - 16:00 (Location: 5901.02.013- TUM Garching, Elektrotechnik)

The final presentation (15 minutes per group), which is a polished form of the intermediate presentation, contains a financial plan and a plan for the income statement for the first three years of the example company presented by the group.

• These plans are to be based on the previously presented product / service and the target market described in the first presentation with its sales opportunities.

 

Note: all four seminar days are mandatory! Failure to show up without a valid excuse will result in a grade of 5,0.

 

Literature (optional, but certainly encouraged)

• The Lean Startup, Eric Ries, 2011
• The Lean Entrepreneur, Brant Cooper & Patrick Vlaskovits, 2013
• Crossing the Chasm, Geoffrey A. Moore, 2002
• The Innovator's Dilemma, Clayton M. Christensen
• The Four Ways to the Epiphany, Steve Blank, 2013
• Business Model Generation, Alexander Osterwalder & Yves Pigneur, 2011