As the majority of management theory is based upon the structures, decision making and processes of larger, established companies, these norms may not always bear scrutiny when applied to newer startup ventures.

The objective of the “International Entrepreneurship” course is to develop more practical knowledge and experience of management by revisiting some key themes of their MBA program from the viewpoint of entrepreneurship and venture management.

When starting up venture companies, managements are obliged to face important daily decision-making opportunities in a dynamically changing managerial environment. Their decision-making is characterized by 3 major issues:
1. The decision is always betting on the company’s existence
2. The company is always in an unstable condition
3. The resources which the company can use are limited
Students can experience management dynamism through case discussion, and can realise the true nature of management.

This course is structured along two axes.
The first is venture management: students face important managerial issues, analyzing them from various points of view and gaining the knowledge to solve them.
The second is the entrepreneur axis: ten entrepreneurs of eight companies, five of whom are Japanese and five global, are presented through cases. Students consider these closely, discussing their start-up and growth management. Students are inspired to develop the qualities they need to develop as future business leader.

Professor Yuji Nagasawa

Education:
MBA, Harvard Business School
BS in Electric Engineering, Tokyo University

After 20 years working for Nissho-Iwai Corporation, one of Japan’s largest trading houses, Mr. Nagasawa joined Softbank group and started up two IT venture companies, where he acted as COO. He moved to be head of the E-Business consulting unit at PricewaterhouseCoopers and performed extensive consulting work for major companies. Mr. Nagasawa founded his own consulting firm in 1992 and ran it as a founder for 4 years. In 1996, he decided to return to venture management and was named active CEO of TechIndex, one of the most prominent venture companies in the Japanese mobile industry. Mr. Nagasawa joined the faculty of NUCB as a professor in 2011, and since then, has won the Outstanding Teaching Award for 5 straight years.