Course detail

Business Laboratory

FP-plaPAcad. year: 2026/2027

The aim of the course is to provide students with basic information and knowledge about private business and to teach them how to apply this information when setting up their own small business, which will operate in IT, web and mobile applications.

Language of instruction

Czech

Number of ECTS credits

5

Mode of study

Not applicable.

Guarantor

Ing. Veronika Bumberová, Ph.D.

Department

Institute of Management (ÚM)

Entry knowledge

Before studying the subject, students must have the following knowledge and skills: basic knowledge of the Trade Licensing Act, the Trade Corporations Act, the Insolvency Act and creative thinking for establishing a small business.

Rules for evaluation and completion of the course

To successfully complete the course, students must prepare and defend a team semester project (viable business model) and pass a final test.
Awarding a graded credit: to be awarded a graded credit, the following conditions must be met:
Development of the Lean Canvas Business Model - 0-50 points according to the quality assessment of individual parts (minimum 24 points are required).
Theoretical prerequisites test 0-50 points (more than half are required, i.e. minimum 26 points).
Overall course evaluation classification:
A: 90-100 points
B: 80-89 points
C: 70-79 points
D: 60-69 points
E: 50-59 points
F: 49 or fewer points
Reasons for not awarding credit:
Failure to submit work on time
Achieving 49 or fewer points.
Failure to present the business model within the team.
The written test will mainly be based on the information provided in the slides displayed in the course updates. The written test will also contain questions from lectures and exercises. The questions will be both open and closed. If the student does not obtain at least the aforementioned 50% of points in the first term, he/she has the opportunity to write a remedial written test.
Participation in exercises is mandatory and controlled, with one absence allowed, which the student does not have to report and excuse. Transfer between exercises is possible after individual agreement with the teacher. Exercises can be replaced in another group after individual agreement.
Students with an individual study plan (ISP) - only work on the Lean Canvas Business Model individually, which they do not have to present.

Aims

The objective of the course is to provide students with specialization in the preparation and management of their own future small businesses. The business itself will be focused on IT, web and mobile applications. Emphasis will also be placed on management, marketing and financial aspects of small businesses.
Knowledge: Students will be familiar with all the essentials of setting up their own small business, including related areas of marketing, human resources and small business finance. Students will be able to actively do business, ie establish and manage a small business.
Skills: Specialize students and give them enough skills to set up and manage their own small business.
Competence: The student will be competent for their own business in IT, web and mobile applications.

Study aids

Not applicable.

Prerequisites and corequisites

Not applicable.

Basic literature

Burns, Paul. Entrepreneurship and Small Business. 5th ed. London: Red Globe Press, 2022. ISBN 978-1-352-01252-1.​ (EN)
AULET, Bill. Disciplined Entrepreneurship: 24 Steps to a Successful Startup. Updated edition. Hoboken: Wiley, 2024. ISBN 978-1-119-89682-5. (EN)

Recommended reading

BLANK, Steve a DORF, Bob. The Startup Owner’s Manual: The Step-by-Step Guide for Building a Great Company. Updated edition. Pescadero: K & S Ranch, 2024. ISBN 978-0-9797659-3-2. (EN)
Maurya, Ash. Running Lean: Iterate from Plan A to a Plan That Works. 3rd ed. Sebastopol: O’Reilly Media, 2022. ISBN 978-1-0981-0877-9. (EN)

Classification of course in study plans

  • Programme BAK-MIn Bachelor's 3 year of study, summer semester, compulsory

Type of course unit

 

Lecture

26 hours, optionally

Teacher / Lecturer

Ing. Veronika Bumberová, Ph.D.

Syllabus

1. Introduction to small business issues, history, basic concepts, definitions, facts.
2. Starting a small business step by step.
3. Small business business model.
4. Choosing a business entity, advantages and disadvantages. Location of the establishment.
5. Business plan and strategy, small business growth model, stages and crises.
6. Small business resource management, limited marketing, financial aspects, start-up capital.
7. Small business exit, insolvency law.
8. - 13. Independent implementation of a team project within the framework of a new product

Exercise

26 hours, compulsory

Teacher / Lecturer

Ing. Veronika Bumberová, Ph.D.

Syllabus

1. Conditions and process, presentation of the project and the issue.
2. Team formation and initial selection of ideas (products).
3. Put the idea on paper - Lean CANVAS. Customer-problem or problem-customer? Segments of potential customers and selection of early adopters.
4. Deeper analysis of the problem and customer value (UVP). Analysis of available alternatives and customer solution to the problem on the market.
5. Product solution (wireframe and mockups). Minimum value product (MVP) strategy and customer paths.
6. Pricing model and pricing strategies in the IT industry, cost structure, key metrics, unfair competitive advantage.
7. Evaluate your business models, systematically minimize the risk from the model: product - market - customer, set priorities. How to present your business model?
8. Independent implementation on team projects
9. Independent implementation on team projects
10. Presentation of team projects
11. Presentation of team projects
12. Presentation of team projects
13. Presentation of team projects

The learning outcomes within the framework of practical exercises focus on the creative process of iteration of business ideas (products) with a focus on the IT area and at the same time on the process of building and validating a product business model in order to minimize the risks of entering the market.
Professional competencies: building a business model, market research within existing solutions, including pricing strategies in the area of sales of SW/HW, applications and other IT products.
Professional skills: strengthening creative and critical thinking when solving the issue of launching a new product on the market in the risk areas of customer-product-market.
Professional skills: based on the iteration and validation process, determining the value proposition for the customer with a connection to the technical solution (minimum product), marketing and pricing model.

Self-study

40 hours, optionally

Teacher / Lecturer

Ing. Veronika Bumberová, Ph.D.

Individual preparation for an ending of the course

35 hours, optionally

Teacher / Lecturer

Ing. Veronika Bumberová, Ph.D.