EMEN 5090 - Marketing and Technology Ventures
Instructor: John Svoboda
Suggested prior knowledge: None
Prerequisites: None
Semester(s) Offered: See course list
Course Description
Developing a revolutionary design or product often becomes an all-consuming pursuit. Yet, many gifted engineers and technologists are bewildered to discover, only too late, that their innovative product is wholly insufficient. Most innovation failures are caused not by weak engineering or cash shortages. Rather, they fail because no clear need of or purpose for the solution exists in the marketplace. Although deep understanding of the consumer or business customer is a prerequisite to success, only 6% of engineering executives believe their organizations truly understand the market. They are, strategically, running full-steam in complete darkness.
This course focuses on the foundations of strategic marketing practice in technology fields: Tech adoption, buyer behaviors, competitors and substitutes, data analytics, strategic analysis tools and digital advertising. We research industries and markets then analyze that data to generate actionable information. Students work on an actual tech company of their choosing to learn the principles of Technology Marketing.
Skills and Knowledge Gained
- Analyze key marketing concepts, digital advertising channels and their real-world implementations.
- Develop proficiency with these methods and with the processes for making informed decisions on questions you may well encounter in professional practice.
- Acquire the skills to develop a detailed entrepreneurial marketing plan for a product or company. Plans will be built-up sequentially and commented on by the class, the professor and expert marketers during the semester.
- Apply state-of-the-art frameworks towards analyzing marketing problems presented in engineering industry case studies.
- Prepare and present a professionally compelling executive briefing of the marketing plan.
Why should you take this course?
Acquire the skllls and knowledge to leap the chasm separating cool technoolgy from successful and profitable business enterprise.
*Note: This page is periodically updated. For the most up-to-date course information for the current term, log into the Buff Portal or go to the Course Search (for those without 
campus login credentials).
John Svoboda
25 years industry experience leading projects and programs with commercia/industrial developers and engineering organizations.
Cofounder of 4 tech startups.
MS Telecom - ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ
MBA - UCLA
BA Architecture - UC Berkeley.