“A course for
entrepreneurial students that want to take product ideas
to the market"
Course: Make It Big provides the education, resources, and community to enable students to learn idea to production development. Years of real world experience have been distilled into materials, methodologies, and practice that prepare students for leadership roles in entrepreneurial as well as large product oriented companies. This course bridges the gap and provides students with the fundamentals and building blocks of product concept into market production. Past students have focused on medical, environmental, consumer electronics, toys, apparel, automotive, sports products, and much more, all are welcome. These concepts are detailed in the textbook "Make It Big, Crossing the Entrepreneur's Gap," M. Theeuwes. Now in its fifth year, over 100 entrepreneurial designers and engineers have completed the course, numerous patents have been filed, and several companies have grown out of what was learned including DripTech, Miret, Aperia, 6Dot, JaipurKnee, ClearEar, and Endless Mobile.
Prerequisites: The course is open to upper division or graduate students in engineering, sciences and business that want to take product ideas to the market. Make It Big demystifies the process through lectures, hands on work, and the book "Make It Big: Crossing the Entrepreneur's Gap".
Professor: The course was created by and is taught by Consulting Associate Professor, Marc Theeuwes who has 20 years of experience in engineering, business, and venture investing. More about Marc on LinkedIn.
Industry: The course is supplemented by interactions with industry collaboration. Past supporters include Flextronics, iMetrikus, Ahnu Shoes, BMW, Logitech, and Nokia. Additional resources and supporting companies can be found on www.makeitbig.com.
Class Time & Location: ME233 is offered only in the Fall quarter. Monday and Wednesday 5:15 to 6:30 in the design Building 550, Room 200.
Course Materials & Textbook: All course materials (syllabus, lecture notes, case studies, and assignments) are distributed through Stanford’s Coursework. Please note you must register for the class in Stanford Axess to gain access to these materials. The textbook "Make It Big, Crossing the Entrepreneur's Gap," M. Theeuwes, 2013 Edition is required for the course. The 2013 edition is be available online through Createspace and Amazon. Please purchase a copy in advance of the class through the linke on this site. Additional resources and supplemental material can be downloaded from www.makeitbig.com.
Student Incubators: Each year student teams spend the quarter bringing their products to life. A wide variety of product types and opportunities have been pursued including: entertainment, transportation, agriculture, medical devices, prosthetics, consumer products, soft goods, green tech, and more. Incubators have spawned numerous patents and companies. Past programs are noted below.
2011 Incubators:
2010 Incubators:
2009 Incubators:
2008 Incubators:
