General Information
Promotional Video
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Instructor Bio
Hussam is a business operator, angel Investor and university professor.
Hussam spent the bulk of his career in building and operating companies and in supporting other entrepreneurs to do the same. He did so through co-founding and growing two companies between 2006 and 2013, and through running and overseeing 40+ startup accelerator cohorts and business incubators that supported over 1000 entrepreneurs from 2014 to date.
Hussam currently helps run TitanFile –an award-winning Cybersecurity Enterprise software company– in an executive role. As a proud Rotman Alum, he is also the Founding Executive Director of Startup Rotman, Rotman School of Management’s Venture Builder that focuses on enabling its graduate students to move their business ideas from conception to execution.
Target Audience
Students interested in getting a thorough exposure and deep understanding of global entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystems (with focus on Toronto-Waterloo, and Silicon Valley, in addition to other leading global ecosystems), industry facts, concepts and key learnings through interfacing directly with tech founders, funders and corporate innovation leaders.
Course Dates and Format
10-day intensive course.
Friday, March 14th, 2025 and Friday, March 28th, 2025: 9:00am to 5:00pm – two full day course in Toronto at Rotman, on Campus introducing students to global startup ecosystems, venture capital, and entrepreneurship
Friday, April 11th, 2025: 2:00pm to 4:00pm – pre-trip presentation and preparation; 4:00pm to 6:00pm – in-class deliverables
April 28th – May 2nd, 2025: 1 week trip to Silicon Valley to meet key leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators (dates and details are tentative)
Course Mission
To provide students with thorough exposure and deep understanding of entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystems, industry facts, concepts and key learnings through interfacing directly with tech founders, funders and corporate innovation leaders.
Course Scope
In this course, students will learn about entrepreneurship and innovation from a series of engaging conversations and deep topic-discussions with early-stage venture incubators/accelerators, founders, investors and corporate innovation leaders. The course is designed to expose students to real-world learnings concerning how early-stage innovation/invention is conceived by entrepreneurs and how start-up businesses are funded and scaled. Students will learn how entrepreneurs think and act, how start-up incubators and accelerators, as well as investors facilitate early-stage business funding and scaling activities, how to analyze and design early-stage go-to-market strategies, and how to design and deliver unique customer value propositions and experiences, which is at the core of most successful start-ups. Students will also be exposed to how innovation is designed and delivered by large corporations, a meaningful part of which is how they interact with start-up ecosystems.
Sample course summary of last year’s (2023-2024) course iteration can be found here.
Evaluation and Grade Breakdown
| Component | Due Date | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Individual Participation | Ongoing | 20% |
| Group Presentation | March 28th, 2025 | 40% |
| Investment Memo | April 11th, 2025 | 40% |
Required Resources and Cost
No textbook required. Some optional readings will be strongly recommended upon registration for the course (to be completed during the course or after).
Course and practicum fees TBC.
Experiential Course Limit
There are limits to the number of RSM27XX range courses that students may take for credit toward their degree. Please refer to the Global and Experiential Course Eligibility Specifics and Limits section on the RO website for all details.