ECOSTARTUP

Business simulation EcoStartup - Promoting entrepreneurial thought and action by the example of founding a company

In the business simulation EcoStartup the participants establish their own company and hatch into the chief role. A self-developed business plan forms the basis for this. Thanks to the activity-oriented company simulation, they can analyse the effects of their own decisions. And the competitive situation between the groups will motivate the Startup teams to give their best performance.

Innovative and responsible business people plus employees acting in an entrepreneurial role are the pillars of our economic community. The game players learn how a small business functions, what needs to be taken into account from an economic and commercial point of view when founding a small business and what the challenges are. The fundamental business management knowledge required, based on the corporate model of the University of St. Gallen, is communicated and put into practice while playing EcoStartup.

Your benefit

EcoStartup enables the participants to:

discover the aspects of company management and its environments in the founding of a company with the help of a simple yet holistic model.
turn a business idea into an actual business plan and design the startup phase of the company
gain basic insights into the aspects and economic environment of a small company.
work together as a team in a targeted manner.

Discover more about EcoStartup in a free and non-binding consultation.

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Model

The market is formed by two large companies (simulated main competitors) and three to ten competing startup companies. EcoStartup can be played as a simple service company or as a somewhat more sophisticated production company:

Target groups

Companies

All employees
Managers from the lower and middle management levels
Apprentice training

Start-up centres

To promote entrepreneurial aspects and to prepare start-ups

Public Administration

Managers and employees working on projects with administrative responsibilities in direct contact with the economy or with management responsibilities

Universities of applied sciences

To promote understanding of entrepreneurial aspects in universities of applied sciences with a technical orientation

Options for use

The modular design of EcoStartup enables targeted use at several different levels of requirement. A certain amount of fundamental economic knowledge can be communicated. However, the main objective is to de-velop and promote understanding of economic aspects based on the example of managing a company. At the same time, EcoStartup is also suitable for improving the interpersonal and communication skills of the game players in group and team work.

Reporting

Company managers:

Planning instruments
- Environment factors
- Sales planning
- Operational planning
- Opening balance
- Forecast income statement
- Forecast balance sheet

Annual report
- Balance sheet and income statement
- Cost accounting
- Key data
- Environmental report

Course facilitators:

Detailed course facilitation report with company information
Decision records
Overview of effect indices for rapid analysis

Course developement

Phase 1: Drawing up business plan
Phase 2: 2-4 management game rounds with assessments by course facilitators
Phase 3: Evaluation and conclusion

Duration

1 to 3 days
The time required can be adjusted by including/removing certain focal topics.

Teaching materials

Company managers:

Compact and straightforward teaching materials
If required: materials are ideally supplemented by the book by Dr. Michael Käppeli "Betriebswirtschaft und Unternehmensführung – eine Einführung in unternehmerisches Denken und Handeln" (Business Economics and Company Management - an Introduction to Entrepreneurial Thought and Action)

Course facilitators:

Extensive course facilitation materials
Collection of structured group work tasks in various topic areas
Helpful downloads available in the login section

Languages

German, more to follow

Downloads

Flyer EcoStartup (PDF) (397 kb)

Reference

axpo AG
A fixed component of training and further professional development for several years
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