The Academy’s Business of Innovation intersectional area provides students with the business and data literacy skills to launch winning ventures. From ideation and development to branding, fundraising and market expansion, students learn hands-on techniques to create sustainable business advantage and lead teams.

Business of Innovation skill-building includes:

Purpose Driven Leadership and Communication

Marketing, Branding, and Community Building

Stakeholder and Ecosystem Identification and Alignment

Data-Driven Decision-making and Fundamentals

Starting with core courses Disruptive Innovation and Case Studies in Innovation students gain a foundation of timeless concepts from traditional business education (including futures, strategy, value propositions, executive understanding of accounting, finance, market sizing, operations, branding, marketing, and data-driven decision making). These fundamentals are taught in the context of leading innovation in a rapidly changing world. Through subsequent core courses - including Design Strategy and Industry Practicum I - and elective options, students gain first hand exposure to how 'change the world' innovations come to life. Students gain exposure to leading entrepreneurial frameworks such as Lean Launchpad, Traction Gap, and others. Students who wish to further deepen their business and financial expertise may take electives at the USC Marshall School of Business.

Throughout their course of study, students are immersed in collaborative environments with faculty and industry experts and mentors in accordance with our Challenge-Based Learning model. As part of this process students are introduced to industry advisors, investors, and a range of specialized resources leveraging the broader USC community. For example students pursuing a biomedical venture might be connected with collaborators from USC’s Keck School of Medicine MESH Academy which specializes in health innovation. As another example, students may compete in the annual IYA Venture Showcase which is a platform for ventures seeking to go to market and/or secure venture capital.

The curriculum culminates with a two-semester senior capstone in which students will have the opportunity to develop go-to-market products in the courses The Garage Experience I and II. The elective Purpose Driven Innovation Incubator is a course for ventures that have achieved user validation milestones to go to market and secure venture capital relationships.

Career outcomes for Business of Innovation students may include but are not limited to: Founder, CEO, Chief Product Officer, Product Lead, and Product Manager.

ACAD 220 Introduction to Data Innovation and Analytics

ACAD-302 Hacker Imagination: From Ancient Greece to Cupertino

ACAD-360 Design Strategy: Problem-Solving for Organizations

ACAD-402 The Community Playbook for Brands and Businesses

IDSN-428 Overview of Intellectual Property Laws for Creatives and Entrepreneurs

IDSN-528 Using Intellectual Property Laws to Protect Your Products and Ideas

IDSN-529 Marketing Strategy for Startups*

IDSN-581/ACAD 581 Introduction to the Global Fashion System

      *  pending curriculum changes

Chris Swain

Chris Swain, Assistant Professor, Business of Innovation

Tina Sharkey

Tina Sharkey, Lecturer, Business of Innovation

Michael Kanazawa, Distinguished Visiting Lecturer

Scott Armanini

Scott Armanini, Adjunct Assistant Professor

Jean-Michel Arnoult, Entrepreneur-in-Residence

The Academy’s Business of Innovation prepares students to launch breakthrough technologies, products, and ventures at the intersection of purpose and profit.

Extended Reality

Interactive Technologies

Product Innovation

Health Innovation

The Academy’s Business of Innovation prepares students to launch breakthrough technologies, products, and ventures at the intersection of purpose and profit.and profit.

Business of Innovation

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