Many of the successful entrepreneurial companies have been started by technologists and financed by venture capitalists. This course will deal with the process of starting a new venture where the entrepreneurs come from a solid technological background. The primary objective of the course is to sharpen the students' skills in identifying technology based business opportunities, with particular focus on how to assess their market potential and how to judge their appeal to the venture capital community. The course will deal with how to get the business properly financed, examining the evaluation of the deal and the financing process from both the entrepreneur and the venture capital perspectives. We will also cover how to assemble the right team and compile the other resources that are needed to start a company with real market value potential. The course will also include a case analysis of a successful venture financed company started by technologist/entrepreneurs. A team project to build a complete presentation of a business opportunity to a venture capitalist for the initial financing is part of the course.