OIM 6610: Scaling Lean Ventures
3 Credits
Operational systems and processes are essential for turning a promising venture into a scalable business. In early-stage ventures, founders must define how work gets done across key areas such as process design, capacity, quality, sourcing, fulfillment, service delivery, and logistics, while building operating models that can evolve as the venture grows. In this course, students explore how to design, manage, and improve operations in ways that support both current execution and future scale. This includes examining how processes move from informal founder-led workarounds to more consistent and repeatable systems, how operating choices affect cost, speed, flexibility, and customer experience, and how technologies and digital tools can support coordination, visibility, and decision making. We will also discuss the operational challenges associated with moving from pilot or limited delivery to larger-scale execution. The course helps students understand how strong operations can become a source of discipline, adaptability, and competitive advantage in a growing business.