Statue of Apollo, Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
About this course
What does it actually take to build a business from nothing — and to keep it standing when everything is working against you? This course takes you inside the mind of the entrepreneur: the risks they take, the mistakes they survive, and the moments that decide whether an idea becomes something real.
Across three weeks, you’ll trace the entrepreneurial journey from its first spark to its hardest tests: how opportunity is spotted and resourcefulness turns little into something real, how ventures scale fast without losing their footing, and how purpose shapes a business built to last. Along the way, you’ll look at the pressures shaping every business today — from the pace of growth, to what businesses owe the people around them, to the rise of AI. Using real case studies from technology, finance, and social enterprise, this course will help you think critically about how ventures are built. By the end, you’ll have formed your own view on what it means to build one responsibly.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this course, you will:
- Understand the major theoretical perspectives on entrepreneurial opportunity, resourcefulness, and ecosystem-building
- Critically assess the strategic logic and risks of scaling a venture rapidly
- Analyse what resilience and adaptive strategy require of entrepreneurs operating in extreme contexts
- Assess the tensions between growth, impact, and purpose in commercial and social ventures
- Evaluate how artificial intelligence is reshaping entrepreneurial opportunity and competitive strategy
- Develop your own critical perspective on entrepreneurial decision-making under uncertainty
Who is this course suitable for?
This course would suit students from a range of academic disciplines, but especially those with a background or interest in Business, Management, and Politics, or who wish to develop their knowledge and skills in anticipation of future leadership roles.
Dates and availability
Available as a Residential or Online course on the following dates:
Session 1: 28th June - 16th July 2027
Get in touch
If you have any questions, or would like to know more, please get in touch via the link below.
Course Convenor: Prof Alona Revko
Prof. Alona Revko is an Academic Visitor at the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, and a British Academy Fellow (2022-2025). Her research examines social entrepreneurship ecosystems in extreme contexts, with particular focus on trust-based collaboration, institutional resilience, and ecosystem orchestration under conditions of institutional fragility. Her collaborative paper won the 2nd UNTFSSE Award (regular researcher category) at the 10th EMES International Research Conference (2025, Netherlands), and she has recently published her article in the Journal of the British Academy https://journal.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/articles/13/4/a45.
With over 14 years of teaching experience across Ukraine, Poland, Norway, Switzerland, and the UK, Prof. Revko brings expertise in leadership development and social entrepreneurship education to diverse international audiences. Her international teaching portfolio spans multiple prestigious institutions and programmes: she has served as Guest Lecturer for the Movetia Spring Module (2021) at the University of St.Gallen, Switzerland, delivering lectures on leadership; as Academic Director for the CII Young Leaders Programme (2025), designing executive education curriculum for Indian business leaders; and at Oxford’s Skoll Centre, where she facilitates Collaborative Leadership sessions for MBA cohorts representing 20+ nationalities through the Impact Lab leadership development programme. Beyond traditional academic settings, she has developed leadership training for military personnel transitioning to civilian roles within the ‘Norway-Ukraine’ Professional Retraining Program and, as facilitator for the British Council’s ‘Active Citizens’ program in Ukraine, has created transformative workshops that equip community leaders with essential tools for driving sustainable social change. She also delivers Theory of Change workshops for Oxford University Innovation, demonstrating her ability to communicate sophisticated concepts clearly to professional audiences from varied cultural and linguistic backgrounds.