The Adventures in Entrepreneurship Law course, produced as talk show videos and podcasts, is now available to everyone

In February, Aalto University will publish the Adventures in Entrepreneurship Law talk show both as videos and podcasts. A pilot version of the Entrepreneurship Law online course will be published at the same time. This is a master’s level course in business law, so its main target group is business law and entrepreneurship students, but all its videos and podcasts are available to everyone interested in the topic.

Kalle Airo, Head of Entrepreneurial Mindset at Aalto University and Petra Hietanen-Kunwald, University Lecturer in Business Law from the School of Business, have produced the course in collaboration with Aalto Ventures Program, the entrepreneurship education program of Aalto University. In addition to them, Assistant Professor of Business Law Moritz Scherleitner hosts a few discussions. The guests are long-standing influencers in the field.

‘The purpose of the course is to introduce students to the world of business law. It’s much more versatile and exciting than many people think. During the course, we’ll review practical and legal topics central to an entrepreneur. We open content from the perspective of the user – the startup entrepreneur in particular – so that the students understand what kinds of legal questions can crop up during a company’s lifecycle. The students also learn how to make concrete use of the law,’ says Petra Hietanen-Kunwald.

‘We don’t provide legal advice during the course but strive to provide as comprehensive and practical a picture as possible of the company’s lifecycle and related legal issues. The students should learn to identify potential issues and avoid them. The course is meant to be educational but also entertaining,’ she continues.

Three perspectives

Kalle Airo says that the course discusses the key themes of business law. ’Companies are the most important tools in every entrepreneur’s toolbox. In this course, the student starts by considering the potential role of a company in their own life and his/her potential role in the company he/she sets up. They get to know the company’s most important legal building blocks that help them to achieve their objectives as an entrepreneur, whether the business is a freelancing company, consulting company, small company or scalable startup geared for changing the world.’

The videos and podcasts help students familiarise themselves extensively with business law. Each topic is discussed from the entrepreneur’s perspective. ‘We ask experts, for example, whether it’s worth setting up a company if you just want to do so, if you should do it alone or with someone, and what kind of company would be the most functional. Our examples are real-world situations,’ they continue.

Moritz Scherleitner is pleased that the team also had the opportunity to discuss tax themes with leading experts. ‘We hope the course will help students understand what kinds of tax law issues can arise, especially for new entrepreneurs. Of course, we can’t give any legal advice. However, we still hope to eliminate any fears about the topic and help entrepreneurs proactively manage the themes related to their entrepreneurship,’ they say.

‘Proactive Law and system theoretical thinking are behind the examination of the themes. So, we’re not only concentrating on the legal aspect but also on the human and economic dimensions. Proactive Law is based on the entrepreneur’s needs and aims to anticipate problems and promote the entrepreneur’s well-being. System theoretical thinking, on the other hand, tells us what kinds of dimensions should be considered and how they differ from each other. Traditional law often focuses too much on legal needs, while in business, we move around these different systems. This is how we seek positive, sustainable synergy,’ says Petra Hietanen-Kunwald.

‘It’s been nice and educational to build a course together with Kalle Airo and Aalto Ventures Program. We don’t always know which themes in our field are considered difficult, for example. During the course, we’ve learned a lot about the world of startup entrepreneurs,’ says Hietanen-Kunwald.

The first episode is published in February

The course and its materials, meaning videos and podcasts, have been produced as talk show discussions in English. There are almost thirty episodes, some of which have been divided into two separate episodes. The course begins in March, but the first episode will be published as early as the end of February.

The videos for Adventures in Entrepreneurship Law are freely available, but if you want to receive credits for them, then the Entrepreneurship Law course must be completed in accordance with the School of Business practices or at Aalto Open University (more info at the end of this page). In other words, anyone can also receive Aalto University's business law credits for a small administrative fee if they need them, for example, for the degrees of an authorized public accountant or a Master of Administrative Sciences.

‘About the themes of the course, I could say that Aalto’s cross-cutting themes of entrepreneurial mindset, sustainability and radical creativity are naturally visible in the treatment of the topics. We also hope that international audiences will find the course as well. Setting up a business is often the most natural way of finding employment, at least initially, for people moving from abroad. This course offers up-to-date information and clear processes for this group as well,’ says Kalle Airo.

The course is available for viewing and listening:

in Spotify

in Apple Podcastissa

in Aalto University's Youtube channel

More information about the podcast and taking the course at Aalto Open University