In today’s interconnected and globalized world international aspects touch upon most aspects of daily and business life. Thus, the area of entrepreneurship is also becoming increasingly intercultural, which puts founders in situations of both challenges and opportunities.
The task of founders is to deal with dilemmas and, if possible, to reconcile them. In their activities entrepreneurs constantly face numerous dilemmas, which often represent conflict of goals, such as:

• Should the business develop quickly or sustainably?
• Should capital requirements be financed with equity or debt?
• Will development take place through internal growth or external acquisitions?
• Should products and services be standardized or differentiated?
• How can good quality products and services be achieved without appearing too expensive in the market?
• Is the approach to competitors more cooperative or competitive?

To deal with and solve such dilemmas, the dilemma theory by Charles Hampden-Turner and Fons Trompenaars advocates the conscious integration of differences, their balancing and the reconciliation of opposites. Especially in intercultural contexts, complementary opposites and perspectives can enable the emergence of intercultural creativity. In the case of intercultural entrepreneurs, finding ways to create wealth from differences and conflicting values through circular thinking creates new opportunities and a way of getting the best of both worlds.

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The aim of the course thus is to introduce students to theories and concepts of interculturality and entrepreneurship. On the basis of self-collected empirical data they will produce and write a case study of an innovative entrepreneurial project. Using their own entrepreneurial and creative skills to break down complex problems and develop innovative solutions, they will illustrate the challenges entrepreneurs face and how and which solutions are found. Students will team up in mixed multicultural groups and collaborate and work on a founders’ dilemma. The virtual-hybrid multicultural setting of the course will illustrate interculturality in a practical way, allowing students to develop their intercultural competence as well as language skills while gaining valuable international and virtual collaboration experience.
The course will also host founders of both countries.