Course Description
This course is intended for students who are interested in starting new entrepreneurial businesses. It is a tactical and hands-on class that covers the nuts and bolts of starting a company. Course material is organized around the milestones and phases that entrepreneurs must complete in pursuit of building their business. Students will learn how to raise seed funding, compensate for limited human and financial resources, secure a strong niche position, determine appropriate sourcing and sales channels, and develop execution plans in sales, marketing, and product development. The course also covers the human side of startups including, cofounder dynamics, how to think about equity splits, entrepreneurial resilience, and the entrepreneurial mindset. The emphasis is managerial and entrepreneurial, essentially a working model for starting a business.
Paralleling the course content is the YourCo assignment in which teams of four to five students simulate building a new venture through the first 18 months of the life of a startup. The majority of the course content focuses on the execution of building a new venture: the early launch, proof-of-concept, and traction phases of a new venture. Please note that this course does not focus on the ideation stage as students are expected to come to Class 1 with a startup idea in mind or join a team with an idea. At the beginning of the class, teams describe a product or service they would like to bring to market, determine the necessary seed funding amount, and outline current staffing and development status. Throughout the quarter, students explore the critical activities required to engage customers, build their product or service, scale operations and build teams. Each week, teams have specific written deliverables for their "company" based on the course material. Assignments include identifying key hires, choosing an initial target customer, executing a marketing campaign, executing a sales process to acquire customers, identifying important strategic partners, and determining next round funding requirements. The course content and structure is applicable to all types of businesses, whether B2B or B2C. Class projects range from software and digital solutions, to consumer products, to services, to industrial applications.
Cases are also used to illustrate the challenges that entrepreneurs face when building their companies, and are written specifically for this class to illustrate and reinforce course content each week. Through these case discussions, students will put themselves in the shoes of the entrepreneur and analyze how to navigate difficult circumstances under extreme resource constraints.
Throughout the course, students will have the unique opportunity to engage with distinguished guest entrepreneurs who will share their firsthand experiences in building and scaling businesses. These guest speakers bring real-world insights, offering perspectives that complement and enrich the course material.By interacting with successful founders and industry leaders, students will gain a deeper understanding of the challenges, opportunities, and decision-making processes that shape entrepreneurial ventures. These sessions provide a rare chance to ask questions, seek mentorship, and build connections with seasoned professionals. Historically, students have found this component of the course to be immensely valuable, as it brings theoretical concepts to life in a way that no textbook or lecture alone can.
Through class lectures, YourCo assignments, real-world cases, and guest entrepreneur fireside chats, the course covers the multidimensional aspects of entrepreneurship as both a mindset and a process that can be practiced and improved.
NOTE: WEEK 1 CLASS ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY. IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING ADDING THE COURSE BUT DO NOT YET HAVE A SEAT, YOU MUST ATTEND THE FIRST CLASS IN ORDER TO REGISTER DURING DROP/ADD. PLEASE EMAIL ME IF YOU AREN’T YET REGISTERED BUT WANT TO ATTEND CLASS 1.
