This course is intended for students who are interested in starting new entrepreneurial businesses. It is tactical, hands-on, and covers the nuts and bolts of starting a company with a lesser emphasis on investing in entrepreneurial ventures. Students will learn how to identify a value proposition, compensate for limited human and financial resources, establish brand values and positioning, secure a strong niche position, determine appropriate sourcing and sales channels, and develop execution plans in sales, marketing, product development and operations. The emphasis is managerial and entrepreneurial, essentially a working model for starting an enterprise. Paralleling the course content is the YourCo "game" in which teams of four to five students simulate building a new venture through the first 18 months of the life of a startup.
Although this course touches on topics relevant to a venture in the growth/scaling phase, the majority of course content focuses on the early launch, proof-of-concept, and traction phases of a new venture. At the beginning of the class and as part of the YourCo exercise, 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 set, executing a marketing campaign, creating a sales pitch, completing a development or production plan, identifying important strategic partners, and determining next round funding requirements. Assignments are graded based on feasibility of actions, creativity of solutions, and adherence to seed budget constraints.
The course content and structure is applicable to all types of businesses, whether B2B, B2C or deep technology based on fundamental scientific research. Class YourCo projects range from software and digital solutions, to consumer products, to services, to industrial applications and beyond.
Through class lectures, discussion of assignments, guest speakers, and real-world cases, the course covers such topics as: building a startup management team; raising early-stage funding, identifying target customers; acquiring customers; professionalizing a sales process; hiring initial employees; and leveraging strategic partners. Emphasis is placed on marketing and sales for new enterprises as well as leadership skills because these are areas of entrepreneurial weakness.
The final assignment is a funding pitch to a group of judges with investing experience. The pitch and the Q&A with the judges is modeled on the funding pitch structure of the New Venture Challenge class.
Each class will include a group discussion of a funding pitch and investment potential of a startup currently pursuing seed or series A funding.
The focus of the class is from the perspective of startup founders. However students will have opportunities for business evaluation and discussion from the perspective of an investor and an advisor. The final paper for the class is a reflection of the student’s current interests in startups and entrepreneurship. The purpose is to think critically about one’s personality, interests and other considerations when considering building a business.
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 FOR ZOOM LOGIN INFORMATION IF YOU AREN’T YET REGISTERED BUT WANT TO ATTEND CLASS 1.
