Entrepreneurs must ask these five questions early and often:
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How do I know if my idea is a good one?
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How do I show up and stand out?
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How do I win my first 100 customers?
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How do I not get burned by investors? (And other important legal and financial questions.)
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How do I hire great people and run my business with as little drama as possible?
My goal with this course: Help you answer these questions.
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, raise seed funding, 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.
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.
The course content and structure is applicable to all types of businesses, whether B2B, B2C or deep technology based on fundamental scientific research.
Through class lectures, "game" assignments, 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.
