Entrepreneurship

Overview

Class Central Tips

Participants will learn key aspects of business ideation, planning, and execution, developing the ability to create and manage successful entrepreneurial ventures. Through a combination of theoretical knowledge and practical exercises, this course prepares individuals to navigate challenges, seize opportunities, and drive innovation in the entrepreneurial landscape.

Syllabus

Week 1 - Ideation for Startups

Hi there! Every startup, every business, and every innovation begin the same way: with an idea. While there is no recipe for a good business idea, there are some methods, concepts and tools that can help us become more creative managers. In this module we will go over the course structure and discuss how new business ideas emerge and can be materialized into real products and companies.

Week 2 - The Customer Value Proposition

Every company in the world, large or small, traditional or innovative, has the same fundamental challenge: creating value to their customers. In this module we will take a deep dive to understand how innovations actually create value to people and how to structure our thinking about this key activity in management.

MVPs and Prototypes

Products and services are not born ready to be sold. They begin as initial prototypes, crude versions of the final solution envisioned by the innovator. In this module we will understand the importance of prototypes and early versions in the process of uncertainty management that guides the work of entrepreneurs and innovation managers.

Startup Financing

Money rules the world. For startups, it's no different. It is not enough to have a good solution and to create value to the customers, you will always need to capture part of that value and generate more revenues than costs and expenses. So in this module we will talk about the financial validation of a new venture and how startups finance their own operations in the first years of operation.

Week 5 - The Art of the Pitch

A good innovation requires good communication. Whether you are pitching to your colleagues, your investors, or your customers, the reality is that a good presentation matters and can be the difference between success and failure. In this module we will look at some ways to structure your presentation for a new solution in a business environment.