This course builds on previous concepts and outlines strategies and tactics for forming, financing and launching a new venture. Topics to be addressed will include building the new venture’s initial management team, identifying and reaching out to early customers, developing financial plans, raising startup and initial growth financing, and preparing for and managing rapid growth.
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Course objectives:
- Entrepreneurial Team Building: Develop an understanding of the what is required in a new venture
- Initial Go-to-Market Strategy: Develop a plan to identify and approach your first customers
- Financial Forecasting: Building financial projections for the new venture
- Entrepreneurial Financing: Raising Equity Capital for the new venture
- Growing the Business: Monitoring the new venture’s health and scalability
Course 6 of 7 in the Innovation: From Creativity to Entrepreneurship Specialization
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Course Orientation
You will become familiar with the course, your classmates, and our learning environment. The orientation will also help you obtain the technical skills required for the course.
Laying the Foundation
This module discusses the initial steps involved in launching a business to pursue an entrepreneurial opportunity – building the startup’s initial management team and identifying its initial customers. It also includes how entrepreneurs go about presenting the opportunity to potential investors. It includes interviews with the founders of Amber Agriculture and The Graide Network, two startups that have raised initial capital and that are demonstrating initial market traction.
WEEK 2
Financial Planning
This module focuses on laying the financial foundation for a new startup company. It starts with discussions of revenue models and pricing strategies for bringing new products or services to the market, and continues with lessons on preparing and presenting financial projections.
WEEK 3
Getting Funded
This module is all about raising startup financing. We will discuss both the reasons why startups typically need outside cash, and the appropriate sources and uses of startup financing. We will discuss how entrepreneurs can reach out to and negotiate with angel investors and venture capital firms. We will also discuss crowdfunding options for startups. Finally, we will examine the most important terms and conditions involved in equity investments.
WEEK 4
Growth and Next Steps
In this final module we will be focused on post-startup issues – growth management, pivoting, and the hard decisions that must be made if the new venture is not successful. It includes interviews with two entrepreneurs who are executing on fast-growth strategies, and dealing with challenges while positioning their companies for success.
