Entrepreneurship 101

Essential information for emerging entrepreneurs. Based on the Entrepreneurship 101 event series, these pages contain lecture videos and related resources to help you start and grow your company.

Learn more about Entrepreneurship 101

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Curriculum overview:

Information on funding your business, marketing, recruiting, intellectual property and more. Business topics from start to pitch and everything in between.

• Session 1

  Different types of entrepreneurship An entrepreneur must decide on their business structure before committing to a business. Are you a for-profit enterprise, a not-for-profit or somewhere in between? What are the requirements and resources for each enterprise model? What type of financing should you target?

• Session 2

  Basic nuts and bolts of building a business Overview of the legal and tax considerations of starting a business including how to register and structure your business. Emphasis …

• Session 3

  Marketing for tech start-ups Examination of the basic concepts and principles of marketing that are relevant for early stage start-ups by introducing participants to …

• Session 4

  Product development Converting an idea or even a lab prototype into a real, customer-ready product is no simple task. Learn how to …

• Session 5

  Building a business model Careful consideration of economics and business strategy can make the difference between simply having a great technology and building a …

• Session 6

  Value proposition Focus is on the process of creating a crisp and concise value proposition for your start-up. Learn how to answer …

• Session 7

  Board of directors and other advisor Learn the difference between a Board of Advisors and a Board of Directors and what roles they play in running …

• Session 8

  Market research and analysis When crafting your value proposition, you need to make certain assumptions about your target market.  These assumptions must be validated …

• Session 9

  Managing intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is the lifeblood of every knowledge-based start-up or venture. Learn how to identify and manage your intellectual …

• Session 10

  Financial planning Basics to help you build a realistic financial plan for your start-up that identifies how you spend and make money. …

• Session 11

  Recruiting Overview of human resources policies and practices needed in an entrepreneurial context including everyone’s favorite HR topics: hiring and firing! …

• Session 12

  Business communication tools Tips, examples, techniques and tools for building the five essential communication documents for entrepreneurs: elevator pitch executive summary company presentation technical …

• Session 13

  Marketing communications Focus on defining the field of marketing communications with a particular emphasis on technology start-ups. Particularly relevant for those start-ups …

• Session 14

  Go-to-market strategy Provides practical tips on how to prepare to enter the marketplace with your product. Relevant for all start-ups that are …

• Session 15

  Sales How are you going to sell your product? Learn the principles of “selling value” to your customers, with special emphasis …

• Session 16

  Distribution Get a strategic perspective of the distribution channel options available to start-ups. Emphasis the development of the right criteria for …

• Session 17

  Bootstrapping Bootstrapping is the act of building your business from your own funds and revenue from customers instead of raising money …

• Session 18

  Terms of investments Focus on understanding the motivation of private venture capital firms and how it affects their structuring of term sheets and …

• Session 19

  Raising money Leading venture capitalists discuss the secrets for successfully pitching to a VC or an angel investor in order to secure …

• Session 20

  The pitch Overview of the essentials of building and delivering an effective pitch to help you find financing for your entrepreneurial venture …