Launching New Ventures

DESCRIPTION
Transform a promising business opportunity into a venture concept proposal, and launch it as a business for real. Learn the key steps in the venture creation process, including marketing and fundraising. Sharpen your ‘entrepreneurial mindset.’

ABOUT THE COURSE
Launching New Ventures, a course about Entrepreneurship & Strategy for Technology-Driven Startups, is designed for professionals, entrepreneurs, and students who want to learn about how to successfully launch a business. Through short, animated lectures, inspiring interviews with entrepreneurs from around the world, short quizzes, suggested readings and a practical final project, students will gain a broad overview of entrepreneurship strategy with insights they can apply to their venture regardless of location, industry or venture stage.

Students are required to complete quizzes, and develop and submit venture ideas as part of the course assessments. Top performing students are able to compete for seed-funding for their venture concept. By the end of the course, you will be able to do the following:
• Identify promising business opportunities
• Develop your ideas into a venture concept
• Test market receptiveness to your venture idea by using social media
• Craft an opportunity exploitation roadmap
• Creatively market your solution
• Calculate how much money you need, where to find it and how to manage it
• How and when to protect your intellectual property
• How to grow your venture (intelligently!)
• Experience the early stages of the entrepreneurial process
• Sharpen your “entrepreneurial mindset” and learn how it can benefit your organization.

Week 1: What is Entrepreneurship?  
Welcome to the first week of Launching New Ventures. Here are two videos, a video interview and a list of suggested readings, as well as one quiz covering all of the Week 1 content (so be sure to watch all the videos before you take the quiz).

Week 2: Identifying & Evaluating Business Opportunities
Welcome to the second week of Launching New Ventures. There is an introduction to Week 2 video, four lectures, and a summary video, as well as one quiz covering all of the Week 2 content (so be sure to watch every video before you take the quiz).

Week 3: Entrepreneurial Marketing
Welcome to the third week of Launching New Ventures. It includes an introduction to Week 3 video, six lectures, and a summary video, as well as one quiz covering all of the Week 3 content (so be sure to watch all the videos before you take the quiz).

Week 4: Raising & Managing Money
Welcome to the fourth week of Launching New Ventures. There is an introduction to Week 4 video, five lectures, and a summary video, as well as one quiz covering all of the Week 4 content (so be sure to watch all the videos before you take the quiz).

Week 5: Value Capture – Profiting From your Innovation
Welcome to the fifth week of Launching New Ventures. There is an introduction to Week 5 video, four lectures, and a summary video of the week, as well as an "Outlook" video that summarizes ALL of the lectures of the course. There is one quiz covering all of the Week 5 content (so be sure to watch all the videos before you take the quiz).