Entrepreneurship Essentials Syllabus

Entrepreneurship Essentials introduces you to the entrepreneurial journey from finding an idea, to gaining traction in the
marketplace, to raising capital for your venture. This course explains how entrepreneurs run structured experiments to
validate ideas and refine business strategy. You will dive deep into the numbers behind how entrepreneurs and their investors
make financial decisions to create value and grow their operations.

Modules Case Studies Takeaways Key Exercises

• Dr. John’s Spinbrush • Identify an entrepreneurial idea • Sizing the market

Module 1

Ideas and • Evaluate an entrepreneurial idea • Estimate willingness to pay

Opportunities • Gain comfort with twists and turns

• Rent the Runway • Apply the POCD (People, Opportunity, • Evaluating POCD elements
Context, Deal) framework and fit
Module 2

• Manage risk and reward through • Designing and learning

Building a experimentation from tests
Business
• Make decisions with the future in • Anticipating change and
mind reacting to new information

• N/A • Determine how investment can help • Understanding and

you create value for yourself and your presenting key financial
investors metrics
Module 3

Financing a • Consider risk and reward through • Determining investment

various forms of analysis needs
Business
• Discover when to solicit investment
and how much you will need to seek
out

• Intuit • Understand the opportunities and • What do entrepreneurs get

tradeoffs associated with different from investors?
sources of financing
Module 4

• Calculating the value of a

Sources of
• Defining key financing terms start-up
Investment
• Apply the tools of valuation to start-up
ventures

Learning requirements: In order to earn a Certificate of Completion, participants must thoughtfully complete all 4 modules by
stated deadlines.

For more information, visit online.hbs.edu or email us at hbsonline@hbs.edu

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