Entrepreneurship Essentials
Make your entrepreneurial dreams a reality by mastering a proven framework for building and financing new ventures.
Who Will Benefit
While I have a deep business background, I was not well versed in several important aspects of entrepreneurship like investment structure, fundraising, and valuation. Entrepreneurship Essentials covered these topics well and I was surprised at some of the additional takeaways I had.
Maggie Robb; Head of Operations at Spire Inc.
What You'll Earn
Certificate of Completion
Boost your resume with a Certificate of Completion from HBS Online
Earn by completing this course
Certificate of Specialization
Prove your mastery of entrepreneurship and innovation
Earn by completing any three courses within this subject area to earn a Certificate of Specialization.
Course Syllabus
4 Modules, 24-32 Hours
Ideas and Opportunities
Identify and evaluate an entrepreneurial idea, and gain confidence with twists and turns.
Welcome to Entrepreneurship - Entrepreneurship Essentials
Introduction to Opportunity
Concepts
Course Introduction and Onboarding
What Is Entrepreneurship?
Evaluating Ideas
John Osher: Illustrating the Entrepreneurial Process
Featured Exercises
Sizing the market
Estimate willingness to pay
Building a Business
Apply the POCD (People, Opportunity, Context, Deal) framework, and learn how to manage risk and reward through experimentation.
Describing Successful Ventures - Entrepreneurship Essentials
The Idea - Entrepreneurship Essentials
Concepts
The POCD Framework
The Journey of Rent the Runway
Post-Launch Considerations
Dynamic Fit Management
Featured Exercises
Evaluating POCD elements and fit
Designing and learning from tests
Anticipating change and reacting to new information
Financing a Business
Determine how and when investment can help you create value for yourself and your investors, and consider risk and reward through various forms of analysis.
Creating Value
Metrics and Milestones - Entrepreneurship Essentials
Concepts
Using Money to Produce Information
The Investor Perspective
Business Models
Calculating Financing Needs
Featured Exercises
Understanding and presenting key financial metrics
Determining investment needs
Sources of Investment
Define key finance terms and understand the opportunities and tradeoffs associated with different sources of financing
Intuit
Choosing an Investor
Concepts
Fundraising
Term Sheets and Valuation
Bringing It Together
Featured Exercises
What do entrepreneurs get from investors?
Calculating the value of a startup
Led by World-Renowned HBS Faculty
William A. Sahlman
Dimitri V. D'Arbeloff - MBA Class of 1955 Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus
Experience
Immersive Learning
Stay active by engaging in a new activity every three to five minutes.
HBS Online courses allow you to immerse yourself in a
dynamic, interactive learning experience. You’ll engage in a new activity every
three to five minutes and apply your knowledge through polls, quizzes, and
problem-solving exercises designed to accelerate and reinforce your learning.
Real-World Connections
Get social by collaborating with a global community of peers before, during, and after your course. Learners who successfully complete an HBS Online program will be added to the HBS Online Community's Official Networking Group and gain exclusive access to events and other networking opportunities.
See how the HBS Online course platform engages you in social learning. You exchange ideas, offer input, and seek out viewpoints from a community of learners gathered from around the globe. In the process, you learn from each other’s experiences and perspectives, and leave the program with a broader outlook on the world.
Real-World Cases
Immerse yourself in real-world, case-based examples brought to life by industry-leading experts, including serial entrepreneur John Osher, Rent the Runway CEO Jennifer Hyman, and Intuit founder Scott Cook.
Our courses allow you to apply your learning through
real-world examples and experience Harvard Business School’s signature case
method. Business leaders will share challenges they’ve faced. As the story
unfolds, you’ll leverage course concepts, vital tools and frameworks, and the
diversity of your peers’ perspectives to analyze the problem and determine a
path forward.
HBS Online courses allow you to immerse yourself in a
dynamic, interactive learning experience. You’ll engage in a new activity every
three to five minutes and apply your knowledge through polls, quizzes, and
problem-solving exercises designed to accelerate and reinforce your learning.
Real-World Outcomes
Every single concept that was taught, I was able to apply at work every single day.
Gwen MdinaradzeGlobal Chapter Organizer
Entrepreneurship Essentials FAQs
Free E-Book
So You Want to Be an Entrepreneur: How to Get Started
In this guide, you’ll learn about what characterizes a successful entrepreneur, how to decide if entrepreneurship is right for you, and what skills you need to thrive.
Solutions for Organizations
Empower Your Team with HBS Online
Bring HBS Online’s flexible, scalable, and high-impact learning experiences to your organization through shared learning and group discounts for teams of five or more.
