This course is part of the Entrepreneurship & Innovation track.
Introduction to Entrepreneurship Essentials
 

Entrepreneurship Essentials

$1,750
Next 4-week session starts February 7th
Master a proven framework for building and financing new ventures, and make your entrepreneurial dreams a reality.
4
weeks
6-8
hours per week
4
modules
Self-Paced
with regular deadlines

 This course earns you a Certificate of Completion from HBS Online. What you earn.

Overview
Syllabus
Enrollment
Stories
FAQs

Key Concepts

Identify a business opportunity
Evaluate an idea and assess the market
Explore the risks and rewards of entrepreneurship
Leverage experiments to validate concepts and refine your business strategy
Discover the key financial decisions entrepreneurs must make in the early stages of a startup
Understand the process of raising capital and how to speak to investors

Who Will Benefit

Whether you’re a first-time entrepreneur with the start of an idea or are exploring entrepreneurship, learn the language of the startup world.
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.
Gain an overarching framework to evaluate opportunities, manage startups, and finance new ventures.
My favorite part of Entrepreneurship Essentials was the financing and equity module. It taught me the basics of how to look at spreadsheets and make sense of them—one of the most vital things for any company or start-up to understand.
Randy Nguyen
Explore what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur and determine whether starting a business, or working for a startup, is the right path for you.
I loved the case study on Intuit and the Quickbook App. It was something I could relate to, and it helped me to understand and know that fear can be good because it fuels your passion to keep you moving forward.
Anita Umoh
Director at Ayzer Limited

What You Earn

Certificate of Completion

Certificate of Completion

Boost your resume with a Certificate of Completion from HBS Online

Earn by: completing this course

Certificate of Specialization

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

Syllabus

4 Modules, 25-30 Hours
Download full syllabus
6-8
hrs
Module 1

Ideas and Opportunities

Identify and evaluate an entrepreneurial idea, and gain confidence with twists and turns.

Highlights

Welcome to Entrepreneurship
Introduction to Opportunity
Evaluating an Idea’s Value
Individual Versus Team
ShowHide Details

Concepts

  1. Course Introduction and Onboarding
  2. What Is Entrepreneurship?
  3. Evaluating Ideas
  4. John Osher: Illustrating the Entrepreneurial Process

Featured Exercises

  • Sizing the market
  • Estimate willingness to pay
6-8
hrs
Module 2

Building a Business

Apply the POCD (People, Opportunity, Context, Deal) framework, and learn how to manage risk and reward through experimentation.

Highlights

Describing Successful Ventures
The Idea
Pivots - Voluntary and Involuntary
ShowHide Details

Concepts

  1. The POCD Framework
  2. The Journey of Rent the Runway
  3. Post-Launch Considerations
  4. Dynamic Fit Management

Featured Exercises

  • Evaluating POCD elements and fit
  • Designing and learning from tests
  • Anticipating change and reacting to new information
6-8
hrs
Module 3

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.

Highlights

Creating Value
Free Cash Flow
Metrics and Milestones
ShowHide Details

Concepts

  1. Using Money to Produce Information
  2. The Investor Perspective
  3. Business Models
  4. Calculating Financing Needs

Featured Exercises

  • Understanding and presenting key financial metrics
  • Determining investment needs
6-8
hrs
Module 4

Sources of Investment

Define key finance terms and understand the opportunities and tradeoffs associated with different sources of financing

Highlights

Intuit
Choosing an Investor
The Complete Fundraising Landscape
Stages of Investment
ShowHide Details

Concepts

  1. Fundraising
  2. Term Sheets and Valuation
  3. Bringing It Together

Featured Exercises

  • What do entrepreneurs get from investors?
  • Calculating the value of a startup
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.

Our Difference

Entrepreneurship Essentials helps you turn an idea into a viable venture.
Stay active by engaging in a new activity every three to five minutes.
Stay active by engaging in a new activity every three to five minutes.
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.
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.
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.
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.

About the Professors

William Sahlman
Entrepreneurship Essentials

Baker Foundation Professor
"Entrepreneurship Essentials introduces you to the entrepreneurial journey from finding an idea, to gaining traction in the marketplace, to raising capital for your venture."

Dates & Eligibility

Starting
Feb
07
4 Weeks  $1,750
Application deadline January 29
View weekly calendar
Apply Now
Starting
Mar
13
4 Weeks  $1,750
Application deadline March 4
View weekly calendar
Apply Now
  • Free application
  • No documentation required
  • Confirmation within one week

All applicants must be at least 18 years of age, proficient in English, and committed to learning and engaging with fellow participants throughout the course.

Learn about bringing this course to your organization.

Learner Stories

94%
improved knowledge to grow or start a business
The People, Opportunity, Context, and Deal framework is now in the back of my mind. Also, I have learned how to quickly assess and network with other companies and panelists at the hundreds of meetup events I've attended.
Vasilios Dimopoulos
Associate at Deutsche Bank
Professor Sahlman’s careful observation of the best and brightest entrepreneurs over the last 30 years has given him a perspective and insightfulness that few others can rival. He keeps his students eager to dissect and analyze the situation and range of solutions.
Janet Krauss - Entrepreneurship Essentials
CEO at Peach
* Source: 2022 surveys and course data
 
All FAQs

Entrepreneurship Essentials FAQs

Participants in Entrepreneurship Essentials are eligible for a Certificate of Completion from Harvard Business School Online.

Participants are expected to fully complete all coursework in a thoughtful and timely manner. This will mean meeting each week’s course module deadlines and fully answering questions posed therein. This helps ensure your cohort proceeds through the course at a similar pace and can take full advantage of social learning opportunities. In addition to module and assignment completion, we expect participation in the social learning elements of the course by offering feedback on others’ reflections and contributing to conversations on the platform. Participants who fail to complete the course requirements will not receive a certificate and will not be eligible to retake the course.

More detailed information on course requirements will be communicated at the start of the course. No grades are assigned for Entrepreneurship Essentials. Participants will either be evaluated as complete or not complete.

You will have access to the materials in every prior module as you progress through the program. Access to course materials and the course platform ends 60 days after the final deadline in the program.

Harvard Business School Online
Certificate in Entrepreneurship Essentials
[Cohort Start Month and Year]

List your certificate on your LinkedIn profile under "Education" with the language from the Credential Verification page:

School: Harvard Business School Online
Dates Attended: [The year you participated in the program]
Degree: Other; Certificate in Entrepreneurship Essentials
Field of Study: Leave blank
Grade: "Complete"
Activities and Societies: Leave blank

For the program description on LinkedIn, please use the following:
Entrepreneurship Essentials is a 4-week, 30-hour online certificate program from Harvard Business School. Entrepreneurship Essentials introduces participants to the entrepreneurial journey from finding an idea to gaining traction in the marketplace to raising capital for a venture. Participants learn an overarching framework—People, Opportunity, Context, Deal—to evaluate opportunities, manage start-ups, and finance ventures.

This course also introduces participants to the idea that entrepreneurs run structured experiments to validate ideas and refine business strategy. Participants work through real-world challenges faced by entrepreneurs across a variety of industries, and come away with tangible tools and techniques that they can apply to their own entrepreneurial journeys.

 

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