This course is part of the Entrepreneurship & Innovation track.
Introduction to Launching Tech Ventures

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Launching Tech Ventures

$1,850
Next 5-week session starts January 29th
Gain proven frameworks to build a viable, valuable tech venture that can profitably scale and attract venture capital.
5
weeks
6-7
hours per week
5
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

Master frameworks and tools to execute a high-quality, profitable business model
Discover how to conduct experiments to determine your venture’s value proposition, go-to-market strategy, and profit formula
Understand and learn how to navigate the startup ecosystem to improve your chances of raising capital
Get an insider view into the venture capital (VC) process
Develop an awareness of the systemic biases and ethical considerations in the startup ecosystem

Who Will Benefit

Develop proven frameworks and tools to execute a high-quality, profitable business model and prepare your startup for funding and scaling.
“It’s an eye-opening course that enlightens the path for future founders, joiners, or investors.”
Roman Ignatenko
Launching Tech Ventures Participant
Equip yourself with the skills to join an early- or growth-stage startup in a product management, business development, sales, or marketing role.
"As someone who’s worked in a large company for the past 20-plus years, it gave me the foundation and vocabulary to engage more confidently in the venture capital and startup community."
Stephanie Laguna
Health Care Strategy & Innovation Leader
Determine which startups to invest in by understanding the key metrics that dictate whether a venture has achieved product-market fit and is ready for scaling.
“The course is useful for startupland citizens—founders, investors, and joiners—to get complete, honest insights about the industry through various lenses.”
Lugas Prancafitri
Chief Financial Officer at BNI Ventures

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

5 Modules, 30-35 Hours
Download full syllabus

This course features access to an AI course assistant bot, in beta release, to facilitate your successful completion of the course.
6-7
hrs
Module 1

Designing the Tech Startup Business Model

Evaluate the quality of startup business models and understand the importance of aligning models’ different components.

Highlights

Daniel Choi, Plastiq Co-Founder & Former Head of Product
Zach Sims, Codecademy Co-Founder & CEO
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Concepts

  1. Welcome to Launching Tech Ventures
  2. Business Model Exploration
  3. Business Model Evaluation
  4. Business Model Alignment

Featured Exercises

  • Perform a business model quality assessment
  • Characterize the different types of business models that exist in Startupland
6-7
hrs
Module 2

Experiments to Achieve Product-Market Fit

Explore the discovery phase of tech startup development that occurs before achieving product-market fit. Assess different go-to-market strategies and determine which is best for your venture.

Highlights

Songe LaRon and Dave Salvant, Squire Co-Founders
Paris Wallace, Ovia Health Co-Founder & former CEO
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Concepts

  1. Experiments that Lead to Product-Market Fit
  2. Profit Formula Implications
  3. Squire’s Unit Economics
  4. Experimentation at Ovia Health

Featured Exercises

  • Practice the key steps of the lean startup methodology
  • Identify and calculate the key metrics for determining if you’ve achieved product-market fit
6-7
hrs
Module 3

Venture Capital and Startup Financing

Learn how venture capital firms and the fundraising process operate and how to approach a VC and negotiate and structure an investment.

Highlights

Risks of Premature Scaling
Responding to Biased Questions
Advice on VC Fundraising
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Concepts

  1. The Venture Capital Industry
  2. The Financing Process
  3. Term Sheets and Exits

Featured Exercises

  • Determine whether VC funding is right for your startup
  • Assess your network’s strength and brainstorm ways to get connected to a VC
  • Quiz yourself on the key steps of the financing process
  • Practice interpreting the provisions on a term sheet
6-7
hrs
Module 4

Scaling Post Product-Market Fit

Articulate how the competitive context can influence early startup decisions and determine when to apply and leverage a product-led growth strategy.

Highlights

Ravish Naresh, Khatabook Founder
Sarah Tavel, Benchmark General Partner
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Concepts

  1. Khatabook
  2. Retaining the Users You Acquire
  3. Scaling Decisions

Featured Exercises

  • Describe the marketing funnel
  • Apply startup playbooks under different scenarios and market conditions
6-7
hrs
Module 5

Ecosystem and Ethics

Understand the unconscious and systemic biases in the startup ecosystem and assess a business model’s impact on society​.

Highlights

Bailey Richardson, former Instagram Community Team Member (2012-2014)
ShowHide Details

Concepts

  1. Gender Bias in Startupland
  2. Racial Bias in Startupland
  3. Ethical Considerations in Startupland

Featured Exercises

  • Classify VC questions and craft responses to minimize the effect of gender biases
  • Create an impact statement summarizing how you hope to impact the startup ecosystem
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

Launching Tech Ventures helps early-stage tech startups overcome management challenges across all aspects of their business model.
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 from companies like Chief, Codecademy, Ovia Health, Khatabook, Plastiq, and Flybridge Capital.
Immerse yourself in real-world, case-based examples brought to life by industry-leading experts from companies like Chief, Codecademy, Ovia Health, Khatabook, Plastiq, and Flybridge Capital.

About the Professor

Jeffrey Bussgang
Launching Tech Ventures

Senior Lecturer of Business Administration
“Whether you’re a founder, startup employee, or investor, you’ll learn what’s needed to build a viable, valuable business that can scale and attract venture capital.”

Dates & Eligibility

Starting
Jan
29
5 Weeks  $1,850 + applicable international taxes
Enrollment deadline January 23
View weekly calendar
Enroll Now
Starting
Apr
16
5 Weeks  $1,850 + applicable international taxes
Enrollment deadline April 10
View weekly calendar
Enroll Now
  • No documentation required

All learners 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

91%
Gained Deeper Expertise in Specific Areas
The course is useful for startupland citizens—founders, investors, and joiners—to get complete, honest insights about the industry through various lenses.
Lugas Prancafitri
Chief Financial Officer at BNI Ventures
As someone who’s worked in a large company for the past 20-plus years, it gave me the foundation and vocabulary to engage more confidently in the venture capital and startup community.
Stephanie Laguna
Health Care Strategy & Innovation Leader
* Source: 2022 surveys and course data
 
All FAQs

Launching Tech Ventures FAQs

You can think of the beta version of the Launching Tech Ventures AI Course Assistant chat bot in two ways: like a virtual Teaching Assistant who can help you consolidate and confirm your understanding of course concepts, and as a virtual Learner Success Assistant who can help you stay on track with completing the coursework in a timely fashion. When you are finding a particular concept difficult to master, or would like additional examples of a theory, try asking the bot your question in the same way you would phrase it to a human TA. If you have a question pertaining to where or how to submit certain assignments, or one relating to deadlines or time estimates, you can also express those in a similar fashion. Please note that no preexisting familiarity or experience with generative AI is necessary or assumed to use the bot and, while we encourage you to engage with the bot and share your candid feedback on your experience, a lack of engagement with the bot will not adversely impact your eligibility for a certificate of completion.

Participants in Launching Tech Ventures 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 means completing each course module and fully answering questions posed therein by the required deadline. This course also features recommended weekly deadlines to help ensure your cohort proceeds through the course at a similar pace and can take full advantage of social learning opportunities. In addition to module 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 Launching Tech Ventures. 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.

Once you’ve earned your Certificate of Completion, list it on your resume along with the date of completion:

Harvard Business School Online
Certificate of Launching Tech Ventures
[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 Launching Tech Ventures
Field of Study: Leave blank
Grade: Complete
Activities and Societies: Leave blank

For the program description on LinkedIn, please use the following:

Launching Tech Ventures is a 5-week, 30-hour online certificate program from Harvard Business School. Launching Tech Ventures helps early-stage startups overcome management challenges across all aspects of their business model. Whether you’re a founder, startup employee, or investor, you’ll learn what’s needed to build a viable, valuable business that can scale and attract venture capital.

Entrepreneurship Essentials focuses on entrepreneurship in general and how to identify a startup idea, validate your business model and financially manage your company. Launching Tech Ventures focuses specifically on technology companies and the early strategic decisions that founders, joiners and VCs must make to find a viable business model that has product-market fit. The course covers business model assessment, using experiments to determine product-market fit, VC financing and ethical issues.

 

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