04-801-A4   Entrepreneurship and Business Model Development

The number one reason that most startups fail is because they have created a product that nobody wants. The solution to this problem is to get out of the building and interact with potential customers to help refine your product based on real customer needs. This process is called Customer Discovery, and it is a key part of starting a business that is skipped by many aspiring entrepreneurs.

In this course, students will break into teams to develop business models and use the world as our laboratory to test the validity of the business model and go through a robust Customer Discovery process. Students will also hear case studies about other startups to learn from the experience of those companies.

The objective of this course is to teach students how to use the world as a laboratory to assess a business idea for commercialization. Students will use this course to develop a business model with a deep understanding of the customer’s need at its foundation. Students will test and refine their business models based on weekly reporting.

After completing this course, students will have the tools to develop a business model and thoroughly interrogate it to determine its relevance to customer needs. In addition, students will be aware of the global entrepreneurial climate and the unprecedented levels of opportunity which exist due to technological advances.

Prerequisites

None