Bringing University Talent to Market

This course provides real world, hands-on learning on what it’s like to actually start a scalable company. This class is not about how to write a business plan. It’s not an exercise on how smart you are in a classroom, or how well you use the research library to size markets. And the end result is not a PowerPoint slide deck for a VC presentation.

This is a practical class – essentially a lab, not a theory or “book” class. Our goal, within the constraints of a classroom and a limited amount of time, is to create an entrepreneurial experience for you with all of the pressures and demands of the real world in an early stage start up. 

You will be getting your hands dirty talking to customers, partners, competitors, as you encounter the chaos and uncertainty of how a startup actually works. You’ll work in teams learning how to turn a great idea into a great company. You’ll learn how to use a business model to brainstorm each part of a company and customer development to get out of the classroom to see whether anyone other than you would want/use your product. Each day will be a new adventure outside the classroom as you test each part of your business model and then share your hard earned knowledge with the rest of the class.

See http://steveblank.com/category/lean-launchpad/ for a narrative of a past class.

Take part

Have a great business idea and looking to build a team? Or are you seeking a team to join?

• Post your idea
• Post your skills
• Join a team

Once you’ve formed a team, fill out your online application immediately as applications will be reviewed and accepted on a first come-first served basis.