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Introduction to Entrepreneurship Essentials
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
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 Specialization
Learn More about what you earn
Syllabus
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
-
Course Introduction and Onboarding
-
What Is Entrepreneurship?
-
Evaluating Ideas
-
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
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-
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
-
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
-
Using Money to Produce Information
-
The Investor Perspective
-
Business Models
-
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
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-
Concepts
-
Fundraising
-
Term Sheets and Valuation
-
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
Access Your Free E-book
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.
Description of silent animated video above: Learner completes an interactive question by dragging and dropping choices into two different categories
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.
Description of silent animated video above: Learner types an answer in the discussion board in response to a peer's question
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.
Description of silent animated video above: Learner scrolls through video interviews from prominent business leaders
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
Jul
17
4 Weeks $1,850 + applicable international taxes
Application deadline July 8
-
- 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
Read more learner stories
* 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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