The Top Goal
If you asked me to name the one thing is that I hope students will experience and learn in this course, I would say this:
Top Goal "If you feel you have a great idea for a startup, take a breath. Don't start coding right away. Have the discipline, knowledge and framework to figure out who needs this, whether they would get real value out of it, and that you have a reasonable chance at making it happen. Now. Build it."
Individual learning goals
At the end of this course a student should have a solid understanding of the following concepts and practices:
- The Lean Startup
- “Lean Startup” concept and techniques
- How to form and test “hypotheses” about your product or business
- “Leap of faith” hypothesis
- MVP: the narrow and broad definition
- Pivot: what is it and how is it used
- Value propositons, positioning and “the elevator pitch”
- Build-Measure-Learn cycle and validated learning
- Coming up with ideas
- Models for generating ideas, revising, reviewing, brainstorming, ideation
- Idea tracking boards (e.g. LSM Validation Board): how to use them effectively
- Working in teams
- How to be an effective team member or leader
- How to deal with conflict in a team situation
- Basic familiarity with Agile methodologies
- Well functioning teams: theories and techniques
- Building
- Basics of Visual design and User Experience
- Principles of rapid prototyping, paper prototyping and mockups.
- User Experience Flow
- Basics of [Hardware or Software] Product Architecture
- Qualitative/Quantitative testing
- Business Issues
- Business and pricing models concepts and practices
- Engines of Growth: Different types, how to identify them, how to use them
- Measuring and Metrics: Importance, application, vanity and actionable
- Cohort Analysis: what it is, why it’s useful, how to do one
- Doing a basic financial analysis of a possible venture
- Entrepreneurship
- Understanding the essence of venture financing,
- Understanding equity and how it is divided up
- Burn Rate and Runway
- Personal Skills
- Develop presentation skills by learning and doing: good design of the content and the delivery of a presentation.
- Real World Survival Skills