Basic Entrepreneurship Course

Lesson 1 • Defining Entrepreneurship Today

Clarifies what entrepreneurship means across contexts, from startups to social ventures. Establishes shared vocabulary used throughout the course.

Lesson 2 • Entrepreneurial Mindset and Traits

Examines the attitudes, beliefs, and habits that drive entrepreneurial success. Students assess their own mindset and identify areas for development.

Lesson 3 • Opportunity Recognition Basics

Introduces how entrepreneurs spot gaps and unmet needs in markets. Connects mindset to the practical skill of seeing opportunity where others see problems.

Lesson 1 • Creative Ideation Techniques

Teaches structured brainstorming and lateral thinking methods to generate diverse ideas. Provides tools that move beyond obvious solutions.

Lesson 2 • Pivoting and Iterating on Ideas

Explains when and how to change direction based on validation findings. Iteration discipline prevents attachment to flawed ideas.

Lesson 3 • Defining the Problem Clearly

Guides students to articulate customer problems with precision before proposing solutions. A well-defined problem prevents costly misdirection later.

Lesson 4 • Hypothesis Formation

Converts ideas into testable assumptions about customers, problems, and solutions. Structured hypotheses make validation efficient and measurable.

Lesson 1 • Primary Market Research Methods

Covers interviews, surveys, and observation as tools for gathering firsthand customer data. Students design and conduct basic research with real respondents.

Lesson 2 • Secondary Research and Market Sizing

Teaches use of existing data sources to understand industry size and trends. Students calculate TAM, SAM, and SOM for their venture concept.

Lesson 3 • Building Customer Personas

Guides creation of detailed fictional profiles representing target customers. Personas make abstract segments tangible for product and marketing decisions.

Lesson 4 • Competitive Landscape Analysis

Maps direct and indirect competitors to identify white space and differentiation opportunities. Competitive insight informs positioning and go-to-market strategy.

Lesson 1 • Business Model Innovation

Explores how novel model configurations create competitive advantage beyond product features. Students analyse disruptive models and apply lessons to their own concept.

Lesson 2 • Business Model Canvas Application

Applies the nine-block Business Model Canvas to synthesise all model components. Students produce a complete, internally consistent canvas for their venture.

Lesson 3 • Crafting a Value Proposition

Defines what makes an offer uniquely valuable to a specific customer segment. A strong value proposition anchors all downstream business decisions.

Lesson 4 • Revenue Model Options

Surveys the main ways ventures generate income, from subscriptions to transactional sales. Students select and justify a revenue model for their concept.

Lesson 1 • Defining and Tracking Metrics

Establishes how to choose metrics that reflect real learning rather than vanity numbers. Actionable metrics guide pivot-or-persevere decisions.

Lesson 2 • Pivot-or-Persevere Decisions

Guides the structured decision of whether to change go-to-market strategy or stay the course after experiments. Objective criteria prevent emotional attachment from distorting judgment.

Lesson 3 • Minimum Viable Product Design

Teaches how to design the simplest version of a product that tests a core hypothesis. MVP scope decisions balance learning speed with credibility.

Lesson 4 • Lean Startup Principles

Introduces the build-measure-learn loop and the philosophy of validated learning. Lean thinking reduces waste by testing before scaling.

Lesson 1 • Funding sources and stages

Maps the funding continuum from bootstrapping through venture capital and alternative sources. Students match funding type to venture stage and risk profile.

Lesson 2 • Startup financial projections

Teaches how to build credible revenue and expense forecasts for early-stage ventures. Projections support planning, fundraising, and milestone setting.

Lesson 3 • Financial statements for founders

Demystifies income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements for non-financial founders. Fluency in these documents is essential for managing and communicating venture health.

Lesson 4 • Unit economics and profitability

Focuses on per-customer economics as the foundation of a scalable business. Students calculate customer acquisition cost and lifetime value for their model.

Lesson 1 • Go-to-market planning fundamentals

Defines the components of a go-to-market plan and how they connect to business model choices. A clear GTM plan prevents scattered, ineffective launch efforts.

Lesson 2 • Early customer acquisition

Covers tactics for winning the first paying customers without a large marketing budget. Early customers validate the model and generate referrals.

Lesson 3 • Customer retention and growth

Shifts focus from acquisition to retaining and expanding revenue from existing customers. Retention economics often outperform acquisition in early-stage ventures.

Lesson 4 • Channel selection and management

Evaluates direct and indirect distribution channels for reaching target customers efficiently. Channel fit determines customer acquisition cost and speed to market.

Lesson 1 • Building scalable operations

Covers process design, automation, and systems that support growth without proportional cost increases. Operational leverage is a key driver of startup profitability.

Lesson 2 • Signals of readiness to scale

Identifies the evidence required before investing in growth infrastructure. Premature scaling is a leading cause of startup failure.

Lesson 3 • Team building and organisational design

Addresses hiring strategy, role design, and culture as the venture grows beyond the founding team. People decisions at this stage have outsized long-term impact.

Lesson 4 • Strategic partnerships and alliances

Explores how partnerships accelerate growth by extending reach, capability, or credibility. Students evaluate partnership structures and negotiation principles.