Startup 101 Course

Lesson 1 • The Entrepreneurial Mindset

Examines the cognitive traits and habits that drive founders to succeed under uncertainty. Connects mindset development to practical decision-making throughout the course.

Lesson 2 • Defining the Modern Startup

Clarifies what a startup is, how it differs from small businesses, and why scalability matters. Sets the conceptual baseline for the entire course.

Lesson 3 • Startup Stages and Lifecycles

Outlines the progression from idea to exit, including key milestones at each stage. Provides a roadmap students reference throughout the course.

Lesson 1 • Customer Discovery Fundamentals

Introduces structured interviewing and listening techniques to extract honest customer insights. Directly feeds the validation process covered in later sections.

Lesson 2 • Assumption Mapping and Testing

Guides students to surface hidden assumptions embedded in their business concept and prioritize which to test first. Reduces costly mistakes before product development begins.

Lesson 3 • Finding Problems Worth Solving

Teaches systematic methods for discovering unmet needs rather than chasing ideas. Anchors opportunity identification in customer reality, not founder intuition.

Lesson 1 • Business Model Canvas Fundamentals

Introduces all nine building blocks of the business model canvas as an integrated system. Establishes the visual tool used throughout the chapter for design and iteration.

Lesson 2 • Unit Economics and Viability

Covers customer acquisition cost, lifetime value, and contribution margin as core viability indicators. Connects financial logic to business model choices made earlier in the chapter.

Lesson 3 • Revenue Model Options

Surveys common revenue models—subscription, transactional, freemium, marketplace—and their trade-offs. Helps students select the model best aligned with their value proposition.

Lesson 1 • Lean Product Development Principles

Establishes the build-measure-learn loop as the core product development philosophy. Contrasts lean methods with traditional waterfall approaches to highlight speed advantages.

Lesson 2 • Analyzing MVP Results and Iterating

Covers qualitative and quantitative analysis of MVP data to drive informed product decisions. Closes the build-measure-learn loop and prepares students for go-to-market planning.

Lesson 3 • Designing MVP Experiments

Teaches how to define success metrics before launching an MVP to avoid confirmation bias. Links experiment design back to the assumption mapping done in Chapter 2.

Lesson 1 • Customer Acquisition Channels

Evaluates paid, owned, and earned channels against cost, speed, and scalability criteria. Helps students prioritize two or three channels for early-stage resource constraints.

Lesson 2 • Positioning and Messaging

Develops a positioning statement and messaging hierarchy that resonates with the target segment. Translates the value proposition into language customers actually use.

Lesson 3 • Launch Planning and Execution

Builds a phased launch plan with milestones, owners, and success metrics. Integrates channel, messaging, and product readiness into a single actionable timeline.

Lesson 1 • Funding Sources and Stages

Maps bootstrapping, angels, venture capital, grants, and crowdfunding to appropriate startup stages. Helps students identify the right funding source for their current traction level.

Lesson 2 • Investor Readiness and Term Sheets

Prepares students to evaluate term sheet components and understand investor expectations at each stage. Connects financial modeling to the fundraising narrative built in Chapter 7.

Lesson 3 • Equity, Dilution, and Cap Tables

Explains how equity is divided, how dilution works across funding rounds, and how to read a capitalization table. Equips founders to negotiate from an informed position.

Lesson 1 • Founding Team Composition

Analyzes the skills, roles, and complementary profiles that make founding teams effective. Addresses common co-founder conflicts and how to prevent them early.

Lesson 2 • Startup Culture and Values

Establishes how intentional culture-building from day one shapes long-term team performance. Connects culture to hiring, retention, and decision-making speed.

Lesson 3 • Leadership and Team Performance

Covers founder leadership styles, feedback practices, and goal-setting frameworks suited to fast-moving teams. Prepares founders to lead through ambiguity and rapid change.

Lesson 1 • Identifying Product-Market Fit

Defines product-market fit signals—retention, NPS, organic growth—and teaches how to measure them rigorously. Confirms readiness to scale before committing growth resources.

Lesson 2 • Exit Strategies and Long-Term Vision

Surveys acquisition, IPO, and independent growth paths and the strategic decisions that lead to each. Helps founders align their long-term vision with investor and team expectations.

Lesson 3 • Growth Levers and Scaling Engines

Examines paid, viral, and content growth engines and the operational levers that sustain them at scale. Connects growth strategy to the unit economics established in Chapter 3.