A 10 Week course for students looking to become entrepreneurs. The course is heavily weighed towards IT startups within the Silicon Valley Angel/VC fundraising model.

1. Course Overview
Entrepreneurship
This presentation is made possible by the support of the American People through the United States Agency
for International Development (USAID). The contents of this presentation are the sole responsibility of Rick
Rasmussen and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.

2. Entrepreneurship School vs. Business School
Business School
Entrepreneurship School
Scalable
Startup
- Creativity and Innovation
- Business model testing
- Customer discovery
- Agile development
- Startup metrics
-Venture financing model
- View towards exits
Transition
Large
Company
- Managing Groups and Teams
- Financial Accounting
- Operations
- Modeling for Optimization
- Distribution
- Global Value Chain Strategies
- Mergers & Acquisitions

3. Expect to learn:
• The language of entrepreneurship
• Tools that you can use to evaluate, improve and
execute on your business
• What investors care about. How to attract their
interest
• Steps in the journey, all the way through potential exit

4. Course Expectations
• You will create a new business from scratch
• You will pitch it to real investors
• You will be exposed to many of the aspects of starting a
business
– Learn the “method”
– All the challenges
• Real life will play out
–
–
–
–
Team issues
Market research will alter ideas!
Pivots are expected
Execution will stretch you

5. Multiple sources of information
• Lectures
– Process
– Methodologies
– Models
• Guest speakers
• Case studies
• Business Plan development
• Final pitch

6. Course Timeline
Gate 1
Idea and team
Form teams
Market
Research plan
Gate 2
Sales and
Marketing
Goto-Market
Plan
Gate 3
Financials
Financial plan
Final biz plan
Investor pitch

7. Effort Expended
Effort
Gate 1
Market
Research
Gate 2
Sales &
Marketing
Gate 3 Time
Final
Pitch

8. Week 1: A start
• Course Overview
• Business types
– Family business
– Consulting
– Venture business
• Legal structures
– How to incorporate
– Plan for globalization
• Silicon Valley (time permitting)
• Assignment: Teams

9. Week 2: Team
•
•
•
•
•
Team dynamics
How to Hire
How To Fire
Equity structures
Assignment: 30 second pitch

10. Week 3: Market and Opportunity
• Market types
– Existing
– Resegmented
– New
• Target Markets
• Market Size
– TAM, SAM, SOM
• Competitive Analysis
• Market research on
the cheap

11. Week 4: Testing your Customer and Product
• Customer Discovery and
Validation
• Lean Startup Methodology
• Business Canvas

12. Week 5: Go-to-Market Strategies
• Sales channel
strategies
• Customer Creation
• Branding, PR, Social
Media
• Building a sales
team
• Assignment:
Marketing and Sales
Plan

13. Week 6: Financials
• Basics
– Building a model from
ground-up
– Income Statement
– Balance Sheet and
Cash Flow Statement
• Company Valuation
for startups
• Building a Finance
Team

14. Week 7: Growth Strategies
• International Expansion
• Doing Business with
Different Cultures
• Strategic Alliances

15. Week 8: Networking, Pitching, Negotiating
• VC Business model
• VC Psychology
• Building your pitch
• Your VC meeting

16. Week 9: Post Funding Management
• Building a Board
• How to run your board
• Your HR Team
• Pushing to the next step

17. Week 10: Due Diligence, Term Sheets
•
•
•
•
Early Stage Financing
Term sheet Terminology
M&A
Due Diligence process
• Closing thoughts
• Assignment:
Final Business Plan,
Prepare to pitch

18. Step 1: Team Formation
• Teams of 4 or 5 person each
• Select a CEO
• Discuss ideas with mentors & instructors
• You can request a mentor
• Team formation is not easy!

19. Mentors
• Course volunteers help with company formation
• Role:
– Similar to a board member
– They ask tough questions & push you to seek answers
– They don’t run the company
• Will provide feedback on written biz plans & all
Gate deliverables

20. Steps for Starting Up
Find unmet need
Validate need
Market
research
Create
Investor
Materials
Write Biz Plan
Find team

21. Pitch Your Idea
• Will allocate ~10 minutes at the end of this and next class
for you to pitch ideas & solicit team members
• Tell us:
1.
2.
What problem you are trying to solve
What is the current team & whom do you seek?