What is The Entrepreneur’s Playbook?
The same startup idea can grow up to be many different companies. The route to taking a given idea to a sustainable and profitable company involves crafting a clear strategic play for a given idea — something you will learn in this class.
The main take-away is a integrated playbook for innovation-based entrepreneurship that offers a “how-to” guide for startup strategy.
3 Modules of The Entrepreneur’s Playbook
Module 1
The 4 Choices
Understand why entrepreneurs need a strategic playbook and the 4 key choices that compose a single play
Module 2
The 4 Plays
Understand the 4 generic go-to-market plays that can be applied to early-stage ideas to transform them into valuable, long-lasting companies
Module 3
On the Field
Learn how to choose between alternate plays and practice designing and executing plays in for specific ideas and companies.
Course Highlights
Case Discussions and Guest Speakers
Case discussions and guest speakers from multiple industries (food, technology, fashion, healthcare etc) will provide a real-world understanding of strategic issues in a startup context. These will be combined with short theoretical lectures and group exercises with clear, concise takeaways.
40% of grade
Group Consulting Assignment
Work with real startups or your idea and apply plays discussed in class to shape the company’s future course of action
10% of grade
Final Case Exam
A final take-home exam where you will analyze a case about a current venture’s strategic path and suggest solutions to their ongoing challenges. Final class will involve engaging in a live debrief with the case protagonist.
50% of grade
Who is this class for?
Founders/Joiners
You want to become an entrepreneur or startup employee and want to understand how to practically transform your ideas into a sustainable and valuable business
Startup Financiers
You want to understand and analyze the startup landscape with a view to understanding different plays in a given industry and analyze which startups are setup for success and which ones are not
Innovation-Driven Consulting
You want to advice startups or innovation-drive enterprises on how the could better align their core ideas and technology to maximize their chances of success
Industry Professionals in Innovative Industries
You want to work in a large firm in an innovative industry (technology, pharmaceuticals, fin-tech etc) and want to understand how to partner and sources ideas from startups or shape M&A strategy around startups