Startup Success: How to Launch a Technology Company in 6 Steps

This course discusses the lessons learned by Michael Stonebraker and Andy Palmer during their start-up endeavors over a 30-year period. The lessons are distilled into six steps that any entrepreneur can follow to get a company going. Topics include the generation and assessment of ideas, the challenges of building a prototype, the recruitment of a talented team, the closing of the first financing round, and pursuing growth with the right business leadership. This is a self-paced course ending on August 31, 2016. Participants can move through the lectures and materials at their own pace and once completed, a certificate of completion will be generated automatically. Please note that we will be moderating the discussion board about 3 times a week on average. This discussion board is meant to serve as a platform between participants to discuss the content of the course, to offer additional ideas and useful perspectives, and to get answers to questions from the moderators or other participants. We hope you find the discussion board useful.

• Assess product ideas for rapid development and commercialization.
• Understand the start-up team, develop partnerships, and produce a prototype.
• Prepare and evaluate strategies to identify and court the vital first few customers.
• Anticipate organizational challenges to motivating and leading the start-up team.
• Develop key steps toward making a pitch and negotiating a deal with venture capitalists or seed investors

• Undergraduate degree