Launching a Startup

If there was a proven system for mitigating one’s risk in starting a new venture, what would it look like?

Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) is dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs and the broader community with research-based, founder-proven resources. In this six-week program, aspiring entrepreneurs and innovators will learn to research, craft, test, and transform their ideas into viable business concepts. Participants will dive deep into a four-step framework, The Startup Canvas, a proprietary tool developed at Stanford GSB as a way to systematize a pathway to market success.

Program Modules

Realize the importance of open-ended questions and how to develop effective interview questions.

Analyze techniques for an effective interview, and synthesize interview information into customer personas.

Explore what prototyping is and the significance of low-resolution prototyping.

Learn prototype development, and assess user needs by gathering feedback on a prototype.

Craft an ideal positioning statement, including each of the key components.

Understand the importance of tying the value proposition to specific pain points, and develop a hypothesis for testing your value proposition.

Understand the importance of direct and indirect GTM strategies.

Examine a sample GTM strategy.

Determine the CAC for a product and its implications.

Examine the factors and considerations that determine the price of a product.

Evaluate the viability of a product based on customer lifetime value (LTV) and total addressable market (TAM).

Reevaluate your reasons for pursuing entrepreneurial endeavors.

Use strategies based in neuroscience to influence the decisions of stakeholders.

Explain the basic neurobiology of acute and chronic stress and how stress impacts decision making.

Create a plan for your capstone project using the entrepreneurship road map.

Analyze various techniques to develop a product prototype.

Conduct effective interviews with potential customers to develop your customer personas.

Create and describe a value proposition for a specific product.

Develop a go-to-market (GTM) plan, and determine key metrics, such as customer acquisition costs (CACs).

Present a viable profit model for a specific product.

Apply the four-step entrepreneurship framework to a final capstone project.

Learn entrepreneurship best practices, and avoid common pitfalls.

Use strategies based in neuroscience to influence the decisions of stakeholders.