About this course: Whether your interest lies in solving the world’s biggest problems, creating the next commercial success or addressing something closer to home, this course will give you a toolbox to vet your ideas and test them in the real world.
Created by: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Taught by: Professor Buck Goldstein, University Entrepreneur in Residence and Professor of the Practice
Economics
Taught by: Dr. Holden Thorp, PhD , Provost and Professor of Chemistry and Medicine
Chemistry
| Commitment | 2-3 hours/week |
| Language | English, Subtitles: Spanish |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Think
We start at the beginning with your big idea and where it comes from: your everyday experience
and known sources of innovation as described by Peter Drucker.
8 videos, 1 reading
- Video: Think About Your Big Idea
- Video: The Unexpected
- Video: Incongruities
- Video: Process Need
- Video: Industry and Market Structures
- Video: Demographics, Changes in Perception, and New Knowledge
- Video: Desh Deshpande: Introduction, Big Idea, and Advice to Himself
- Video: Jud Bowman: Introduction, Entrepreneurial Traits, and Challenges
- Reading: Guest Entrepreneur Bios
Graded: Week 1 Quiz
WEEK 2
Listen
This second phase of the entrepreneurial lifecycle encourages you to take the big idea you’ve
thought about and solicit feedback from the people whose problems you’re trying to solve.
11 videos
- Video: Listen to Your Customers
- Video: The Importance of the Listening Phase
- Video: The Purpose of a Business
- Video: Setting Up Customer Meetings
- Video: Running Customer Meetings
- Video: Your Total Product
- Video: Listening to Suppliers
- Video: Conclusion
- Video: Jud Bowman: Cold-calling and Listening for a Customer's Problem
- Video: Desh Deshpande: Talking to Customers
- Video: Shazi Visram: Introduction and Listening to Customers
Graded: Week 2 Quiz
WEEK 3
Plan
Strategy, the art and science of being different than your competition, is the next element we introduce,
based on Michael Porter’s work.
10 videos
- Video: Plan Your Strategy
- Video: What is Strategy?
- Video: Porter's Five Forces
- Video: Bargaining Power of Buyers, Supplier Substitutes, and Rivalry
- Video: Conducting a SWOT Analysis
- Video: Strategic Positioning
- Video: Conclusion
- Video: Jud Bowman: Risk-Taking Behavior
- Video: Desh Deshpande: Planning Cascade Communications
- Video: Shazi Visram: Advice to Her Younger Self
Graded: Week 3 Quiz
WEEK 4
Clarify
In this module, we coach you on continuing to refine your big idea and beginning to
communicate it clearly to a wider audience.
12 videos
- Video: Clarify Your Big Idea
- Video: Creating Fit & a Business Model
- Video: Introducing the Business Model Canvas
- Video: Customer Segments
- Video: Channels
- Video: Revenue Streams
- Video: Key Partnerships
- Video: Your Elevator Pitch
- Video: Conclusion
- Video: Jud Bowman: Avoiding Crisis Mode
- Video: Desh Deshpande: What is a Successful Elevator Pitch?
- Video: Shazi Visram: Control in Her Venture
Graded: Week 4 Quiz
WEEK 5
Support
To make your big idea into a reality, you’ll need the personal, professional, and financial
resources we discuss in this module.
10 videos
- Video: Support Your Big Idea
- Video: Support is More Than Financing
- Video: Building Your Foundation and Beyond
- Video: Funding: For-Profits
- Video: How Much?
- Video: Conclusion
- Video: Jud Bowman: Control in His Ventures
- Video: Desh Deshpande: Solving Problems with Processes
- Video: Desh Deshpande and Jud Bowman: Assembling Teams
- Video: Shazi Visram: Disciplines to Avoid Crisis Mode
Graded: Week 5 Quiz
WEEK 6
Iterate
This final step of the entrepreneurial lifecycle outlines a method to continue thinking, listening,
planning, clarifying, and supporting your big idea.
10 videos
- Video: Iterate Your Big Idea
- Video: A Metaphor for the Entrepreneurial Life
- Video: The Entrepreneurial Lifecycle
- Video: MVP
- Video: Testing + Pivoting
- Video: Navigating Growth
- Video: Conclusion and What's Your Big Idea?
- Video: Jud Bowman: Control in His Ventures
- Video: Desh Deshpande: Constant Reinvention and Evaluating Decisions
- Video: Shazi Visram: A Hurdle
Graded: Week 6 Quiz
Peer Assessment (Optional)
Create a pitch for your Big Idea, then give and receive feedback.
6 videos, 2 readings
- Reading: Instructions
- Peer Review: Peer Assessment
- Reading: Project Resource Links
- Video: How to Change Privacy Settings on YouTube
- Video: How to Upload Videos to YouTube
- Video: How to Upload Video to Vimeo
- Video: Very Good Project: 18 pts
- Video: Good Project: 13 points
- Video: Insufficient Project: 3 points
Reverse Pitches (Optional)
In these optional videos, experts from UNC Chapel Hill and Washington University in St. Louis offered
their insider perspectives on a number of pressing problems that present unprecedented opportunities
for meaningful innovation.
9 videos, 1 reading
- Video: Mark Katz: Pitching Challenges in the Arts
- Video: Alice Ammerman: Pitching Challenges in Food Systems
- Video: Jim Johnson: Pitching Aging & Demographic Changes
- Video: Matthew Rascoff: Pitching Problems in Higher Education
- Video: Steve Malik: Pitching Problems in Healthcare
- Video: Nancy Morrow Howell: Pitching Changes in Employment with Aging
- Video: Michael Sherraden: Pitching Universal Identification
- Video: Jeff Gordon: Pitching Problems in Childhood Undernutrition
- Video: Marcus Raichle: Challenges in Brain Development
- Reading: Reverse Pitch Guest Bios
FAQs
How It Works
Coursework
Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.
Help from Your Peers
Connect with thousands of other learners and debate ideas, discuss course material, and get help mastering concepts.
Certificates
Earn official recognition for your work, and share your success with friends, colleagues, and employers.
Creators
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the nation’s first public university, is known around the world for innovative teaching and research. Regularly ranked as the nation’s best value for academic quality, UNC has produced the most Rhodes Scholars for the past 25 years among U.S. public research universities.
Pricing
| Audit | Purchase Course | |
|---|---|---|
| Access to course materials | Available | Available |
| Access to graded materials | Not available | Available |
| Receive a final grade | Not available | Available |
| Earn a shareable Course Certificate | Not available | Available |
Ratings and Reviews
Great Course!
Abarca todos los aspectos a tener en cuenta al momento de emprender algo.
This course is one of those gems that can be life changing. It was for me. In their gentle, but candid way, the instructors guide and challenge you through the life-cycle of a startup. You’ll understand and apply powerful management concepts in strategy, marketing, business modeling, team dynamics and funding. Learn how the wisdom of the Greats: Porter, Drucker and Levitt, is still relevant and useful today. And why new philosophies such as Lean Startup, are so effective. You'll learn from people who have been there and done it, successfully (including the impressive instructors) about the MVP and it's a call to action (try-test-fail, cheaply/quickly, learn from your mistakes, try again) together with essential skills such as “looking in the mirror”, hiring people who compliment your skills and “seeing” opportunity. Practical knowledge, useful skills and wonderfully motivational. I emerged with down-to-earth advice which I use every day. Thank you so much UNC and Coursera.
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DV
An excellent guideline and overview of the key topics of the entrepreneurial cycle.