Courses

There's a common misperception among startups that the most difficult part of securing funding is the idea. In fact, what often determines the outcome is a company's mastery of product/market fit (PMF), a critically important variable that determines the success of a series A funding round. This course provides practical lessons for first-time entrepreneurs in the enterprise SaaS space who are challenged with first-round fundraising. Students can learn and practice navigating the startup journey while gaining valuable new skills, including:

• Assessing and sizing the market opportunity
• Conceptualizing a minimum viable product
• Validating solution and product/market
• Creating a "fundable" pitch deck

Two fast-paced, collaborative halves make up the course. The first half builds a foundational understanding of the SaaS startup market, go-to-market (GTM) motions, minimum viable product development, team building, and early-stage fundraising models through a series of case studies. Exercises include:

• Selecting and sizing the market
• Building and testing customer feedback playbooks
• Nailing down a minimum viable product
• Creating a fundraising pitch presentation

The second half includes hands-on experiential learning by splitting the class into teams and applying learnings from the first half to begin building their startup ideas. The course culminates with a pitch night where each team presents their work to the audience, including external venture capitalists, angels, entrepreneurs, and operators who will provide invaluable feedback.