BUS 81 — Launching from Idea to Reality: A Practical Course for First-Time Startup Founders
Quarter: Fall
Instructor(s): Angela Chen
Date(s): Sep 24—Dec 3
Class Recording Available: Yes
Class Meeting Day: Thursdays
Grade Restriction: No letter grade
Class Meeting Time: 5:30—7:00 pm (PT)
Please Note: No class on November 26
Tuition: $685
Refund Deadline: Sep 26
Unit(s): 1
Enrollment Limit: 35
Status: Registration opens Aug 17 8:30 am (PT)
Quarter: Fall
Day: Thursdays
Duration: 10 weeks
Time: 5:30—7:00 pm (PT)
Date(s): Sep 24—Dec 3
Unit(s): 1
Tuition: $685
Refund Deadline: Sep 26
Instructor(s): Angela Chen
Grade Restriction: No letter grade
Enrollment Limit: 35
Recording Available: Yes
Status: Registration opens Aug 17 8:30 am (PT)
Please Note: No class on November 26
The barrier to building has never been lower. AI can draft your pitch, prototype your idea, and generate your landing page in minutes. So why do 9 out of 10 startups still fail? Because the hard part was never the build—it was always finding a real problem worth solving.
This hands-on course takes first-time founders through every critical stage of early venture development in a deliberate sequence that mirrors how real companies are built. You'll develop the frameworks and founder judgment to:
This hands-on course takes first-time founders through every critical stage of early venture development in a deliberate sequence that mirrors how real companies are built. You'll develop the frameworks and founder judgment to:
- Conduct real customer discovery
- Validate whether you have a problem worth solving
- Design an MVP as a learning tool, not just a launch artifact
- Build a business model grounded in unit economics
- Develop go-to-market strategy for a beachhead market you can actually win
- Use AI to accelerate growth without losing the founder judgment
- Sharpen your pitch for investors and accelerators
ANGELA CHEN
Founder, Stanford Education Entrepreneurship Hub
Angela Chen is a founder and angel investor who has supported more than 120 founders from idea to launch. At Stanford, she founded the Education Entrepreneurship Hub and teaches across multiple programs, coaching founders and solopreneurs to leverage AI as a competitive advantage. She received an MA from Stanford and a dual BA/BS from the University of Pennsylvania and Wharton. Textbooks for this course:
There are no required textbooks; however, some fee-based online readings may be assigned.