BUS 213 — Principles of Product/Market Fit
Quarter: Fall
Day(s): Thursdays
Course Format: On-campus (About Formats)
Duration: 6 weeks
Date(s): Oct 19—Nov 30
Time: 7:00—8:50 pm (PT)
Refund Deadline: Oct 21
Unit: 1
Tuition: $525
Instructor(s): Edwin Oh
Class Recording Available: No
Status: Open
Fall
On-campus
Thursdays
7:00—8:50 pm (PT)
Date(s)
Oct 19—Nov 30
6 weeks
Refund Date
Oct 21
1 Unit
Fees
$525
Instructor(s):
Edwin Oh
Recording
No
Open
What is the basic challenge that all businesses must solve to be viable? It is product/market fit, matching what you have with what customers value and ultimately pay for. More startups die because they fail to achieve product/market fit than because their technology fails. Designed for prospective entrepreneurs, this course covers the “pre-work” necessary for a business plan. It presents a systematic way to validate the monetary potential of your business. It will teach the difference between a business idea (a dime a dozen) and a monetizable business model (worth gold); how to achieve product/market fit; and how to validate a business model using core concepts in customer development, innovation marketing, product planning, and competitive strategy. Through the use of simple but powerful frameworks, students will identify core customers, discover what matters to them (hint: it’s not just product), and learn practical tips on gaining traction with “earlyvangelist” customers. We will survey common business models used to turn mere ideas into profitable businesses, with particular attention to pricing strategy and testing techniques. By the end of the course, students will be able to decide whether it’s worth leaving their day job for that new startup idea they’ve been pondering.
Prior experience in marketing is not required, but students should have a new business idea to test using the frameworks taught in the course.
EDWIN OH
Managing Director, Infrastructure Group
Edwin Oh has more than 30 years of experience in technology commercialization, including as CEO of multiple small public and private companies. His company provides marketing and business services to early-stage startups in Silicon Valley. Oh received an MS in chemical engineering and an MBA from Stanford. Textbooks for this course:
(Required) Brant Cooper & Patrick Vlaskovits, Entrepreneur's Guide to Customer Developmemt: A cheat sheet to The Four Steps to the Epiphany (ISBN 978-0982743607)
(Required) Alex Osterwalder, et.al., Value Proposition Design: How to Create Products and Services Customers Want (ISBN 978-1118968055)
(Recommended) David Bland & Alex Osterwalder, Testing Business Ideas: A Field Guide for Rapid Experimentation (ISBN 978-1119551447)
(Recommended) Geoffrey Moore, Crossing the Chasm, 3rd Edition: Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products to Mainstream Customers (ISBN 978-0062353948)
(Required) Alex Osterwalder, et.al., Value Proposition Design: How to Create Products and Services Customers Want (ISBN 978-1118968055)
(Recommended) David Bland & Alex Osterwalder, Testing Business Ideas: A Field Guide for Rapid Experimentation (ISBN 978-1119551447)
(Recommended) Geoffrey Moore, Crossing the Chasm, 3rd Edition: Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products to Mainstream Customers (ISBN 978-0062353948)