What’s Your Big Idea?

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

About this Course

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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.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Approx. 11 hours to complete

English

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Instructors

Instructor rating

4.83/5 (6 Ratings)

Professor Buck Goldstein

University Entrepreneur in Residence and Professor of the Practice

Economics

15,893 Learners

1 Course

Dr. Holden Thorp, PhD

Provost and Professor of Chemistry and Medicine

Chemistry

15,893 Learners

1 Course

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Approx. 11 hours to complete

English

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Offered by

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.

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Content Rating96%(1,290 ratings)

Week

Week 1

2 hours to complete

Think

We start at the beginning with your big idea and where it comes from: your everyday experience

2 hours to complete

8 videos (Total 57 min), 1 reading, 1 quiz

8 videos

Think About Your Big Idea10m

The Unexpected9m

Incongruities8m

Process Need4m

Industry and Market Structures 6m

Demographics, Changes in Perception, and New Knowledge10m

Desh Deshpande: Introduction, Big Idea, and Advice to Himself 2m

Jud Bowman: Introduction, Entrepreneurial Traits, and Challenges4m

1 reading

Guest Entrepreneur Bios10m

1 practice exercise

Week 1 Quiz30m

Week

Week 2

2 hours to complete

Listen

This second phase of the entrepreneurial lifecycle encourages you to take the big idea you’ve

2 hours to complete

11 videos (Total 69 min)

11 videos

Listen to Your Customers4m

The Importance of the Listening Phase 7m

The Purpose of a Business2m

Setting Up Customer Meetings5m

Running Customer Meetings3m

Your Total Product 6m

Listening to Suppliers7m

Conclusion4m

Jud Bowman: Cold-calling and Listening for a Customer's Problem1m

Desh Deshpande: Talking to Customers6m

Shazi Visram: Introduction and Listening to Customers19m

1 practice exercise

Week 2 Quiz30m

Week

Week 3

1 hour to complete

Plan

Strategy, the art and science of being different than your competition, is the next element we introduce,

1 hour to complete

10 videos (Total 43 min)

10 videos

Plan Your Strategy3m

What is Strategy?6m

Porter's Five Forces 5m

Bargaining Power of Buyers, Supplier Substitutes, and Rivalry4m

Conducting a SWOT Analysis7m

Strategic Positioning6m

Conclusion1m

Jud Bowman: Risk-Taking Behavior1m

Desh Deshpande: Planning Cascade Communications6m

Shazi Visram: Advice to Her Younger Self 1m

1 practice exercise

Week 3 Quiz30m

Week

Week 4

1 hour to complete

Clarify

In this module, we coach you on continuing to refine your big idea and beginning to

1 hour to complete

12 videos (Total 49 min)

12 videos

Clarify Your Big Idea4m

Creating Fit & a Business Model4m

Introducing the Business Model Canvas3m

Customer Segments2m

Channels6m

Revenue Streams4m

Key Partnerships4m

Your Elevator Pitch8m

Conclusion1m

Jud Bowman: Avoiding Crisis Mode2m

Desh Deshpande: What is a Successful Elevator Pitch?4m

Shazi Visram: Control in Her Venture2m

1 practice exercise

Week 4 Quiz30m

Week

Week 5

1 hour to complete

Support

To make your big idea into a reality, you’ll need the personal, professional, and financial

1 hour to complete

10 videos (Total 47 min)

10 videos

Support Your Big Idea2m

Support is More Than Financing 8m

Building Your Foundation and Beyond10m

Funding: For-Profits 4m

How Much?8m

Conclusion1m

Jud Bowman: Control in His Ventures1m

Desh Deshpande: Solving Problems with Processes1m

Desh Deshpande and Jud Bowman: Assembling Teams4m

Shazi Visram: Disciplines to Avoid Crisis Mode2m

1 practice exercise

Week 5 Quiz30m

Week

Week 6

1 hour to complete

Iterate

This final step of the entrepreneurial lifecycle outlines a method to continue thinking, listening,

1 hour to complete

10 videos (Total 40 min)

10 videos

Iterate Your Big Idea2m

A Metaphor for the Entrepreneurial Life4m

The Entrepreneurial Lifecycle3m

MVP 4m

Testing + Pivoting5m

Navigating Growth7m

Conclusion and What's Your Big Idea? 4m

Jud Bowman: Control in His Ventures 2m

Desh Deshpande: Constant Reinvention and Evaluating Decisions 3m

Shazi Visram: A Hurdle2m

1 practice exercise

Week 6 Quiz30m

2 hours to complete

Peer Assessment (Optional)

Create a pitch for your Big Idea, then give and receive feedback.

2 hours to complete

6 videos (Total 21 min), 2 readings, 1 quiz

6 videos

How to Change Privacy Settings on YouTube1m

How to Upload Videos to YouTube1m

How to Upload Video to Vimeo 2m

Very Good Project: 18 pts5m

Good Project: 13 points3m

Insufficient Project: 3 points6m

2 readings

Instructions10m

Project Resource Links10m

1 hour to complete

Reverse Pitches (Optional)

In these optional videos, experts from UNC Chapel Hill and Washington University in St. Louis offered

1 hour to complete

9 videos (Total 78 min), 1 reading

9 videos

Mark Katz: Pitching Challenges in the Arts8m

Alice Ammerman: Pitching Challenges in Food Systems19m

Jim Johnson: Pitching Aging & Demographic Changes 12m

Matthew Rascoff: Pitching Problems in Higher Education6m

Steve Malik: Pitching Problems in Healthcare13m

Nancy Morrow Howell: Pitching Changes in Employment with Aging4m

Michael Sherraden: Pitching Universal Identification4m

Jeff Gordon: Pitching Problems in Childhood Undernutrition3m

Marcus Raichle: Challenges in Brain Development4m

1 reading

Reverse Pitch Guest Bios10m

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What’s Your Big Idea?

What’s Your Big Idea?