This course covers in the chronological order each defining step of an entrepreneurial project. It begins with very personal considerations related to getting to better know yourself better so as to decide if you are ready for the multiple challenges of entrepreneurship. It then deals with creativity in order to provide the right set of tools to find an idea with the right potential to disrupt an existing business. We then discuss how to gather a founding team, how to raise money to initiate the project, and how to deal with day to day cash management. Later in the course, we discuss the art of selling, focusing on business to business sales, and how to measure the product launch phase using cohort analysis. Later on, we discuss the challenges of HR in an entrepreneurial environment, and of recruiting at a point where nobody knows your company. We then describe very practical techniques to initiate the international development of a small company. Last, we cover the exit strategy topic.
Welcome to the module 1. In this week, we’re going to deal with knowing who you are, because knowing yourself is the key to shaping a project that will truly fulfill you. We will talk about your “intimate mechanics”, and take a closer look at your inner functioning. We will also discuss your intrinsic values to help you assess if they match the demanding reality of entrepreneurship. Finally, we will see how you can analyze and then consolidate your “belief system”, i.e. the set of values that are the pillars of your personal and professional life.
Introduction to Entrepreneurship Strategy: from Ideation to Exit•7 minutes
Introduction to the guests entrepreneurs•3 minutes
Identifying the intimate pillars of your entrepreneurial journey: your personal values Part 1•2 minutes
Interview: Personal values•1 minute
Identifying the intimate pillars of your entrepreneurial journey: your personal values Part 2•3 minutes
The lines of code that define your inner functioning: your “intrinsic programs”•6 minutes
Choosing entrepreneurship compared to your other options: The Cash Flow Quadrant•5 minutes
Interview: Stories of choosing entrepreneurship over job•3 minutes
The life choice of entrepreneurship: identifying the trade-offs•5 minutes
Interview: The life choice of the entrepreneurs•2 minutes
Understanding your belief system•5 minutes
Strengthening your beliefs using “the little lies of success"•5 minutes
Interview: Stories of belief system, as road to entrepreneurship•1 minute
7 readings•Total 36 minutes
Course Syllabus•10 minutes
Objectives of Lesson 1•2 minutes
Additional Resources: Mastering your emotions•5 minutes
Objectives of the lesson 2•2 minutes
Additional Resources: Robert T. Kiyosaki’s Cashflow Quadrant:•5 minutes
Objectives of the lesson 3:•2 minutes
Peer Review Overview: Qualities of strong feedback•10 minutes
3 assignments•Total 51 minutes
Graded Quiz Module 1•15 minutes
Practice Quiz Lesson 1•6 minutes
Practice quiz Lesson 2•30 minutes
1 peer review•Total 60 minutes
Writing a commercial proposition which follows your intrinsic program•60 minutes
3 discussion prompts•Total 30 minutes
Your top five personal values:•10 minutes
Dissociating yourself from your project:•10 minutes
Discussion on empowering and limiting beliefs:•10 minutes
Securing the first key steps of your entrepreneurial project
Module 2•5 hours to complete
Module details
Welcome to the module 2- this week, you will learn about some creativity techniques designed for entrepreneurship. You will also learn a step by step strategy to gather a founding team. Finally, you will be able to learn about the analysis of your financial strategy, so as to decide if you should raise money…or not…and how.
The key questions to ask when looking for an idea for your project•5 minutes
Interview: Stories of finding an idea of a project•6 minutes
Design thinking methodology to refine your product or service•5 minutes
Interview of Julien Ulrich, Co-founder of ITEKUBE•4 minutes
The “S Curve” and the Singularity Concept part 1•6 minutes
The "S Curve” and the Singularity Concept part 2•3 minutes
Gathering a founding team part 1•4 minutes
Gathering a founding team part 2•5 minutes
Gathering a founding team part 3•5 minutes
Interview of Charles Simpson: Founder of Senior Media•2 minutes
Bootstrapping VS Raising Money•6 minutes
Interview: Stories of Bootstrapping VS Raising Money•6 minutes
6 readings•Total 44 minutes
Objectives of the lesson 1•10 minutes
Tips for happiness from Tal Ben Sahar from Harvard University:•10 minutes
Learning objectives of lesson 2•2 minutes
Article: The Naïveté of "Exponential" Growth from Stanford Computer Science:•10 minutes
Lesson objectives•2 minutes
Pros and cons of raising money vs. bootstrapping•10 minutes
4 assignments•Total 120 minutes
Graded Quiz Module 2•30 minutes
Practice Quiz Lesson 1•30 minutes
Practice Quiz Lesson 2•30 minutes
Practice Quiz Lesson 3•30 minutes
1 peer review•Total 60 minutes
Finding an idea for your company, product or service that corresponds to your values•60 minutes
3 discussion prompts•Total 30 minutes
What makes organizations more creatively competitive?•10 minutes
Case of food delivery market•10 minutes
How to identify the co-founder of your entrepreneurial project?•10 minutes
Igniting your project
Module 3•5 hours to complete
Module details
In this module, you will learn the basics of day to day cash management as well as selecting and monitoring the right financial indicators. In the second part of this module, you will learn the importance of Selling: the great art of creating. We will also discuss about how to maintain rapport and how to launch a product by using the cohort analysis.
Understanding what is at stake with investors•5 minutes
Avoiding the traps when negotiating with investors•8 minutes
Interview: Stories of raising money•1 minute
Day to day cash management•6 minutes
Interview: Stories of day to day cash management•10 minutes
Structuring your Sales Strategy: Part 1•5 minutes
Structuring your Sales Strategy part 2•6 minutes
Interview: Structuring the sales strategy•2 minutes
Getting your First Meeting with your Prospect: Part 1•5 minutes
Getting your First Meeting with your Prospect: Part 2•4 minutes
Interview: Stories of first sales meetings•6 minutes
The Sales Meeting and the Art of Creating Rapport: Part 1•6 minutes
The Sales Meeting and the Art of Creating Rapport: Part 2•2 minutes
Interview: Stories of defining moments during sales meetings•7 minutes
3 readings•Total 6 minutes
Objectives of the lesson 1•2 minutes
Lesson Objectives•2 minutes
Lesson Objectives•2 minutes
4 assignments•Total 120 minutes
Graded Quiz Module 3•30 minutes
Practice Quiz Lesson 1•30 minutes
Practice Quiz Lesson 2•30 minutes
Practice Quiz Lesson 3•30 minutes
1 peer review•Total 60 minutes
Describing the sales strategy of the company, product or service that you chose in the peer assessments of Module 2•60 minutes
2 discussion prompts•Total 20 minutes
Why should you be the first sales person in your company?•10 minutes
Share your experience of first sales meetings:•10 minutes
The path to maturity
Module 4•5 hours to complete
Module details
In this module, you will explore the challenges of human resources i.e. recruiting when nobody knows you, training on constantly evolving processes, and managing on a perpetually changing scale.
Furthermore, a step by step strategy to international expansion. Finally, you will understand the importance of exit strategies.
HEC Paris, founded in 1881 by the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is one of France’s oldest elite higher education Grandes Ecoles. Throughout its 130-year history, HEC Paris has consistently attracted individuals highly capable and talented, innovative and entrepreneurial, ambitious and open-minded, capable of becoming architects of a responsible world. What makes HEC unique is its conviction shared by the HEC community: knowledge determines the freedom and entrepreneurship required for a better world.
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Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.