Scale Up Your Startup - Product, Processes, People. Learn the main points of a growth mindset and apply these as you scale up the products, processes, and people components of your business.

Offered By

Scale Up Your Startup SpecializationIE Business School

Skills you will gain

Leadership
Management
strategy
Entrepreneurship
Business Strategy
Leadership And Management
Problem Solving
Strategic Management
Business Process

About this Specialization

This specialization is intended for anyone who owns a startup or who has an interest in learning how to scale up their business exponentially. By the end of the specialization, learners will be able to: Describe the key elements of a scaleup mindset Determine how ready they are to scale up their business Understand key best practices in scaleup, gained from industry insights and applicable to their own businesses Learn how to scale up a product successfully by addressing the key concerns of product development at the scaleup stage Evaluate and suggest process improvement for a growing company Discuss key considerations in team and personnel growth (including fit, team creation, diversity, and personal productivity and wellness during stressful times) This specialization features advice and best practices from scaleup expert Professor Joe Haslam, who provides the necessary framework to understand what scaling is all about and who adds to his own experiences and teaching a wide and carefully selected range of resources and industry examples to help guide learners through industry best practices and advice.

Applied Learning Project

In the Scaleup Specialization projects in each course, learners will focus on how a scaleup in their area or region of the world has addressed the scaleup challenges discussed in each course. Students who complete the Capstone will also research and write an industry piece, in the style of a longform magazine article, on one company in particular and their journey through the scaleup process.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online courses

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Flexible Schedule

Set and maintain flexible deadlines.

Intermediate Level

At least two years of business experience, with experience of working in (or owning) a startup useful but not required.

Approximately 4 months to complete

Suggested pace of 3 hours/week

English

Subtitles: English

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online courses

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Flexible Schedule

Set and maintain flexible deadlines.

Intermediate Level

At least two years of business experience, with experience of working in (or owning) a startup useful but not required.

Approximately 4 months to complete

Suggested pace of 3 hours/week

English

Subtitles: English

How the Specialization Works

Take Courses

A Coursera Specialization is a series of courses that helps you master a skill. To begin, enroll in the Specialization directly, or review its courses and choose the one you'd like to start with. When you subscribe to a course that is part of a Specialization, you’re automatically subscribed to the full Specialization. It’s okay to complete just one course — you can pause your learning or end your subscription at any time. Visit your learner dashboard to track your course enrollments and your progress.

Hands-on Project

Every Specialization includes a hands-on project. You'll need to successfully finish the project(s) to complete the Specialization and earn your certificate. If the Specialization includes a separate course for the hands-on project, you'll need to finish each of the other courses before you can start it.

Earn a Certificate

When you finish every course and complete the hands-on project, you'll earn a Certificate that you can share with prospective employers and your professional network.

There are 4 Courses in this Specialization

Course1

Course 1

Why Scale a Startup?

If you want to find out how to begin to scale up a company, this course is for you! This course will guide you through all the key questions you need to ask yourself to prepare to scale up a startup, provide you with the necessary frameworks to begin the scaleup process, and offer insights from real, successful companies who have been in your shoes before and have made the transition.

After taking this course, you will be able to: identify the key challenges to scaling up and list possible solutions to these problems; discuss the differences between growing and scaling; offer tips on how to make your company weatherproof (identify risk and offer strategies to mitigate these risks); and explain common best practices for scaling up effectively and efficiently. This course brings together practical advice, real-life examples, and big-picture insights from well-known companies and experts in the field so you can see what has worked for other companies and develop a "toolbox" of scaling solutions. Make your scaleup journey as smooth and surprise-free as possible - with this course, you´ll know the types of issues that arise in most scaleups and learn how to solve them.

Course2

Course 2

Scaling Product and Processes

Fine-tune your product and processes before you begin to scale up your startup! Take the guesswork out of product-market fit and sales and marketing for your scaleup with this course and discover what sets your product apart and how to capitalize on what your company has to offer as you scale up your startup.

In this course, you will learn how to rethink your product to make sure it is scalable; understand the importance and elements of a growth strategy; discover how to structure your growth team; learn how to align sales and marketing for the scaleup stage; and ensure you know how to protect your cash, your company, and your personal well-being in this crucial stage of going from startup to scaleup. This course brings together practical advice, real-life examples, and big-picture insights from well-known companies and experts in the field so you can see what has worked for other companies and develop a "toolbox" of scaling solutions. Get perspective on how your company operates and optimize it for scale – this course will prime your product and processes for exponential growth.

Course3

Course 3

Building Culture in a Scale Up

Company culture changes in the shift from startup to scaleup – and as the company moves and incorporates different people profiles and roles, culture becomes increasingly vital in ensuring that everyone understand the company´s mission, values, strategy, and objectives.

This course will help you get that crucial culture piece within your scaleup right. You´ll discover the role (and relationship between) the company founder and the company culture in ensuring a successful transition to scaleup, gain insights on how and why to build and foster diverse teams, and understand the critical importance of corporate governance structures so you can implement the structures that make sense for your organization. Culture can be your company´s superpower, and with this course, you´ll be able to build and maintain the company culture that will bolster your company through the scaleup phase – and beyond.

Course4

Course 4

Scale Up Specialization Capstone

This Capstone course is aimed at learners who have experience of working in a startup and want to scale up their business and want to bring together what they have learned in the three previous courses on scaling up a startup (Scale Up Your Startup, Scaling Product and Processes, and Building Culture in a Scaleup).

Through the Capstone Project, you´ll showcase your understanding of the key issues a scaleup faces and how to overcome these issues and challenges - from the initial moment when scaling up becomes a possibility, through transitions in product and processes, to the creation of a strong, effective, and resilient company culture that will last. For the project, you´ll profile a company and go in depth to find out how that company scaled, producing a polished and comprehensive piece of writing that demonstrates your understanding of the scaleup journey. After completing this Capstone project, you will have developed insights into why companies scale up, how they plan for the scaleup phase, how they scale up product and processes, how they adapt their sales and marketing strategies, how operations are affected, and how they build and maintain a productive, effective and diverse company culture through the scaleup phase.

Instructors

Coursera QA Team

Test

2,761 Learners

5 Courses

Joe Haslam

885 Learners

4 Courses

Offered by

IE Business School

IE Business School is an internationally recognized business school where the leaders of tomorrow shape their ideas and learn to become global citizens. For over 40 years, IE Business School has promoted innovation and change in organizations, equipping managers with an entrepreneurial mindset that generates employment, wealth, and social well-being.

Regularly featured among the top business schools in the world, IE Business School has an urban campus in Madrid and a faculty of more than 400 professors who teach students from approximately 90 countries in its undergraduate and master programs. IE uses innovative online, face-to-face, and blended learning formats, including the IE Communities Platform where knowledge and experiences are exchanged with over 50,000 IE graduates that currently hold management positions in more than 100 countries worldwide.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the refund policy?
If you subscribed, you get a 7-day free trial during which you can cancel at no penalty. After that, we don’t give refunds, but you can cancel your subscription at any time. See our full refund policy.
Can I just enroll in a single course?
Yes! To get started, click the course card that interests you and enroll. You can enroll and complete the course to earn a shareable certificate, or you can audit it to view the course materials for free. When you subscribe to a course that is part of a Specialization, you’re automatically subscribed to the full Specialization. Visit your learner dashboard to track your progress.
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.
Can I take the course for free?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free. If you cannot afford the fee, you can apply for financial aid.
Is this course really 100% online? Do I need to attend any classes in person?
This course is completely online, so there’s no need to show up to a classroom in person. You can access your lectures, readings and assignments anytime and anywhere via the web or your mobile device.
How long does it take to complete the Specialization?
Each course takes approximately eight hours to complete.
What background knowledge is necessary?
Previous knowledge in running a startup or working in a startup are useful, but not required, to getting the most from this course.
Do I need to take the courses in a specific order?
Yes, they should be taken sequentially (Why Scale a Startup, then Scaling Products and Processes, then Building Culture in a Scaleup).
Will I earn university credit for completing the Specialization?
No.
What will I be able to do upon completing the Specialization?
You will be able to apply your knowledge to growing your own startup exponentially, if you have a startup or work in one. You will also be able to apply the concepts learned in a general business context to help build the principles of exponential growth and scaling within any business context.

More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.

Scale Up Your Startup Specialization

Skills you will gain

About this Specialization

Applied Learning Project