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

What you will learn

You'll learn what you need to ask yourself before you start to scale up a startup
You'll get practical tips and advice on how to begin the journey from startup to scaleup

Skills you will gain

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

Approximately 4 months to complete

Suggested pace of 2 hours/week

English

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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

Approximately 4 months to complete

Suggested pace of 2 hours/week

English

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills

Learn more about Coursera for Business

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 startup 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 key tips and frameworks to begin the scaleup process, and offer insights from real, successful companies who have been in your shoes before and have scaled up their startups.

In this course, you'll learn to differentiate between growth and scaling, identify the key challenges of scaling up (and solutions to these challenges), and pick up best practices for scaling a startup effectively and efficiently to build a weatherproof company. You'll get practical advice 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 scaleup solutions. Make your scaleup journey as smooth and surprise-free as possible - with this course, you´ll know the types of issues that arise when startups scale up and learn how to solve them!

Course2

Course 2

Scaling Product and Processes

If you are ready to scale up your startup, get ready to fine-tune your products and processes! Take the guesswork out of product-market fit, 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 it's vital to create and sustain a culture where everyone on the team understands 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 the company founder and the company culture play in ensuring a successful transition from startup to scaleup, gain insights on building and fostering diverse teams, and understand the critical importance of implementing corporate governance structures that make sense for your company. 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

In the Scale Up Specialization Capstone, you'll develop insights into how and why startups scale up across their entire business - from products and processes, to sales and marketing, and all the way through to company culture. You'll go in depth to examine how a real company of your choice scaled up and create a case study of that company, showcasing your understanding of the 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 investigate how that company scaled, producing a polished and comprehensive piece of writing that demonstrates your understanding of the scaleup journey. In this piece, you'll explore how startups 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. This Capstone course is aimed at learners who have experience of working in a startup and want to scale up their business, providing an opportunity for you to apply what you 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).

Instructors

Coursera QA Team

Test

3,444 Learners

5 Courses

Joe Haslam

1,568 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.

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Scale Up Your Startup Specialization

What you will learn

Skills you will gain

About this Specialization

Applied Learning Project