Startup Factory

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Juris Doctor

Have you ever wondered if you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Could you have the startup bug? Have you had inspiration strike you, but not known what to do with that idea? Are you interested in experiencing startup life in a fast-paced, experiential-focused course? Then this course is definitely for you. This course has been built to let you learn by doing -- based on the curricula developed by Startup Weekend, active in more than 100 countries, and the Lean LaunchPad, taught at Stanford, Berkeley, Columbia, Caltech and adopted by the National Science Foundation. We emphasize experiential learning, a flipped classroom and immediate feedback as a way to let you, the "want-rapreneur" to engage with real world entrepreneurship. We start with your ideas, problems and solutions. You'll learn by proposing and immediately testing hypotheses -- hypotheses around your own startup ideas and ideas of your classmates. Then you'll get out of the classroom and talk to customers, partners and competitors and encounter the chaos and uncertainty of commercializing innovations and creating new ventures. We focus on 'doing' rather than 'planning to do.' This course doesn't rely on static case studies or fixed models, you'll be challenged to create your own business models based on information derived from personal engagement rather than secondhand market research. Many successful and serial entrepreneurs will tell you that entrepreneurship cannot be taught; it must be experienced. Now is your chance to experience entrepreneurship yourself with successful entrepreneurs and walk away with skills, lessons and experiences to help in your next endeavors. Are you ready to experience entrepreneurship? Soon you will be.