Lesson 1: Intro to startups and entrepreneurship
Articles:
Startup Definition: Everything About Startups
Lifestyle Business: Ideas, Examples & How to Get Started
12 Things I Learned From Starting Two 7-Figure Lifestyle Businesses
GROWTH VS. LIFESTYLE BUSINESS: WHICH ONE IS RIGHT FOR YOU?
What’s the Difference between a Lifestyle Business and a Scalable Company?
Startup life versus faculty life
What Is the Lean Startup Methodology?
The Key Principles Of Lean Startup Methodology
A Startup Conversation with Steve Blank
What is a startup and how is it different from other companies (new and old)?
Videos:
Steve Blank - What is startup?
Small Business vs. Startup with Steve Blank // Now I Know
Startups vs Small Business: what's the difference?
Assumptions Kill Startups - How To Quickly De-Risk Them
Lesson 2: Value Proposition
Subtopics: Preparing for Pitching, SBOE Incubation Fund
Articles:
The 31 Best Value Proposition Examples You Wish You Had
What is a Value Proposition? (Plus 3 Great Examples and 3 Common Mistakes)
Value Propositions: What They Are and How to Create Them (with Examples)
Value Proposition Canvas
Why Value Propositions Are Important (And How To Create Them)
Videos:
Strategyzer's Value Proposition Canvas Explained
Value Proposition Canvas Explained by Alex Osterwalder
The art of innovation | Guy Kawasaki | TEDxBerkeley
Designing your Value Proposition by Alex Osterwalder at Mind the Product 2014
Value Proposition Canvas explained through the Uber example
Achieve UNICORN STATUS - 5 Ways To Be An Order Of Magnitude Better Than Your Competition
Pitching- Problem Slide Articles:
Problem Slide - How to Guide
Getting the problem right: Investors and Consultants Talk About What Makes a Great Pitch Deck Problem Slide
Videos:
DoorDash at YC Summer 2013 Demo Day (What’s the problem?)
Unbird Techstars Boulder 2019 Demo Day Pitch (See if you can find the problem)
Lesson 3: Finding a Value Proposition Through Customer Discovery and Empathy
Subtopics: Pitch Prep - Solutions Slide, Federal Funding Opportunities
Articles:
The Four Steps to Customer Discovery
THE CUSTOMER DISCOVERY HANDBOOK
26 Resources to Help You Master Customer Development Interviews
Customer Discovery In the Time Of the Covid-19 Virus
Customer discovery according to the Lean Startup methodology
Videos:
Video 1: What is customer discovery?
Video 2: The Customer Development Process. 2 Minutes to See Why
Video #3: EMPATHY - BEST SPEECH OF ALL TIME By Simon Sinek
Video #4-13: Steve Blank Customer Interview Series
How To Avoid False Positives in Your Customer Feedback
Solutions Slide Articles:
Solution Slide - How to Guide
How To Position The Solution In A Pitch Deck
Solution Slide Videos:
Quilt at Y Combinator Demo Day (How is Quilt better than the status quo?)
GetAccept - YC W'16 Demo Day (What’s the benefit of using Get Accept?)
YC Demo Day Pitch (vote.org) - (Notice how she leads with the solution first)
Lesson 4: How to test a Value Proposition
Sub Topics: Pitch Prep - Market Opportunity
Articles:
How to test and validate your value proposition fast
Validating and Executing on Value Propositions
“What is MVP and why is it necessary?”
What is a Minimum Viable Product and How to Build an MVP for Your Startup
What are Key Minimum Viable Product Examples and How Can They Be Used?
15+ EXAMPLES OF SUCCESSFUL MVPS
How To Fill In A Strategyzer Test Card
Videos:
Minimum Viable Product Examples and Benefits (7 min)
Validate Your Ideas with the Test Card (3 min)
Strategyzer Webinar: The Basics Of Testing Business Ideas (1 HR)
3 Awesome Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) (5 Min)
Making sense of MVP (Minimum Viable Product) (12 Min)
13 Types of Minimum Viable Product (MVP): Wizard of Oz, Concierge, One Painkiller and 10 more
Market Opportunity Slide Articles:
What Your Opportunity Slide is Missing – Make Investors Believe
Market Slide - How to Guide
HOW TO HACK THE MARKET SLIDE ON YOUR PITCH DECK
Market Opportunity Videos:
GiveMeTap Demo Day Pitch -- Are you convinced there is a market opportunity?
Unbabel Demo Day YC W14 --- (What market did they start in? Where are they going?)
How To Calculate Your Startup’s Total Addressable Market (TAM) The Right Way
Lesson 5: Measuring a Minimum Viable Product
Sub Topics: Pitch Prep - Go-To-Market & Financials, Funding via SBIR/STTR
Articles:
(MVP) Seek the qualitative and quantitative
How To Measure & Analyze MVP Performance
What Your Minimum Viable Product Should Be Measuring
How To Know If Your Minimum Viable Product is Actually Viable
How To Measure The Success Of MVP
Videos:
Measure an MVP with the Learning Card
Strategyzer Webinar with David Bland: Testing Business Ideas (55 min)
How I: Validated my idea in 2 days (with no code)
How to Use the Validation Board to Test Your Startup Idea
Go-To-Market Slide Articles:
GO TO MARKET STRATEGY PRESENTATION STRUCTURE
THE BEST GO-TO-MARKET STRATEGY & HOW TO DEFINE YOURS
Go-To-Market Slide Videos:
Enflux Presenting at YC Demo Day (Why did they start with weightlifting?)
YC W19 Pulse Active Stations Network Demo Day (There are 1 billion Indians, why is he starting in train stations?)
PITCH DECK MISTAKES: THE GO-TO-MARKET STRATEGY
How To Create a Killer Go-To-Market (GTM) Strategy
Business Model Financials Slide Articles:
Business Model Slide - How to Guide
Pitch Deck Pointers Part 7: The Business Model Slide
Financials/Business Model Slide Videos:
YC Demo Day Pitch (Official) -- Goodybag (He knows the numbers around his average customers)
Shiru Y Combinator Demo Day pitch (She doesn’t share a lot of financial numbers - but do you understand how she makes money?)
Lesson 6: How to Pivot Your Idea
Sub Topics: Founders vs. Early Employees, Pitch Prep - Team/Progress, Funding via Angels & VCs
Articles:
When, Why, & How to Pivot a Startup Business
Everyone Pivots: The Truth About A Startup Pivot
A Brief Guide To Startup Pivots (4 Types Of Pivots)
What 'Pivot' Really Means
What is a Pivot? Know When It’s Time to Pivot
The 7 greatest pivots in tech history
Videos:
Pivot or Proceed? How to Decide. 2 Minutes to See Why
The infamous Pivot: Explained!
Eric Ries explains The Pivot
Lean Startup Lessons: Changing Course on a Business Idea Without Giving Up
Pivot - How to Build a Startup
Founder/ Employee / Contractor Articles:
How does a start-up decide whether to outsource or hire an employee?
When to Hire In-house vs. Outsourcing to Freelancers for your Agency or Startup
Equity 101 Part 1: Startup employee stock options
Employee vs. Independent Contractor: How to Classify Your Workers
Five Reasons To Consider Hiring A Co-Founder
What is the difference between a co-founder and an early employee?
Founders, Initial Employees, and Risk
Raising Traditional Investments Articles:
The Pros And Cons Of Bootstrapping Startups
Bootstrapping A Startup: The Essential Tips
How to Raise a Friends and Family Round
Friends and Family Investors: The Dangers Startups Must Know
The Definitive Guide to Raising Money from Angels
Everything You (Don’t) Want to Know About Raising Capital
Raising Venture Capital
Venture Capital Vs. Business Loans: A Beginner’s Guide to Financing Alternatives
Team Slide Articles:
Team Slide - How to Guide
The Team Slide: You Had Me At Hello
Pitch Deck Month: The Team Slide
Team Slide Videos:
YC Demo Day W16-HistoWiz (Do you have any doubts about the team?)
Ramp - Demo Day Pitch (He talked about his team slide for 15 seconds. Convinced?)
Traction Slide Articles:
Pitch Deck Pointers Part 8: The Traction Slide
Traction Slide - How to Guide
What To Include In The Traction Slide Of A Pitch Deck
Traction Slide Videos:
Flex Tampons Pitch (Has so much progress she leads with it)
Coinbase Y Combinator Demo Day Practice (Listen to the coaching when he describes progress)
How To Pitch Early Traction to Venture Investors like a Boss!
Lesson 7: Business Model Canvas
Sub Topics: Funding via EPSCOR + DARPA/ARPA-E, Pitch Prep Summary
Articles:
The Easy Guide to the Business Model Canvas
How To: Business Model Canvas Explained
Business Model Canvas Explained with Examples
5 key benefits of using a business model canvas instead of a business plan
How To Fill In A Business Model Canvas
Videos:
Business Model Canvas Explained
The Business Model Canvas - 9 Steps to Creating a Successful Business Model - Startup Tips
Business Model Canvas Tutorial - Uber Business Model
Business Model Canvas Tutorial - Lego Business Model
Key Partners Articles:
How to partner with a larger company when you’re a startup
Why Business Partnerships Fail
The power of partnerships: Why businesses are better together
Key Partners in Business Model Canvas
13 Examples of Successful Co-Branding Partnerships
Revenue Articles:
Recurring Revenue: An Increasingly Important Business Model
The 10 Most Popular Startup Revenue Models
How to Price Your Products
Cost vs. Price: What's the Difference?
How To Calculate Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
Channels Articles:
Marketing Channels Guide: 30+ Different Channels Categorized and Explained
The 6 Marketing Channels You Should Prioritize in 2020
What is a Marketing Funnel?
How to Create the Ultimate Marketing Funnel (Templates Included)
The Growth Hacking Playbook: Your Ultimate List of Growth Hack Resources
Customer Relationship Articles:
How do I use the Customer Relationships building block of the Business Model Canvas?
Customer Relationships – Unpacking How To Fuel Long-Term Growth
8 Excellent Examples of Customer Relationship Management
Building Customer Relationships
Lesson 8: Pitch-Off & Next Steps
Articles:
15 Quick Pitch Tips for Kick Ass Presentations
9 Things That Take a Pitch From Good to Great
Videos:
The SECRET Ingredient to The PERFECT PITCH: How to tell a compelling STORY
The SINGLE Most Important Element of Your Pitch
Startup Pitch Video: How to Create a Pitch Deck for Investors