Entrepreneurship 1 Developing the Opportunity

How does a good idea become a viable business opportunity? What is entrepreneurship and who fits the profile of an entrepreneur? This introductory course is designed to introduce you to the foundational concepts of entrepreneurship, including the definition of entrepreneurship, the profile of the entrepreneur, the difference between entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial management, and the role of venture creation in society. You’ll explore where technology entrepreneurship and impact entrepreneurship align and where they diverge, and you’ll learn proven techniques for identifying the opportunity, assessing the opportunity, hypothesis testing and creating a prototype.By the end of this course, you’ll know how to test, validate and prototype your idea, and also whether or not you fit the profile of an entrepreneur! You’ll also be ready to move on to the next phase of entrepreneurship in Entrepreneurship 2: Launching the Start-Up.

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Syllabus

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Week 1
Introduction and Course Materials
Module 1: Introduction to Entrepreneurship
This module was designed to introduce you to the team of Wharton professors who are teaching this course and others in the Entrepreneurship Specialization. You will also discover that entrepreneurship has different applications and even different definitions in academia and in practice. By the end of this short module, you’ll know what entrepreneurship means to you and others, and understand some of the common arguments about entrepreneurship as a field of study.
Week 2
Module 2: Opportunity Analysis
This module was designed to introduce you to the broad definition of the diverse topic of entrepreneurship and to give you an overview of the field. You’ll learn the types of entrepreneurs, the most common categories of entrepreneurial ventures, and their key differentiating factors. Using real world examples, you’ll see entrepreneurship in action in a wide variety of environments, from small businesses to social enterprises to large corporations. At the end of this module, you’ll be able to define what entrepreneurship means to you, whether or not you fit the profile of the entrepreneur, and how to classify your venture to others. You’ll also be able to cite current examples of successful entrepreneurial enterprises to support your own venture.
Week 3
Module 3: Markets, Need-Finding and Planning
In this module, you’ll learn how to discover, develop, and assess opportunities, so you can choose one that has the best potential for success. Starting an enterprise is uncertain by nature, but you can increase certainty and decrease some risk by evaluating potential opportunities using thoughtful processes proven to help you decide which opportunities are better positioned for growth. You’ll learn how to determine a market need, develop a solution, evaluate your solution using a variety of methods, and pressure test your idea. You’ll also learn several methods of evaluating opportunity, including using customers, the VIDE model, and the tournament method. You’ll see these processes applied to real world examples of both opportunities which were ultimately successful and those that failed. By the end of this module, you’ll be able to apply these evaluation process to your own opportunities, and/or use them to discover new ones with greater potential for growth.
Week 4
Module 4: Pitching, Testing, and Prototyping
This module will help you define your market, identify your user, harness the wisdom of the crowd, and come up with an informed plan for your venture. You’ll learn market segmentation, how to determine user needs, how to use the competitive landscape as well as potential users to refine your idea, and how to create a simple but powerful plan for your start-up that will allow you to avoid common mistakes and pitfalls. By the end of this module, you’ll be able to refine your own pitch, develop a clearer picture of your user, and develop a useful model for your own enterprise.

FAQ

When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?

Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:

What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?

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. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.

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.

Reviews

Nice insight, despite having had entrepreneurship and business knowledge, this course is giving me a lot of material to work with for now and the future. Hope it will keep up the high standards

The lectures are indispensable for anybody embarking into new business ventures whether on a start-up or an established corporation. Great advice from world class faculty that has industry relevance.

Amazing knowledge of every single details about entreprenueship opprtunity, How to think, test, expand your assumption and how to do the developing of the Idea step by step!. ITS WORTH IT

Very intresting and with helpful insight for developing opportunities. One thing could be done it is that they are focusing too much in the us market and mostly in products rather than in services.