Be the Startup Hero: Draper University Business Plan Competition (edX)

Draper University is on a mission to inspire people and accelerate ideas by igniting the entrepreneurial spirit globally.

Founded by venture capitalist Tim Draper, the university brings founders, operators and venture capital all under one umbrella.

The course encompasses a wide range of timely, relevant topics that entrepreneurs must master to build and scale their companies. The beginning of a founder’s journey can often be the most difficult part of starting up as you may have no capital, partners, product, or way to easily describe your business. In this course, you will begin by defining and honing your vision of the world you have set out to build. Later you will learn the fundamentals of fundraising, running a process to close a round, negotiate term sheets and everything else you might have questions about on this journey. Lastly, since no one builds a company alone, you’ll be trained on how to hire and build a team that believes in your mission.

Unlike traditional courses, this program is designed to help you think through every aspect of your business plan and pitch it to actual investors.

At the end of the course, Draper University will select the top companies and offer scholarships for them to participate in its on-site accelerator in Silicon Valley.

Anyone can enroll in this program. It is designed for learners that want to acquire sophisticated and rigorous training in entrepreneurship without leaving their day job but without compromising quality. There is no application process but basic interest in starting or working at a startup is highly recommended if you want to excel. All the lectures are taught by other founders, investors and operators, who are at the peak of their career and the level of rigor is the same as an on-campus course. This program brings Draper University’s unique, high-quality curriculum and hands-on learning approach to learners around the world.
What you'll learn

- Hero Mindset - Ideas that Change the World

- Design and Prototype Thinking – solving problems with first principle thinking

- Product Market Fit – Customer acquisition and marketing fundamentals

- Startup Finance 101 – Everything you need to know about projections and business models

- Fundraising – Process, outreach, pitching and negotiating with investors

- Leadership – Building winning teams

- Pitching to investors - Submit a business plan and pitch for potential investment

Syllabus

- Module 0: About Draper University

- Module 1: The Superhero Oath

- Module 2: Future and Vision

- Module 3: Ideas that Change the World

- Module 4: Prototype Thinking

- Module 5: Business Modeling

- Module 6: Sales and Growth

- Module 7: Finance

- Module 8: Fund Raising

- Module 9: Team Building

- Module 10: Leadership

- Module 11: Go be a HERO