The Search for Great Ideas: Harnessing creativity to empower innovation (Coursera)

The Search for Great Ideas: Harnessing creativity to empower innovation (Coursera)

Where do great business ideas come from? We all have compelling business concepts that we've been thinking about for years. In this course we will explore how to use observational tools and other techniques for idea generation and we will talk about how to evaluate the good ideas from the bad. The goal is to settle on a business idea that you are not only passionate about but also has real market application.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see Coursera's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

At the end of this course learners will be able to:
-build a resource inventory from which they can assess and create market opportunities;
-pursue market opportunities consistent with personal passions and capabilities; and
-triage potential ideas in terms of which have the greatest potential for commercial and personal success.
Course 2 of 6 in the How to Start Your Own Business Specialization.

Syllabus

WEEK 1
Ideation: Tools for ideation.
How do entrepreneurs come up with great ideas? This is an age old question. Lets explore where great ideas and solutions come from and how to put yourself in a position to change the business world.

WEEK 2
Ideation: Intro to Design Thinking Methodology
In this module we will explore the lessons of Design Thinking Methodology and how it can be used as a powerful tool for developing new and innovative solutions.

WEEK 3
Ideation: Intro to Customer Discovery
More often than not the best solutions don't lie with you but rather they are with your customers. In this module we will talk about how to develop a customer discovery plan that can lead to powerful business innovation.

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Shaping Your Professional Brand (Coursera) Coursera
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Shaping Your Professional Brand (Coursera)

You've thought about who you are and how you want your career to be. You have some skills to deal with situations that could cause problems. What about the team around you? How do you build functional and constructive professional relationships? How can you add value? What do employers look for when they are promoting?

Nov 23rd 2026
4 Weeks
The Art of Negotiation (Coursera) Coursera
University of California, Irvine

The Art of Negotiation (Coursera)

The art of negotiation comes into play daily in the life of employees at all levels and in every position. Participants explore how current approaches to negotiation strategy and tactics are used, what negotiation entails, types of negotiation relationships that exist from hard bargain to win-win, to fully partnered relationships and personal ones. The course explores the personal and behavioral characteristics of an effective negotiator. Participants discuss how empowerment, power, and authority affect the negotiation process and outcome. Topics include how important it is to plan and prepare for a negotiation session.

Nov 23rd 2026
4 Weeks
Impact from digital transformation: A Nano course (Coursera) Coursera
EIT Digital

Impact from digital transformation: A Nano course (Coursera)

You believe that a lot of industries will fundamentally change due to digital power the upcoming 5 to 10 years? You believe that what often today have been called "disruption" might happen to an industry of your specific interest? You believe in the value of becoming able to predict how that kind of change will evolve in order to do digital transformation and thereby avoid ending up with big problems in the future? Then this course is for you.

Nov 23rd 2026
4 Weeks
New Technologies for Business Leaders (Coursera) Coursera
Rutgers University

New Technologies for Business Leaders (Coursera)

This introductory course is developed for high-level business people (and those on their way) who want a broad understanding of new Information Technologies and understand their potential for business functions (e.g. marketing, supply change management, finance). This is not a course for people looking for guidance on how to become a deep technical expert or implement these technologies.

Nov 23rd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Design-Led Strategy: Design thinking for business strategy and entrepreneurship (Coursera) Coursera
The University of Sydney

Design-Led Strategy: Design thinking for business strategy and entrepreneurship (Coursera)

This course is for entrepreneurial managers who are looking for tools and techniques to introduce exciting, innovative products or services to market quickly and informed by high-quality customer insights. It is applicable to a range of organizations from small-medium sized enterprises through to corporates, and across a range of industrial segments.

Nov 23rd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Impact from Digital Transformation: Full course (Coursera) Coursera
EIT Digital

Impact from Digital Transformation: Full course (Coursera)

This course is about what you can do when everything around you seems to be moving due to digital change. It is about how to handle the disruptive process that tends to unfold in industry nowadays due to digitalisation. The way to handle this is what is here referred to as "Digital Transformation" and at the core of it, it is about understanding how the new business landscape is evolving and heading for a new position in that landscape. It is about corporate strategy.

Nov 23rd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Advanced Valuation and Strategy - M&A, Private Equity, and Venture Capital (Coursera) Coursera
Erasmus University Rotterdam

Advanced Valuation and Strategy - M&A, Private Equity, and Venture Capital (Coursera)

Would you like to learn about the latest valuation methods that may help you to make better business decisions? Then 'Advanced Valuation and Strategy – M&A, Private Equity, and Venture Capital' by Erasmus University Rotterdam is the right course for you! This course is helpful for executives that need to value complete strategies and for all students interested in corporate finance and strategy. We present the latest tools and show you how to apply them!

Nov 23rd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Conflict Resolution Skills (Coursera) Coursera
University of California, Irvine

Conflict Resolution Skills (Coursera)

Resolving conflict in a positive manner is a skill that can be developed and practiced. Being heard can be one of the most important goals of someone engaged in conflict. Knowing how to listen and deploy appropriate communication tactics is determinative of whether a conflict will have a positive or negative resolution. Examine listening skills, appropriate and strategic verbal and non-verbal communication skills, and how to assemble a conflict management plan likely to yield positive resolutions.

Nov 23rd 2026
3 Weeks
Gestión Empresarial Exitosa para Pymes (Coursera) Coursera
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Gestión Empresarial Exitosa para Pymes (Coursera)

Este curso tiene como objetivo fortalecer las capacidades de gestión de pequeños y medianos empresarios, y personas interesadas en emprender. El Programa Pyme de la Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile te invita a profundizar sobre lo que se requiere para ser un empresario exitoso y a aprender buenas prácticas en dirección de empresas que permitan crear valor al cliente, a través del marketing y herramientas comerciales.

Nov 23rd 2026
5-12 Weeks
The Power of Markets III: Input Markets and Promoting Efficiency (Coursera) Coursera
University of Rochester

The Power of Markets III: Input Markets and Promoting Efficiency (Coursera)

The final module of the Power of Markets course begins by further exploring firm behavior in imperfectly competitive market settings: how firms with monopoly power can increase profits through price discrimination; and the price-output combinations we can expect firms to select in cases of monopolistic competition and oligopoly. We will also analyze monopolies from an efficiency perspective and look at the effects of imperfect information on firm and consumer behavior. We will next turn to exploring input markets and what determines the demand for an input by a firm, an industry, and the overall market.

Nov 23rd 2026
4 Weeks
Innovating with the Business Model Canvas (Coursera) Coursera
University of Virginia

Innovating with the Business Model Canvas (Coursera)

Have you ever gotten really excited about reading or writing a business plan? You might have started out excited, but I’m going to bet you didn’t stay that way. Let’s be honest- business plans are boring and mostly ignored. In this course, you’ll learn key tools from the worlds of design thinking and Lean Startup to approach the Canvas with thoughtfulness, focus, and above all a test-driven approach to business model innovation.

Nov 23rd 2026
2 Weeks
Supply Chain Principles (Coursera) Coursera
Georgia Institute of Technology

Supply Chain Principles (Coursera)

This course will provide a solid understanding of what a supply chain is all about. The course: provides an introduction to Supply Chain; leverages graphics to promote the Integrated Supply Chain model; emphasizes understanding the Extended Supply Chain; presents a holistic approach – Incorporating People, Process, and Technology; calls-out industry-specific supply chain; leverages discussions, videos, quizzes, and questions for consideration; provides awareness of career path opportunities; presents emerging and futuristic trends in supply chain and given that at GT we are focused on developing what’s next in the world, we include Discussion of emerging and futuristic trends in supply chain. There is very little math involved in this course – so don’t worry at all about your math skills.

Nov 23rd 2026
5-12 Weeks