HarvardAE Startup Bootcamp
Curriculum Overview
Live Sessions are held Wednesdays, 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm ET
MODULE ONE - Discovery
Learning Objectives
Understand the basics of entrepreneurship: the different phases of the entrepreneurial journey, the key skills and attributes of successful entrepreneurs, and the challenges and opportunities that entrepreneurs face.
Learn about the different phases of the entrepreneur journey
Learn about the different aspects of starting and running a business such as market research, business planning, financial management, marketing, and sales.
Gain exposure to different startup models and frameworks, and the different ways to start a business, such as bootstrapping, venture capital, and corporate entrepreneurship.
Key Concepts
An understanding of the course material
Onboarding
MODULE TWO - THE MARKET
Learning Objectives
How to assess overall market demand
How to segment the market
How to identify unmet market opportunities
Key Concepts
Market Demand
What's the mission?
What's the size of the market in $ ? (TAM, SAM, SOM)
How did you arrive at that number? (pricing per user * total users)
What's the YoY growth rate of the market? ( it is more than 20%?)
What are the market's segments?
What's the segment you focus on?
What's the customer persona of your segment?
What's the pain/job-to-be-done list of your customer?
How's the pain/job-to-be-done addressed today?
What are the shortcomings of the current solution?
Why hasn’t your solution been built before now?
Market's Unmet Demand
Who are your top 3 direct competitors?
How much do you know about them? (product, team, finance)
Who are your top 3 indirect competitors?
How much do you know about them? (product, team, finance)
What barriers exist in entering and growing in the market?
Is there a clear initial foothold for you in the market?
MODULE THREE – TRACTION
Learning Objectives
How to build a product or service
How to go to market
The difference in building traction in consumer vs enterprise space
Key Concepts
Product
What’s the vision?
Is your product launched?
What are the key value props of your product?
For each value prop, what are the key features?
What's the end-to-end experience of your product? (link to demo)
How is your value prop unique and compelling?
Why your product will sustain thru the competition?
Why do customers spend the effort switching to your product/services over the competition?
How to gather user feedback and make your product better?
Go-To-Market
How do you reach your customers by different segments?
Where are your customers?
How to calculate your projected market penetration?
For Enterprise
Hardware Sales / Preorder Sales / Paid Contracts / Annual Recurring Revenue / Monthly Recurring Revenue / GMV / Transaction volume /AUM
For Consumers
Repeating usage metrics: # of waitlisted users / repeat users (DAU, WAU, MAU) / churn rate / PMF Score or NPS Score
New usage metrics: # of new users per month / MoM growth
Monetization metrics: Monthly Recurring Revenue / Annual Recurring Revenue
MODULE FOUR – FOUNDER
Learning Objectives
Identify the unique strengths
Identify the alignment between company goals and personal goals
Key Concepts
What's your journey up to the point of starting this company?
What's the personal goal of starting this company?
What do you want to do in the short and long term?
Do you have to be CEO?
How does your company goal align with your personal goal?
When you are stressed, what do you do?
What's the equity split of your team?
MODULE FIVE – TEAM
Learning Objectives
Identify the skillset that the team needs
Define values & culture for the team
Define compensation & equity rewards for the team
Key Concepts
What's the current set of your team's capability that will make your product’s unique ability endure?
What skills do you still need to hire? This includes competencies, educational background, and professional experience.
How do you plan to attract top talent?
What are the shared values in your team?
How will you communicate, interact, and socially bond with your team?
What's the equity split of your team?
MODULE SIX – BUSINESS MODEL
Learning Objectives
Identify the revenue model
Identify the cost model
Identify the revenue/cost ratio
Key Concepts
What's your revenue model?
What's your current # of paid clients & target?
What's the average revenue per paid client & target?
What are your major revenue stream(s) and their breakdown?
What's your cost model?
What's your major variable cost?
What's your major overhead cost?
What's your LTV / CAC ratio & target?
What's your margin & target?
What's the link to your financial statements? (if you don't have it, what are your monthly burn and monthly revenue?)
MODULE SEVEN – FUNDRAISING
Learning Objectives
Define money use
Map out the runway
Define the key business result with the money raised
Key Concepts
How much money do you need to raise?
For what use?
At what valuation?
How much cash do you currently have in the bank?
What's the monthly cash output/input?
What's the runway? (amount of cash divided by the monthly output)
What's the key result you plan to deliver with the money raised?
What's the link to the business plan?
MODULE EIGHT - PROGRAM TAKEAWAY
Learning Objectives
Identify the key takeaways from your experience in the boot camp.
Reflect on what you have learned and how it will apply to your future entrepreneurial endeavors.
Identify areas where you need to improve and develop a plan for doing so.
Stay motivated and focused on your entrepreneurial goals.
Key Reflections
What have I learned from my experiences?
What are my strengths and weaknesses as an entrepreneur?
What are my goals for the future?
What challenges am I facing?