Course Highlights

• Focuses on the key choices and decisions required of startups—instead of one-size-fits-all approach
• Explains how to identify the paths your startup should and should not take
• Presented as a combination of interactive lectures, case analyses, and exercises
• Ideal for anyone pursuing entrepreneurial endeavors or involved in the start-up ecosystem
• Confers a certificate of course completion from the MIT Sloan School of Management

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Why attend Strategy for Startups?

There are many possible paths to success for good ideas. How can innovators and entrepreneurs weigh their options and confidently make choices to position their ventures for competitive advantage? This two-day entrepreneurship course provides a practical and systematic approach to exploring and evaluating the core choices that entrepreneurs need to make as they translate their ideas into reality.

To achieve competitive advantage, innovation-driven and growth-oriented entrepreneurs must balance experimentation and learning with the selection and implementation of a strategy. Designed for the leaders of innovation-driven and growth-oriented startups, this entrepreneurship course builds on an emerging body of work at MIT and elsewhere that moves beyond a one-size-fits-all approach to startups and instead focuses on the key choices that founders face as they start and scale their business.

As a participant in this course, you will learn how to make the right choices for your venture by exploring multiple market opportunities and strategies and then identifying a single strategy to pursue using a unique, MIT-developed framework. Most importantly, you’ll learn how to identify the paths for your venture that you should not take. You will also leave with a better understanding of the skills and behaviors required to scale your ventures over time.

Course Experience

Ideal for anyone pursuing entrepreneurial endeavors, this course is presented through a combination of interactive lectures, case analyses, and exercises. You will leave with:

• A deep understanding of the core strategic choices facing startup innovators
• A synthetic framework for the development and implementation of startup strategy in dynamic environments
• Key insights into skills and behaviors required to scale those ventures over time
• A methodology for evaluating the factors that are most important for successfully scaling an entrepreneurial venture

Learn more about the live online experience. 

Upon successful completion of this course, you will earn a certificate of completion from the MIT Sloan School of Management. This course may also count toward MIT Sloan Executive Certificate requirements.

Applying to the Course

We accept enrollments until the offering reaches capacity at which point we will maintain a waitlist. Many of the courses fill up several weeks in advance, so we advise that you enroll as early as possible to secure your seat.

You can begin the application process by using the red 'Enroll Now' bar at the bottom of the screen.

Have Questions?

Contact us if you would like to speak with a program director or visit our Frequently Asked Questions page for answers to common questions about our courses.