Startup Basics: Explore, Validate & Launch Your Business

Explore how the freemium model offers basic features for free to attract users and convert them to paying customers, with premium content and in-app purchases fueling revenue.

Learn the subscription based business model, where customers pay recurring fees for products and services, with cheaper yearly plans that encourage long-term engagement, via amazon prime videos and disney+ hotstar.

Explore aggregator business model as a bridge between consumers and small and medium businesses, listing partners and marketing the platform to deliver cheaper, better services like Zomato through high volume.

Explore how convenience payment services fuel fintech growth through low transaction fees, with PayPal as a leading example and Payoneer as an emerging alternative.

Explore the marketplace business model, a platform linking buyers and sellers with listings, logistics, delivery, and payments. See how Amazon uses commissions to bypass middlemen and lower prices through volume.

Explore the ecosystem business model where a company offers diverse products to build brand trust and monetize via in-app purchases and pay-per-click, illustrated by Google and Amazon Prime.

Understand the pay per use model as an alternative to subscription pricing, where customers pay only for what they use—illustrated by AWS’s server-based pricing.

Explore how edtech enables learning from anywhere with digital courses that reduce cost and democratize access, while highlighting revenue from course sales and marketing spend.

McDonald's grew from a San Bernardino burger stand to a global fast-food leader, expanding menus, franchise models, and loyalty through digital delivery and customer experience.

Explore how innovations fuel business growth by applying organizational, process, product, and marketing innovations across pricing, convenience, quality, speed, and community.

Identify your passion and convert it into a profitable business by dreaming big, assessing market viability, building an online presence, pursuing practical ideas, and assembling a capable team.

Explore red ocean versus blue ocean markets, comparing saturated, low-margin competition with uncontested, high-value opportunities, and learn how to create value and higher margins.

Explore how health, decorum, and disciplined planning differentiate rich households from the middle class, guiding decisions through daily routines and financial management like the 50/30/20 rule.

Nurture your business idea by defining a niche, identifying the audience and needs, analyzing market and competition, sharpening the concept, and applying it to real-world problems to create a plan.

Outline a business plan using traditional and lean startup formats. Explore sections like executive summary, market analysis, value proposition, channels, cost structure, and revenue streams to help investors understand ROI.

Learn how a product prototype serves as an early test model to gauge viability and forecast demand while refining user experience, consumer behavior, demography, and paying capacity.

Develop a product prototype to test ideas early in the product designing process by exploring physical prototypes, 3D printing, or CNC prototyping, and consider outsourcing while guarding secrecy.

Test the product prototype in a small market to gauge consumer response and refine it before launch. Ask seven key survey questions to capture value, usability, improvements, and cost savings.

Compare salary and equity for startups, outlining benefits, risks, and how to choose. Emphasize cash salaries for most roles, reserve equity for key partners to align long-term success.

Secure a solid supply chain and set launch goals focused on sales and new or repeat customers, then plan post-sales service and measure launch success.

Position your product in the market by researching competition and consumer needs, then communicate a message from your brand image that differentiates you from competitors and guides a focused launch.

Explore ten key product promotion strategies for Entrepreneurship 101 to reach the right consumers and launch your business, from organic social growth to YouTube and influencer partnerships.

Explore four pricing strategies—value based pricing, competitive pricing, price skimming, and penetration pricing—to set launch prices based on market, competition, and customer value.

Celebrate completing the course with the group. Enter the entrepreneurial void and start your business for the right reasons, not money, then join Discord to meet like-minded peers.