T565: Entrepreneurship in the Education Marketplace

*Lottery-Based Enrollment* Creative entrepreneurs change education by establishing new products and services. This course is designed to help prepare students as founders, to start their own companies, or as joiners, to join a startup or existing organization, typically in a product management, marketing/strategy or in a business development and fundraising role. 

Whether you intend to innovate in the commercial or non-profit sector, or operate in a tech company, a school district, a university, or a research institution; your effectiveness depends not only on good ideas, but also on market research and pragmatic business planning. This course provides an understanding of the unique dynamics of the education marketplace and a practical approach for analyzing market conditions and designing a business plan.

To understand the unique features of the education marketplace – including the sales cycle, funding sources, industries— inform students’ projects. Teams will create a Go-To-Market plan by answering such questions as: How do you use Competitive Analysis to design a marketing program? How do you create a dynamic financial plan to raise funding? How do you design and leverage a value proposition to differentiate your products and decision-making processes, and business structures – students will explore data sources and analyze market segments. Working in teams, students will learn how to evaluate competitors, integrate product development, funding, marketing, and sales and combine these components in a business plan.

Selected readings, case studies, and discussions with current leaders in education, philanthropy, impact investing and venture capital.