Launch Your Startup (Online)
Requirements
This program is suitable for attendees at all executive levels.
Requirements
This program is suitable for attendees at all executive levels.
Launch Your Startup (Online)
Requirements
This program is suitable for attendees at all executive levels.
Overview
At Columbia Business School, instilling entrepreneurial thinking in our students is part of our mission. Entrepreneurship is fully integrated throughout the MBA curriculum, and now — for the first time ever — we are offering an open-enrollment executive education program on the topic.
The eight-week Launch Your Startup (Online) program — comprised of four live and four self-directed modules — offers an intensive learning experience that focuses on the creation, evaluation, development, and launch readiness of a new business or social enterprise. Program participants learn from world-renowned Columbia Business School faculty and tap into the expertise of the University's vibrant entrepreneurial community.
Each participant enters the program with a preliminary venture idea that they would like to work on. Using a proprietary sequence of eight modules, the program leverages associated work assignments to support the development of the new venture. Participants learn how to assess the industry and market attractiveness for their venture idea, form competitive strategies, develop minimum viable products and services, prioritize customer acquisition strategies for early traction, and generate full financial statements.
Throughout the program, participants refine their venture’s hypothesized business model based on instructor, peer, and customer feedback. They leave the program fully equipped with the tools and frameworks required to create and launch their new startup.
Please contact our Learning Solutions Specialists at execedonline@gsb.columbia.edu for a personal conversation.
“Do you have a new business or social enterprise idea? This program helps you develop a comprehensive venture plan while strengthening your entrepreneurial thinking through a blend of cutting-edge theory and practice in startup design, entrepreneurship, innovation, and leadership.”
Jack McGourty
Faculty DirectorHear from faculty director Jack McGourty as he introduces the program.
Impact
Participants will walk away with in-depth knowledge on:
- Common challenges faced by entrepreneurs as they build a new venture
- How to best frame a venture opportunity
- How to develop a business model to test their assumptions about product offerings and market demand
- How to define their early-target customer and engage in effective customer discovery
- How to assess the current market and position their product offerings for competitive advantage
- Agile ways to develop new product or service that will gain market traction quickly
- Current approaches for cost-effective customer acquisition and retention
- How to build credible financials based on reasonable, benchmarked assumptions
- Critical metrics to measure and monitor new venture success
- How to build the right team and culture for a successful launch and early-stage growth
Upon completion of this program, you will earn one credit towards a Certificate in Business Excellence with select alumni and tuition benefits. Learn more.
Program Structure
Through interactive live lectures with Columbia Business School faculty, self-directed modules, and hands-on assignments, participants learn the core elements of venture creation and planning in a specially sequenced modular format. Each module provides the participant with the knowledge and tools required to develop a comprehensive new venture plan.
At each stage, participants are exposed to critical terms, tools that support research and decision making, and explanations of how each major planning activity fits into the new venture creation process. During each module, participants respond to a series of venture questions and exercises, guiding them through the planning process in a self-directed manner.
Modules include:
- Your Idea: Articulating the problem to be solved and the potential benefit to the customer (live lecture)
- Your Business Model: Developing an initial business model to support early assumption testing and validation (self-directed lecture)
- Your Customer: Testing your assumptions about the alignment between your product offering and targeted customers through customer interviews and surveys (live lecture)
- Your Market: Synthesizing the unique benefits of new offerings and positioning against the competition in the marketplace (self-directed lecture)
- Your Product: Designing minimal viable products to quickly test customer acceptance (live lecture)
- Your Brand: Creating an integrated marketing and brand strategy for early traction (self-directed lecture)
- Your Financial Plan: Identifying revenue sources while minimizing cost factors with a focus on break-even and cash management (self-directed lecture)
- Your Launch: Selecting team members with the right mix of knowledge and skills and creating a culture for sustained growth (live lecture)
To see the full curriculum with session descriptions, please download the program agenda.
“The Launch Your Startup course helped me understand and work on what is required to start a successful and sustainable business. It comprises every aspect which is needed and gives great guidance, delivered by a world-class faculty.”
Claus Brauner
Senior HR BP at Allianz SE“The program is complete — it takes you from the idea to timeline to launch. I am also impressed by the professor's video feedback. He took time to read the decks and give precise insight.”
Martin Labrecque
Managing Director, Senior Relations Management at Desjardins Capital Markets“The program really helped me better structure my business idea and bring it from idea to a plan. I very much appreciated the personal/individual feedback of [faculty director] Jack McGourty, which gave me additional impulses to challenge some aspects of my idea.”
Benno Leuenberger
Founder, CEO of akkselParticipant Profile
The Launch Your Startup (Online) program is designed for participants interested in creating and launching a new corporate or nonprofit venture. The program is ideal for individuals who have a new business or social enterprise idea prior to joining the class. New ventures can be considered as a new standalone startup or an internal corporate startup. Participants may join as a single participant or as part of a venture team.
Years of Management Experience
Job Function
Faculty
Jack McGourty
Adjunct Professor of Business, Management Division
Director of Community and Global Entrepreneurship
Jack McGourty
Adjunct Professor of Business, Management Division
Director of Community and Global Entrepreneurship
For more than 20 years, Jack McGourty has been an active member of Columbia University's entrepreneurial community, establishing an undergraduate minor in tech entrepreneurship, teaching core and advanced courses in entrepreneurship, and launching the federally funded Columbia University-Harlem Small Business Development Center, offering technical assistance to local entrepreneurs and small business owners.
McGourty is the founder and director of Venture for All®, a global program designed to educate aspiring entrepreneurs and build capacity for high-potential startup ventures in emerging markets, with the ultimate goal to enhance entrepreneurial ecosystems in support of regional innovation and economic development.
Over the years, his research findings into product development processes and product innovation have been implemented by a number of industrial and government organizations including 3M, Allied Signal, AT&T, Becton Dickinson, Chrysler, Dow Chemical, Exxon Mobil, General Electric, Honeywell, Intel, Lipton, Lucent Technologies, Merck, Panasonic, and the U.S. Army.
McGourty is the recipient of the Columbia Engineering School’s Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award and Columbia Business School’s Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence. He is also co-author of the upcoming Wiley publication, Patterns of Entrepreneurship Management, 6th Edition.
FAQ
Certification
I’m interested in the Certificate in Business Excellence (CIBE), how do I get started?
At Columbia Business School Executive Education, you’ll be able to customize a unique learning experience by selecting programs that best interest you and are most suited for your needs. Any completed program, regardless of format (live online, in-person, or online), will count towards the Certificate in Business Excellence.
Which programs qualify for the CIBE?
Any completed executive education program, regardless of format (live-online, in-person, or online), will count towards the Certificate in Business Excellence. Partner programs will also count towards the certificate.
What programs are considered partner programs?
Executive education programs developed and administered with our educational partners, bring the best of our combined knowledge, thought leadership, resources, and expertise. Kindly find a list of our partners here on our partnership page.
What are the costs of the certificate?
There’s no set cost associated with the certificate path since you’re able to customize your learning journey with in-person and online programs (price will vary depending on the program type and length).
Are there any tuition assistance or scholarships?
At Columbia Business School Executive Education, we offer non-degree and non-credit-based professional development programs to the global business community. As our programs are non-degree and non-credit, they do not qualify for financial aid.
How are CIBE credits determined?
Credits for a program are determined by the program duration and total learning hours.
Where do I find information on the credit value for a program?
You will find this information on each program page. Credits range from 0.5 credits – 26 credits per program.
How do I get enrolled in the CIBE?
Your certificate journey will start with your first program, and you have 4 years to complete your CIBE. You may register for any of our executive education programs on each program page. You may enroll using the “Enroll Now” button, and the application process should take 5-10 minutes.
How do I receive credits?
You are required to fully attend a program and complete all necessary coursework in order to receive CIBE credits. Credits are only awarded after you complete a program.
How do I check the status of my Certificate completion?
Kindly reach out to a Learning Solutions representative for any questions on the status of your CIBE credit count.
Do CIBE credits expire?
Credits are only valid for four years (Please note: While we are not able to offer in-person programming due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the duration to complete the programming has been extended to five years.). If you have not completed your CIBE within four years, we will only count non-expired credits towards your CIBE credit total.
Does the Certificate in Business Excellence expire?
Your Certificate in Business Excellence does not expire. Once you become a certificate recipient, you will join the greater alumni community at Columbia Business School.
I’ve reached 18 CIBE credits, what’s next?
Congratulations! You should receive a digital copy of your certificate at the end of your program. If you do not receive a copy from your program manager, kindly contact your Learning Solutions representative or your program manager for next steps.
Will I receive a physical certificate?
Yes, all certificate recipients will receive a physical plaque. If you completed your last CIBE credits through an online or live online program, you will receive a plaque in the mail. We will ask for you to provide us with your preferred mailing address and our vendor will ship the plaque directly to you. We kindly ask for your patience as the processing time takes a few weeks. Please contact your program manager for the status of your plaque. If you completed your last CIBE credits through an in-person program, you will receive a plaque at the end of the program.
How do I get access to my alumni benefits?
Once you complete your CIBE, we kindly ask for your patience as we process your alumni credentials. The processing time can take anywhere from 8 to 10 weeks long.
Can I refer colleagues to the Certificate in Business Excellence?
If you are a certificate holder, you may sponsor up to four colleagues each year for full-price in-person programs lasting up to seven days and all full-price online programs.
Can I add the Certificate in Business Excellence to LinkedIn?
Yes! We will provide you with instructions on how to add your certificate to your LinkedIn profile after you become a Certificate recipient.
Preferred Pricing and Tuition Benefits for Alumni
Are there preferred pricing options available for live online programs?
Yes, preferred pricing is available for groups of two or more. To inquire, email execed@gsb.columbia.edu.
As a Columbia Business School alumni am I eligible for tuition benefit?
Columbia Business School alumni and up to four of their colleagues are eligible for a 25 percent tuition benefit for this program. More on the Alumni Tuition Benefit.
Assignments
Will there be any homework or assignments?
For select programs, there will be some assignments to complete after the end of select program sessions. Assignments will typically consist of readings, self-reflections, and brief assessments. This approach is designed to help you practice your learnings.
How long will assignments take?
We do not expect that homework assignments will take up a large amount of time to complete.
Will there be any examinations or grades?
There will be no examinations or grades for our live online programs.
Access
When will I receive information on how to log in?
You will receive your login information immediately before the program start date. Kindly reach out to your Program Manager for further instructions on how to prepare and log in for the program.
What platform do you use to deliver live online programs?
We use the Zoom platform.
Recordings
Will sessions be recorded?
Most live online sessions (depending on the faculty and program) will be recorded and will be available for you upon request. In-person programs are not recorded.
How long will they be available for?
Recordings will be available for the duration of the program. Depending on the program, some recordings may have additional availability post-program.
How do I gain access to the recordings?
Your Program Manager will provide you with further instructions on how to gain access to recorded sessions.
Experience
How do participants network during the live online programs? Will I participate in group work?
Our live online programs are fully virtual and highly interactive. Most programs also feature small group work for a high-touch learning experience. The virtual program experience allows participants to feel comfortable and productive learning at home while preserving the interconnectivity of an in-person program.
What are the networking opportunities during the live online sessions?
Yes. Examples of this may include: virtual lunches, virtual receptions, use of the chat function, and virtual office hours for you to connect with participants and faculty. Please refer to the agenda of the specific live online program you are interested in for details.
Live Online Format
What are live online programs?
Now, more than ever, executives need the knowledge and insights to help them adapt to change and solve complex problems. As the business world has evolved, we have applied new best practices to continuously improve your learning experience. With our live online programs, we are taking select in-person programs and are translating them to a fully live and virtual format, delivering the same interactive sessions with faculty and real-time application of the knowledge you would experience in person.
What is the difference between live online and online programs?
Compare our two formats for distance learning here.
What does “live online” mean?
Live online programs are fully virtual, highly interactive programs taking place in real-time, often featuring small group work for a high-touch learning experience. Our Columbia Business School faculty stream to you live and virtually, no matter where you are located.
Are all live online programs the same in terms of format and length?
No. Please refer to the agenda of the specific live online program you are interested in. For any questions, please reach out to the Contact person listed on the program's web page.
Do I have to attend all live sessions?
Participants are expected to attend all sessions. However, we understand that participants may have scheduling conflicts. Kindly let us know in advance whenever possible and your Program Manager would be happy to discuss how we can help you get up to speed. We will also record most faculty sessions, which you can review upon request.
Will I need to attend the live sessions even if I’m based in a different time zone?
You are required to attend all live sessions even if you are based in a different time zone. (Kindly reach out to the Learning Solutions team to learn more about our asynchronous program offerings, which consist predominantly of pre-recorded videos that you can watch on your own time).
COVID-19 Safety Plans
Please review the latest COVID-19 related protocols at Columbia Business School.
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