10 Best Online Entrepreneurship Courses for First-time Entrepreneurs


One might wonder how a 4-hour course can be any close to a full-fledged MBA. Let’s find out!

The Pandemic lay many obligations throughout the education industry and the pressure on both teachers and students reached a peak. It was truly a time instilled with panic and terror all over the world.

Though not an ideal way of learning for age-old universities who believe in the chalk-and-board method, every educational institute was bound to incorporate online courses in their curriculum to keep the industry afloat.

One might marvel at how a small course, some even FREE, would benefit an individual with entrepreneurship understanding. The list of online entrepreneurship courses given below helps students understand the market, carry out market analysis, soft skills to run a successful business, and more.

Although most people would argue the importance of a traditional MBA to start a startup business, the courses listed below provide valuable skills and knowledge for newbies in the field. 

These short online entrepreneurship courses will help you understand the know-how about the field in just a few hours.

It’s the golden door to put your first step in!

1. Startup School Curriculum by YCombinator

YCombinator is one of the biggest venture capitalists in the world, investing $500,000 twice a year in startups with higher returns potential. 

YC mothers these startups for spam of 3 months, aiming at helping the startups to get their foot off the ground. Some startups come to YC even before they have launched, while some come seeking help after a few years of launching without much result. 

Not only do they assist these startups for 3 months until the demo day, but also prove to be an incredible value resource in the future as well. YC invests $500,000 in every company and the investment is made on 2 separate safes –

  • YC invests $125,000 on a post-money safe in return for 7% of your company (the “$125k safe”)
  • YC invests $375,000 on an uncapped safe with a Most Favored Nation (“MFN”) provision (the “MFN safe”)

Startup School Curriculum is divided into 8 modules that cover everything from startup basics to a full-fledged launch and scaling of your startup baby. The first module very interestingly focuses on why you should start a startup in the first place. Although the word ‘entrepreneurship’ might sound very fascinating to many, only a few realize the benefits (and struggles) of starting a business.

It explains why one must leave their FAANG (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google) and the strategy to leave a big technical corporate job without hurting your reputation all the same. 


2. Business Model Canvas – A Tool for Entrepreneurs and Innovators

This is a project-centered FREE online entrepreneurship course provided by Coursera.

The course requires you to use the business model canvas innovation tool for personal or corporate needs. It discusses the 9 key elements in a business model namely Customer Segments, Value Propositions, Channels, Customer Relationships, Key Resources, Key Activities, Key Partners, Revenue Streams, and Cost Structure.

It is a good option to learn the real-time business model and intrapreneur skills required to lead teams, projects, and strategies. It creates a leadership mindset and is a good opportunity to practice and showcase your work.

The course requires 18 hours to complete and offers a flexible schedule, after which you gain a shareable certificate.

A real-time tool for tech savvies out there, this course is one of the best online entrepreneurship courses out there!

The course consists of the following sections 

  • The Business Model Canvas
  • The Customer Segments
  • The Value Propositions
  • Channels and Customer Relationships
  • Revenue Streams and Key Resources
  • Key Activities and Key Partnerships
  • The Cost Structure
  • Presenting The Business Model


3. Technology Entrepreneurship – Lab to Market

Another FREE online entrepreneurship course on this list, is a self-paced 5-week long course.

Government and big universities often spend a huge chunk on researching for insightful ideas that have potential in the market. However, not all of them make it, and the money invested is often lost.

Isn’t it compelling to find out what suffers and what stays? This introductory course developed in collaboration with the Laboratory for Innovation Science at Harvard and the University of California San Diego gives an astute understanding of how to match technology with market needs and produce a product that is accessible to all.

The syllabus is divided into 5 sections as follows –

  • Section 1: Problem-Solving and Systematic Innovation
  • Section 2: Matching Needs and Seeds
  • Section 3: Generating Business and Operating Models
  • Section 4: Determining Readiness and Market Fit
  • Section 5: Financing Your Venture

4. How to Come Up With Killer Business Ideas

Don’t want to end up becoming a wantrepreneur? Take this course!

One of the most interesting online entrepreneurship courses you’ll find on the internet is provided by Udemy. This course includes 7 hours of on-demand video and  60+ downloadable resources accessible for a lifetime.

With 13 articles based on various industry topics and an instructor rated 4.9 out of 5 for all the courses they teach on entrepreneurship, this is one of the top online courses for entrepreneurs to enroll in this year.

The course curriculum contains the following parts-

  • Introduction
  • Jumpstart Strategies
  • Laying the groundwork
  • Making it fit
  • Ways to come up with ideas
  • Business models
  • Evaluate and test
  • Idea advice
  • Web app – live
  • Bonus section

All in all, the course is the right fit for your need to validate your business ideas based on technical research and market understanding.


5. Becoming an Entrepreneur

New to the entrepreneurial market? This course is for you!

One of the top online courses for entrepreneurs, the course entails a wide range of information to help new entrepreneurs review other successful entrepreneurs, learn techniques to generate innovative ideas, conduct market analysis and market intelligence, and more.

It is a micro-course offered on both individual learning and community learning basis and covers 4 major topics as follows –

  • Deciding to become an entrepreneur
  • Entrepreneurs as small business owners
  • The nature of entrepreneurship
  • Before starting your own business

The course has a duration of 2 weeks, each week consisting of 10 working hours. The assessments have a duration of 20 hours. After completion, you will receive a certificate under the credentials, ‘Certificate Higher Education Business (OERu).’


6. Introduction to Business Management

This course, as their tutor explains, teaches the basic fundamentals of starting your own business. The course is divided into 3 modules namely Business Management, Environment and Customer Service, and Course Assessment.

The first module is divided into several topics such as Business Management, Business Analysis, and Project Management to name a few. All in all, this is a very important module providing all theoretical understanding of running a business.

The second module contains soft skills or skills required to run a business besides the core understanding that comes from module one. It contains topics like communication skills, negotiation skills, conflict management human resource management, and so on. It focuses on discussing all skills required to be a leader and run your business efficiently.

The last module is an assessment. It is compulsory to complete all courses in order to receive a certificate.

The entire course contains 24 topics and requires about 4 hours to complete.

Looking for the street smarts of running a business? This course is for you!


7. Business Accounting Basics

Surely, if you are above 18, you are solely responsible for keeping track of your expenses. Isn’t business accounting just the same?

This is acclaimed to be one of the most knowledgeable startup courses for entrepreneurs and it teaches everything you need to know about your finances. This 15-25 hours course lasts for 5 weeks, requiring you to attend it for at least 3 to 5 hours per week.

The 4 basic financial statements covered are –

  • Balance Sheet
  • Income Statement
  • Statement of Retained Earning
  • Statement of Cash Flows

The course dives deep into each statement, explaining the value, methodology, and project profitability required to analyze a company. A business owner is also a leader who is responsible for making important decisions for his firm. Although most initial work is a guess, the financial situation of the firm, cash flow, and expenses help make wise assumptions.

Thus, accounting is the parachute you need to use during the free fall of your business in the market.


8. New Venture Finance – Startup Funding for Entrepreneurs

The biggest roadblock for budding entrepreneurs is raising funds for their startups.

Be it self-funding, hunting for investors, or persuading angel investors,  it’s a double roller-coaster ride for most.

The next course on the list is a FREE top online course for entrepreneurs. It’s a 100% online course with a flexible schedule that takes about 20 hours to complete. The course aims at providing entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs with a step-wise wisdom guide on funding.

It also explains how one should examine all the available funding opportunities, choose the ones that align with the brand’s needs, and also accept the fact that not all options will come through. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

The course teaches the basics of finance, valuations, dilution, and non-dilutive funding options. The term sheet, pitches to investors, company valuations, and fundraising options are some important aspects that the course covers.

Aiming at eliminating all fundraising roadblocks from your mind, this is undoubtedly one of the best online entrepreneurship courses for FREE. Hurry up!


9. Starting a Business 1 – Vision and Opportunity

Stuck with the business know-how and blurred vision? This course is for you!

One of the shortest online entrepreneurship courses, it lasts for 2 weeks only. Each week requires only 2 hours in totality, making this the most feasible to take up if you are a busybody.

This course focuses on having a clear vision, no matter how big or small the business idea is. The website provides 6 courses on entrepreneurship, this being the first in the series. The first step of starting a business is putting your thoughts on paper. Creating a tangible business idea and marketing model requires you to have a clear vision, see right through the opportunities, and turn your thoughts into reality.

The course is provided by the University of Leeds and helps students decide which subject to choose in their undergraduate studies.

It is advisable to take up all 6 courses in the series to have a full-knowledge about starting a startup for entrepreneurs.


10. Product Strategy to Grow Your Business

The Business 101 formula is acing a startup idea and developing an effective product strategy.

This is one of the shortest online entrepreneurship courses on the list you can finish in less than 3 hours. The course comprises 3 modules namely – Building a Successful Product Strategy, MVP ( Minimum Viable Product), and an Assessment.

The first module, Building a Successful Product Strategy, teaches the building blocks of a product strategy, common mistakes to avoid, and a long-standing vision.

The second module demonstrates product definition, MVP guidelines, and creating a product roadmap that eventually results in creating a product-market fit for your target audience.

The course also provides a downloadable planning worksheet to use while creating a perfect product strategy for your business.

Thus, rated as one of the top online courses for entrepreneurs, the course successfully covers all the hurdles one might encounter while creating a product strategy.


Conclusion

Entrepreneurship, as glittery as it sounds, requires creativity, innovation, and resilience to survive in the cutting-edge market. The courses listed above are our personal curation and cover important topics such as market needs, developing a product-market fit, marketing strategies, and financial aspects of starting your own startup. However, we suggest researching about entrepreneurship courses based on your requirements.

Do comment down your favourites? Let’s tackle some real-world entrepreneurship problems together!


Suraj Shrivastava

Suraj Shrivastava at ForgeFusion shares simple, effective ways to grow your business using SEO, content marketing, and AI, learned from helping over 50 companies. When he’s not working, he loves teaching others or watching documentaries.

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