Full course description
Course created in collaboration with the NMSU College of Engineering
Modality: Cohort-based
Duration: 8-week course
Delivery: Online
Engaged Hours: 5-7 hours/ week
Language: English
Instructor: Brooke Montgomery
Prerequisites: Basic understanding of business and engineering principles
Transform your innovative idea into a thriving business with our 8-week course in Engineering Entrepreneurship. This course shows you how to implement the 24 steps of MIT’s renowned Disciplined Entrepreneurship framework, providing you with essential tools and strategies to guide your business idea from initial concept through to market success. Master each step of the entrepreneurial journey, from market research and customer profiling to product development and scaling.
Course Quick Facts
MIT-Endorsed Framework: Leverage Bill Aulet’s Disciplined Entrepreneurship methodology to systematically create and scale your business.
Hands-On Learning: Engage in practical activities, real-world simulations, and receive personalized feedback to refine your business model.
Comprehensive Curriculum: Explore each stage of business development, from identifying your market and customers to designing your product and developing a revenue model.
Strategic Growth: Learn to map customer acquisition, create compelling value propositions, and plan for sustainable business growth.
About This Course
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Conduct research and explain your market and customer
- Identify and explain who your customer is
- Outline and explain what you can do for your customers
- Develop a process that explains how your customer acquires your product
- identify and select a business/revenue model that will allow you to make money off your product
- Identify and determine key assumptions about your business that will help you design and build your product
- Identify ways that you can scale your business and create a product plan to strategize
Courses Modules
This 8-week course will show you that entrepreneurship can be taught. Receive comprehensive training in how to create an innovative business.
Course Modules |
Module One: Market Research Familiarize yourself with foundational market research techniques to identify your market, understand your competition, and discover your target audience’s needs. Learn key qualitative and quantitative methods to validate your business ideas and test assumptions with real customer insights. |
Module Two: Who Is Your Customer? Identify your ideal customer by applying a systematic approach to market segmentation, end-user profiling, and beachhead market selection. Characterize your target market, calculate your total addressable market, and pinpoint scalable opportunities to ensure long-term business success. |
Module Three: What Can You Do for Your Customer? Discover how your product can stand out by identifying what drives customers to buy and by defining your unique value proposition. Highlight your core strengths, quantify your product's benefits, and create compelling visuals that demonstrate how you meet your customers' top priorities. |
Module Four: How Does Your Customer Acquire Your Product Map the customer journey by identifying key decision-makers and influencers involved in purchasing your product. Analyze and estimate your sales cycle, and outline a strategic process to effectively acquire and retain paying customers over time. |
Module Five: How Do You Make Money Off of Your Product Develop a profitable business model by exploring various revenue models, pricing frameworks, and strategies tailored to your product. Identify the right pricing approach, understand customer acquisition costs, and calculate the value of each customer to maximize profitability. |
Module Six: How Do You Design and Build Your Product Design and build your product by systematically identifying and testing key business assumptions to minimize risks. Develop a Minimum Viable Business Product (MVBP) to validate your concept and create customer experiences that reflect the final product. |
Module Seven: How Do You Scale Your Business Get ready to scale your business effectively by exploring the differences between growth and scaling and identifying key strategies for market expansion and capital funding. Plan future offerings, calculate market sizes, and develop a roadmap for sustained growth and market leverage. |
Requirements
To succeed in this course, you will need:
- Basic understanding of business and engineering principles.
- Access to a computer with an internet connection (Windows 10/OS X 10.13 or higher).
- The latest versions of Chrome or Firefox with Javascript enabled.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications.
- Ability to conduct research and send/receive emails with attachments.
- Capability to save backups of all coursework.
About The Instructor
Brooke Montgomery serves as a professor of practice for the NMSU College of Engineering - Senior Engineering Capstone Design Program. Previously, she served as a program director for Arrowhead Center and is the director of Studio G, Innoventure, and AIBE while serving as a manager and teacher for NMSU’s National Science Foundation I-Corps regional site. Brooke led Studio G’s borderplex and statewide efforts in student entrepreneurship and innovation by providing direction for Studio G initiatives, strategies, goals, and performance while serving the diverse needs of student entrepreneurship and economic mobility across the state. She delivers experiential learning opportunities that foster inquiry, diversity and inclusion, social mobility, and service to the broader community.
Brooke holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology with a minor in Political Science from the University of California, Irvine and a Master of Arts degree in Education and Post Graduate work focused on Multivariate Research Procedures/Analyses, Advanced Measurement and Statistics, and Educational Leadership and Evaluation from New Mexico State University. Brooke also serves as an entrepreneur serving as CEO for Pivotal Biotech LLC and holding patents in the respiratory medical device industry, inclusive of Moisture Trap Assembly for Respiratory Circuit Publication number: 20170049987 and Adapter with Moisture Trap Assembly Publication number: 20180200469.
Earn A Digital Badge
- Shareable online and on your resume.
- Enhanced visibility to employers.
- Validate your skills quickly.
- Align with industry standards.
- Showcase your achievements on platforms like LinkedIn to highlight your expertise and professional value.
Why Microlearning?
Targeted Knowledge: Our microlearning approach breaks complex topics into manageable, engaging modules, making learning effective and enjoyable.
Flexible Access: Study on your schedule. Access course materials anytime, from anywhere, and progress through the curriculum at your own pace.
Advance Your Career: Equip yourself with the knowledge and skills to advance your career and drive innovation in your field.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Microlearning?
Microlearning is an approach to learning that breaks complex topics into manageable, engaging modules, making learning effective and enjoyable. It emphasizes quick comprehension and long-term retention of information, often tailored to specific learning objectives and accessible on demand.
What is Disciplined Entrepreneurship?
Disciplined Entrepreneurship is a 24-step process for creating innovative businesses, developed by MIT's Bill Aulet. It’s built on the idea that anyone can learn and master entrepreneurship with the right approach and tools.
Do I need any prior entrepreneurial experience?
No prior entrepreneurial experience is needed. A basic grasp of business and engineering principles is all you need to benefit from this course.
How much time should I expect to dedicate to this course each week?
Plan to spend approximately 5-7 hours per week on coursework, including watching lectures, participating in discussion boards, and working on assignments and projects.