What Does it Take to Start a Business?

Maybe you’re thinking of striking out on your own to create a company or you’re ready to turn your passion into a side gig with real income. That spark you’re thinking about shouldn’t be left to chance — give your idea the strong foundation it deserves.

Entrepreneurship programs at Nexford help you build a successful startup. You’ll gain the skills, tools, experience, and the network to help you build a business that grows.

Understand the three stages of business preparation

The MSc in Entrepreneurship is project-based, meaning you’ll have an immersive experience that grows applicable startup skills. The program will walk you through these three foundational stages of business preparation:

Stage One: Developing a Strategy

Your startup needs a strategic plan. An idea can’t sustain growth and profitability without a plan in place. Nexford will teach you how to synthesize your startup’s financial forecasts, interpret key performance metrics, and apply leadership strategies to grow. This stage helps you demonstrate not only your startup’s purpose but also its financial viability.

Stage Two: Identifying a Product

This second stage will help you build a product roadmap that connects development to business strategy. Product design is just the beginning. We’ll help you align that product with your goals and do the work to see market success. When you align product development with business strategy, your idea can take off.

Stage Three: Securing Funding

Did you know 38 percent of new businesses fail from exhausting their cash reserves or from not securing enough capital? You can check out the startup cost calculator from the U.S. Small Business Administration to get a feel for what your idea might cost.

Building an investor pitch (and being comfortable with presenting that) is key. You have to be able to communicate plans for future funding. Nexford helps you lay those out and practice presenting them.

Learn how to build a business

The MSc in Entrepreneurship is a program built for startup founders or those ready to start one. You deserve someone in your corner when you’re going solo with your business. Nexford provides mentorship and peer groups to help you stay accountable and give you direction.

We help you build your business, one course at a time.

The full MSc in Entrepreneurship mirrors the journey of launching a startup. The courses take you through a comprehensive program to launch your idea into a successful business. Some of the courses are:

• Entrepreneurial Mindset Seminar

• Startup Strategy and Development

• Funding for Startup Founders

• Mastering Personal Marketing and Sales Skills

• Building and Scaling an Organization

These courses, plus others, will lead you to an entrepreneurship capstone. This pinnacle project allows you to apply what you’ve learned by creating a business plan and an investor pitch deck. Those experiences can fuel your business and help you start something that lasts.

Our programs are structured to fit into your working life

The graduate program typically takes 18 months to complete, but you can choose to complete it faster. Plus, the more quickly you finish, the more money you’ll save.

The program offers an affordable monthly rate, so completing the coursework more quickly can save you some of those payments.

That average rate would mean spending about 15 hours a week on the program. If you’re wondering how to make that work, check out these tips to maximize spending 15 hours on school during a work week.

The format is learner-centric and 100 percent online. We help you build an entrepreneurial foundation at any stage of life, from any location.

If the full program isn’t the right fit, you can still get targeted support

Not interested in the full program, but still need some support? Nexford offers three course pathways that address targeted areas of building a business.

• Building a Start-Up: Three courses that help you turn an idea into a pitch.

• Concept to Product Market Fit: Three courses that take a product from idea to market fit.

• Business Skills for Founders: Three courses to help founders fuel sustainable growth after launch.

You can absolutely do this. You just need to know how.

You’ve got an idea you believe in, and we believe it can come to life. We understand it’s tough to make time in your week — carving out time to grow your career takes work.

Nexford makes it easier. We have the courses you need to fuel real skills — real skills that can launch your business.

If you’re ready to build a business with a foundation for success, learn more about our Entrepreneurship programs.