Module 6: Building a company

Modules 1-5 has taken us through all the steps from picking a problem to solve all the way to coming up with a new business line that generates revenue. However, there is more to building a company than just the business.

In this module, we will cover three key topics that will wrap up your knowledge about building a new venture from scratch.

  • Legal, accounting and marketing presence: All about incorporation, legal considerations, bank accounts, tax implications and a basic marketing presence
  • Team, talent and culture: Hiring and nurturing your team, developing an intentional company culture, designing your organization to grow with you
  • Funding your venture: Exploring multiple options to fund your for-profit or not-for-profit venture

Read on to learn more.

Legal considerations

You’ve got business idea you’ve validated, potential customers are eager to try your product/service, and your team are excited to keep building momentum. How do you legally protect yourself, your team, and your business? Read through this section to learn all the legal considerations you should be thinking of to avoid any legal troubles down the road.

Managing money for your new venture

How do you keep track of your new venture’s finances? Make sure you understand important financial terms, learn how to budget, track expenses and revenue efficiently. That said: at the end of the day, cash is oxygen. Remember: The first, second and third job of the CEO is to not run out of money.

Bare bones marketing presence

To be successful, you must break through everyone else’s marketing noise and capture your prospects and potential customers’ undivided attention. Here you will learn the tips and tricks from naming your startup, develop smart branding for your startup, and techniques to get your business noticed.

Team and Talent

The investors’ adage of: “We invest in teams, not ideas” is true. A high-performing, effective startup team is worth its weight in gold. But how do you build and develop a high-performance, effective startup team? Learn from Tufts’ collection of valuable insights and knowledge on how to build, compensate, and streamline your team to boost productivity and value of your startup.

Cultivating an intentional culture

Company culture can make or break a business. As you morph from idea stage to co-founding team to hiring your first few employees and beyond, it is beyond important to create an intentional healthy company culture. Learn the important considerations you should know to build a sustainable and long-lasting compay.

Founder dilemmas

Starting a new venture is hard. Having cofounders can make a huge difference. Cofounders serve as your thought partners, cheerleaders and you can also divide and conquer and get more done in the same amount of time. Forming a winning cofounding team takes careful consideration. Alignment in values and goals are key, as are your ability to build trust and confidence and keep communications open. This section covers topics  that can help you avoid common cofounder pitfalls.

Equity-free sources of cash

Contrary to common misconception, most new ventures don’t start by raising capital from venture capitalists or VCs (in which they receive an investment in retrun for giving away part of their company).  Not all businesses go that way and for businesses that do, they usually need a few years to build traction before they become attractive to VCs.  In this section, we will discuss equity free sources of cash that will sustain a new venture in the early days.

 

Traditional VC money

For growth-style businesses, a very good reason to raise VC money is to receive an injection of capital that will allow them to build traction quickly in a fast-moving and highly competitive market. In this section we will de-mystify how VCs work and provide first time founders with a roadmap to navigating this world.