Classes at MIT

Paul teaches all levels of entrepreneurship to students across the five schools at MIT including undergraduate, MBA, PhD, and executive students. His courses span from the largest foundational entrepreneurship class, New Enterprises, to a smaller advanced class that he designed, Venture Creation Tactics.

15.390 New Enterprises

New Enterprises, which is believed to be the oldest entrepreneurship course in the country, covers the process of identifying and quantifying market opportunities, then conceptualizing, planning, and starting a new, technology-based enterprise. Topics include opportunity assessment, the value proposition, the entrepreneur, legal issues, entrepreneurial ethics, the business plan, the founding team, seeking customers, and raising funds. Students develop detailed business plans for a start-up. Intended for students who want to start their own business, further develop an existing business, be a member of a management team in a new enterprise, or better understand the entrepreneur and the entrepreneurial process.

Learn more about New Enterprises from MIT News »

15.388 Venture Creation Tactics

Venture Creation Tactics focuses on building your specific business, experimenting with the practical skills that will help you to take your work from other entrepreneurship classes and enter the market. It connects the dots from the frameworks and concepts in the introductory entrepreneurship courses and guides students on how to tactically apply them in real situations. Topics are integrated and include but are not limited to, primary market research, digital advertising, outbound sales, UX design, rapid prototyping, recruiting early team members, and raising money.

Learn more about Venture Creation Tactics from the Trust Center »

15.A04 Hitchhiker’s Guide to the MIT Entrepreneurship Galaxy (“First Year Seminar”)

Seminar for first-year undergraduate MIT students. Provides an overview to the sometimes complex MIT entrepreneurial ecosystem, and how best to navigate it for each student's personal journey. Includes various perspectives with a diverse and dynamic group of guest speakers who lived the journey students are about to go on themselves. The class will discusses tools like the Orbit online platform, MIT's 70+ innovation and entrepreneurship-focused courses, mentoring options like the Trust Center's Entrepreneurs in Residence or the Venture Mentoring Service, and organizations like StartLabs and MIT Sandbox. The goal of this seminar is to make students comfortable from day one to access the incredible opportunities to really explore expanding your entrepreneurial skill set in a highly supportive, penalty free and resources rich environment.

15.378 Building an Entrepreneurial Venture: Advanced Tools & Techniques aka GSD (Get S*** Done)

GSD is an intensive, project-based subject intended for startup teams already working on building a new, high-impact venture. Applies advanced entrepreneurial techniques to build and iterate a venture in a time-compressed manner. Includes weekly coaching sessions with instructors and peers, as well as highly interactive and customized sessions that provide practical, in-depth coverage on key topics in entrepreneurship. Topics include venture creation, primary market research, product development, market adoption, team and culture, and scaling processes with constrained resources. Taught Spring 2020.

SCM.281 Public Speaking

Students further develop and refine public speaking skills through engaging interactive workshops. Techniques learned help students become dynamic and authentic speakers. Includes speaking preparation, practice, tactics related to content & delivery, storytelling, and crafting presentations.