Free Startup Course: Learn How to Build and Grow a Startup

In the past 10 years of running several freelancing projects, blogging projects, having worked in various startups and finally building my own digital marketing training company and agency, I’ve learned a thing or two about how to build a startup from scratch and make it sustainable.

And I observed that a lot of my readers including you want to learn about how to build startups. And there is no course that is made to teach this in the Indian context. If you dream of having your own company with a good product / service that makes consistent healthy revenues and profits, this series is for you.

Based on my interaction with my students so far, I have developed the following curriculum. If you have any more questions, I want you to leave a comment on this article about what you want to learn about. This will help me to structure this course in a way that would be helpful for most people.

  • Module 1: Introduction to this Startup Course
    • Learnings from my Startup Journey
    • Is this Course for You? Will it help your goals?
    • How this course is structured and delivered
    • Making the best use of this course
    • Joining the community of startup entrepreneurs
  • Module 2: How to Make the Jump from Employee to Startup Founder
    • Why starting up is safer than having a job (automation taking away jobs)
    • Income pattern from a job vs. a business (diversification & compounding)
    • How to exit from a job by saving money using the ghost job technique
    • Defining the purpose of your startup (wealth, value creation, lifestyle or change the world)
  • Module 3: Types of Business & the Best one for You
    • To have a partner & co-founder or not?
    • Do you need capital or not? Types of Business that don’t need capital
    • How to split % between partners
    • Products or Services? Which one is best?
    • Best Business models for Introverts & Solo workers (Solopreneur)
    • Legal business structures in India (pros and cons)
    • How to handle Direct (Income tax) and Indirect Taxes (GST)
  • Module 4: Minimum Viable Business
    • Why you should start a project on the side with no capital
    • What is a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
    • How to Build a MVP and start making money on the side
    • Do you need an office space? How to find cheap spaces.
    • Do you need a logo, business card and a nice website?
    • How to get work done from freelance websites
  • Module 5: Naming Your Startup, Branding & Positioning
    • What’s in a Name? Can you name anything?
    • How to think about long term branding with your name
    • The 5 types of brand names
    • How the name can make or break your business in the long term
    • Laws of branding, positioning and getting mind share of people
  • Module 6: Learning and Growth
    • Where to learn more about entrepreneurship? (Books, Audiobooks, Blogs, Meetups)
    • Top 10 Books you should read before you start
    • How to get validated learnings by executing things fast.
    • How to reverse engineer products and services from competitor spying
  • Module 7: Hiring & Team Building
    • Does your business just need you or a team?
    • Hiring freelancers vs. Full time employees (pros and cons)
    • Where from to hire new people for your team?
    • How to filter candidates and hire new team members
    • How to set probation period and expectations
    • How to take care of employees (medical insurance, birthdays, leave policies, career growth)
    • How to fire people for non-performance (without making enemies for life)
  • Module 8: Business Automation
    • What parts of your business can you automate?
    • How to Automate Hiring Process
    • How to Automate employee motivation
    • How to Automate Tracking of Work Progress
    • How to Automate Business reports using Google Data Studio
  • Module 9: Raising Money from Investors
    • How company valuation works
    • Kinds of investment (VC, Angel, Seed…)
    • Should you become a public company? Pros and Cons.

I guess this curriculum is comprehensive enough but obviously, not complete. Please leave a comment on this article with what you think you might be missing here. Based on that I will add more content.

I will be making the course module by module, lesson by lesson and it will take months before the course is finished.

Once the course is finished, I might charge people for that, but until then the content will be free. That’s is the benefit that you get for being in my list and helping me build the content with your feedback!

 

181 thoughts on “Free Startup Course: Learn How to Build and Grow a Startup”

  12. seems good..!
    Lil feedback below:

    1. Some tips about marketing your product and services can be included.
    2. How to do online survey for product demand?- Tools to use
    3. How to assign reasonable target for yourself?

  21. Dear Sir,

    When can i start with the free Course you are offering on how to Start a startup business?

    I am in Namibia-Africa.

    Thanking you

    EDMUND STRAMISS
    +264812965663

  23. Superb initiative. Thank you sir Deepak for this initiative.
    I love to learn more from you & planning for Start-up/entrepreneurs from small.

  30. Hi Deepak,

    I believe this course will be the happiest thing that ever happened to ‘you’ and to all of us just like your “100-Day Blogging Course”

    Can you include few lessons on the dark side of entrepreneurship and few failures of yours and if possible from your close ones in the blogging industry?

    – The team and family side of a first-time founder.

    – The skills required and the best ways to learn the skills.

    Thank You for bringing up this awesome course…

  47. Hi Deepak,
    The course curriculum is good however the knowledge alone cannot bring success to one unless he/she come out from fear of failure and overcoming his/her procrastination,these 2 cannot be thought until one tastes/see a small success at least as per my understanding.
    How to win the confident and make them taste/see the success?.
    Is there any way to work with successful start-ups and see one’s potential to again confident? I am asking this just as a help/advice not for as part of curriculum.

    Thanks
    Ramesh

  49. good content
    concider the following :
    1 using the canvas model to draw general prospect of business model
    2 how to write business plan to raise fun

  50. It’s a very good initiative. I think you can add a bonus section to this course by interviewing other Digital Entrepreneurs. This will increase the value of this course manifold.

  57. A very eloberate and useful chapters.
    It should include chapters on marketing methods,survey for demand,
    Fixing sales and production targets etc.
    Kindly mail when it is released.

  67. Great Initiative.Also if you could include something about pitching business proposals to investors, would be great.

  76. You could add, business location, niche, factors like power supply and how the would be entrepreneurs can get cheaper sustainable power, how about funding?

    I’ll be joining from Nigeria.

  77. Hi,
    I learned Digital Marketing through your courses and also started my site digitalmarketingsendhil.com.
    May I request you throw light on the basic criteria to start an Office.
    Meaning I have few yrs of experience in Softw dev. Now maintaining my site digitalmarketingsendhil.com for the past 1 year and also have done few freelancing websites develop and Digital Marketing modules work.
    Thanks a lot for sharing Digital Marketing knowledge and make us to know the subject.

  78. I am in Bangalore on June 28th. I want your guidance and partnership on running my personal business and my organization. I was hoping to meet you in Delhi. But you had to leave suddenly. Can I meet you or one of your representatives? If you need more details I will send it you.
    Of course I am joining this course.

  80. Deepak Sir,

    Sir you are doing a great service to all aspirants, job-seekers, students, society and all others who are interested in Digital Marketing, either as a student, professional or entrepreneurship.

    Thanks once again for the same

    Balram Krishnan

  89. Hi Deepak,
    Excellent initiative.

    Please include what are the pitfalls involved. Also, if the first initiative fails how to recoup from it and go for the next without losing hope

  90. hello Deepak, i have read with excitement your course curriculum and i really cant wait to start recieving the mails about it but i must point out that i personally have the lightest phobia to start-up my blog on my finance website here in Nigeria. i would appreciate if you can include ways of eliminating this phobia and also i’d like to know how one can reduce finance cost for start-ups without calling on investors.

  93. Amazing contents Deepak. But on the other hand, I Will appreciate if you can add *Account Session”. Many startup are always guilty of fund mismanagement. It’s important they know the importance of saving and investing their profits. The only way for them to learn that is if they are taught some basic accounting.

  94. Is a great initiative, think it covers more or less everything. You could look at introducing creation of business plan, financial modeling and in marketing a bit of digital marketing and social media analytics. Will be Keen to join the course.

  110. Hello Sir,

    I have few suggestion which could possibly make this course more good. Will appreciate if you add basic marketing insights like Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning stuffs. In the end marketing will only bring the money in.

    Also, if you could add some basics like to recognize your need. Like how much income you need as a business man. It should not be the case that your company is making a profit of Rs. X but your need is Rs. X+2. So while starting a company, the business owner should know his need well.

    Looking forward to this course!

  114. Really much needed course these days. Though the content is not revealed topics are logical in order. Will look forward to hearing from you about starting this course. Two more important thing post startup. Scalability and sustainability. Those are much needed in last module.

  118. hey, i don’t know if you can include client retention strategies in this session, but it would be great if you can make a exclusive blog on this topic.
    looking forward for the course and all the best to you.

  121. Really very good work,it will helpful for some people who are looking for startup.Thank you so much for taking initiative.I wish you all the very best.

  124. At first you deserve to be CONGRATULATED for your versatility. Your “Collective Leadership” and knowledge base for futuristic opportunities are exemplary. As of now the course module appears to aptly tailor made. When is it likely to start? Some patience will be needed for Senior Citizens like me who have slowed down because of age factor but are keen to learn…please!!

  125. How to select an sustainable business model?.whether franchise model beneficial?. How to choose your marketing between traditional and online marketing?.how long you can wait for the business to grow?

  134. Dear Deepak
    Since I have following you now from past 18 months and learned so many things from you
    This initiative of yours is a gr8 step kindly roll out the dates so that I shall join your course.

  135. why you should not start a startup .

    10 reason your startup will fail .

    why bootstrapping starting is preferred when it comes to investment .

  136. Good Sir, I was looking for this thing only,As I have started my side business “www.growmybusiness.in”. Where i was lacking the info for starting up a business and paper work and other process involved.
    Thanks sir,
    For helping US

  143. Very Good initiative Deepak lots of entrepreneurs & soloprenuers will have a roadmap for their entrepreneurial journey. It is again recreating history what digitaldeepak.com website did in the space of digital marketing.. Wishing you loads of Success…

  144. Great an Idea sir….this initiative will help to many people those who afraid to own startup and more ideal,motivational,informative those who running their own business…I am very lucky for part of this. Thank You so much and waiting for this New Innovation thoughts…

  150. Good initiative Deepak. I would like to know how to maintain or effective way of keeping and maintaining financial records.

  153. Hi Deeepak,

    I have suggestions on this course regarding you should include unique business ideas which are unknown to the world and if someone implement them then they are very useful for the world

  156. Great initiative..most of the topics have been covered in the above curriculum.. hoping to be an entrepreneur through this course..

  158. Deepak ji
    very good initiative..I suppose this type of experience & methodology has rarely been shared by anyone..wish you best of luck and I am keen to join the course

  159. Hi Deepak,

    I feel you need to add the details how to strategies once the MVP is made ready. Which is crucial. Floating of the company is bare minimum how to sustain for long matters. So kindly consider this.

  178. Hi sir, I am really interested in start-up business course.I want to enroll for the same. Keep sharing such kind of content for beginners like me. Thank u, sir.

  179. Really happy to see that someone take incite to encourage other to start the start up business , im really want to join this

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