Curriculum

The Cranium Incubator will teach and give examples of knowledge and behaviors critical to success in starting and running a business. There will be additional interactive question/answer sessions after educational sessions to discuss specific situations. We will have these meeting types:

  1. Educational sessions
  2. Deep-dive Q&A sessions after the educational sessions
  3. Individual mentoring
  4. Mingle meetings where attendees can get to know each other and network
1. Introduction
  • Meet and greet with mentors and "Brainiacs"
  • Overview of classes
2. How to Present to Investors
  • Elevator pitch development
  • Presentation do's and don'ts
  • Common mistakes to avoid
  • Due diligence
3. Great Idea, Now What?
  • Market/Customer discovery
  • Competition
  • Discuss MVP (minimum viable product)
4. Product Design
  • Innovation
  • Hardware Development
  • Software Development
  • Design-Thinking
5. Understanding the Importance of Unit Economics and KPI's
  • Unit economics
  • Pricing models
  • Gross margin per product sold, service provided or user
  • What are KPI's and which ones should you track?
6. Marketing & Sales
  • Marketing development
  • Tools to set up your website
  • Sales basics
7. Intellectual Property Protection & Other Legal Matters
  • Discuss different forms of IP
  • Contracts
  • Agreements
  • The importance of negotiation
8. Accounting I
  • Why is accounting important?
  • How to read income statements, balance sheets and cash flow statements
9. Accounting II
  • Payroll
  • Income taxes
  • Financial projections
  • Software/Outside services
10. Finance/Funding
  • Sources of funding
  • Valuation determination
  • Amount to raise
  • Different types of investment vehicles
  • Closing the investment and post-closing
11. Motivation & Challenges for Entrepreneurs
  • The importance of motivation and feeding your mind
  • Level of effort required
  • Qualities of a good entrepreneur
  • Monetary and non-monetary rewards
12. Business Setup, HR & Management
  • Discuss company and logo designs
  • Advantages/disadvantages of different business entity types
  • Is a business plan worth the time?
13. Building Teams
  • Positive vs. negative work culture
  • Personal leadership development plan
  • Learn how to create and manage a team
14. Running Your Business
  • Expense control/ROI
  • Four disciplines of execution (4DX)
  • What is net promoter score?
  • Customer service basics
15. Pitch Event Feedback
  • Discuss feedback from judges
  • Improvements for next pitch event
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