This course is part of the Entrepreneurship & Innovation and Marketing track.
Introduction to Entrepreneurial Marketing

ENROLL NOW

No application needed for our certificate programs. Start your journey today!
 
New

Entrepreneurial Marketing

$1,850
Next 4-week session starts July 9th
Develop the entrepreneurial mindset and toolkit to create a viable, scalable business with minimal data, limited resources, and tight budgets.
4
weeks
4-5
hours per week
4
modules
Self-Paced

 This course earns you a Certificate of Completion from HBS Online. What you earn.

Overview
Syllabus
Enrollment
Stories
FAQs

Key Concepts

Develop and continually adapt go-to-market strategies
Distinguish between marketing- and sales-led organizations and marketers’ role in each
Establish a customer selection strategy, including buyer personas and journeys
Devise strategies for engaging and influencing the stakeholders making purchasing decisions
Understand the importance of brand-building and the key components of an effective brand
Build a media strategy across paid, earned, and owned channels
Evaluate and identify growth opportunities

Who Will Benefit

Establish your venture’s go-to-market strategy and learn how to evolve it over time to achieve scale.
"The Entrepreneurial Marketing course provided valuable, real-world insights into how startups approach customer acquisition, growth strategies, and go-to-market execution. The course did an excellent job of blending theory with practical applications, featuring case studies from real startup founders and marketing leaders."
Chudhary Kashif
Grow your organization’s new product or service effectively with limited budgets and resources.
"It's great to have real life study cases as well as the actual entrepreneurs sharing their journeys and experiences. At the same time having the analytic comment from HBS teachers seemed to me a great way of learning. This is my 8th or 9th course and I enjoy it every time."
Alberto Giovanelli
Develop the entrepreneurial mindset and toolkit to grow your business.
“Each module was well-structured and engaging, peaking my excitement, and enhancing my learning experience. The course content was not only informative but also highly relevant to my entrepreneurial journey. I have gained valuable knowledge and practical skills that I am eager to apply in my business endeavors.”
Marleny Almonte

What You Earn

Certificate of Completion

Certificate of Completion

Boost your resume with a Certificate of Completion from HBS Online

Earn by: completing this course

Certificate of Specialization

Certificate of Specialization

Prove your mastery of marketing or entrepreneurship and innovation

Earn by: completing any three courses within either subject area to earn a Certificate of Specialization

Syllabus

4 Modules, 16-20 Hours
Download full syllabus
4-5
hrs
Module 1

Intro to Entrepreneurial Marketing

Explore a startup business model’s four key elements and learn how to formulate a customer value proposition, determine product-market fit, and distinguish between marketing- and sales-led organizations.

Highlights

Nicole Clay, Co-Founder and CMO, Hue
Sales v. Marketing Decision
The Diamond Square Model
ShowHide Details

Concepts

  1. Welcome to Entrepreneurial Marketing
  2. The Startup Business Model
  3. The Go-to-Market Plan

Featured Exercises

  • Formulate and test a customer value proposition
  • Calculate the ratio of a business’s customer lifetime value (LTV) to customer acquisition cost (CAC)
4-5
hrs
Module 2

Understanding the Customer

Determine who your business’s early adopters are to begin generating customer personas and related buyer journeys. Identify an organization’s key stakeholders making purchasing decisions and where to intercept them.

Highlights

Amir Peleg, Founder and CEO, TaKaDu
Nuances of Customer Personas
The Three I’s
ShowHide Details

Concepts

  1. Determining Your Beachhead Customer
  2. Decoding the Decision-Making Unit
  3. Mapping the Buying Journey

Featured Exercises

  • Build a customer persona and related buyer journey
  • Map employees to their specific roles within the decision-making unit
4-5
hrs
Module 3

The Entrepreneurial Marketing Toolkit

Unpack the entrepreneurial marketing toolkit and apply the paid, owned, and earned media (POEM) framework. Identify a brand’s four components and the potential benefits and risks of marketing channels and platforms.

Highlights

The Importance of Brand
Aubrie Pagano, Founder and Former CEO, Bow & Drape
POEM
ShowHide Details

Concepts

  1. Crafting an Effective Brand
  2. Storytelling with Media
  3. Community, PLG, Distribution, and Pricing

Featured Exercises

  • Explore brand development exercises to understand the values that motivate your organization
  • Practice using paid, owned, and earned media
4-5
hrs
Module 4

Strategies for Growth and Closing

Analyze your go-to-market strategy, evaluate the relationship between business models and growth, and assess growth options in two dimensions: markets and products.

Highlights

Matias Recchia, Founder, IguanaFix
The Growth 2x2
2x2 Growth Matrix
ShowHide Details

Concepts

  1. Business Models and Growth
  2. The Growth Matrix
  3. Keys to Entrepreneurial Marketing

Featured Exercises

  • Use a 2x2 matrix to assess growth options
Free E-Book

Your Guide to Online Learning Success

If you’re interested in exploring online education but aren’t sure where to start, this guide is for you.

Upskill Your Team, Transform Your Organization

Whether you represent a large multinational corporation or a small local business, we have a solution for your learning and development needs.

Our Difference

Entrepreneurial Marketing will equip you with a proven toolkit for identifying, capturing, and influencing customers to achieve product-market fit and scale.
Stay active by engaging in a new activity every three to five minutes.
Stay active by engaging in a new activity every three to five minutes.
Get social by collaborating and networking with a global community of peers before, during, and after the course. Learners who successfully complete an HBS Online program are added to the HBS Online Community's Official Networking Group and gain exclusive access to events and other networking opportunities.
Get social by collaborating and networking with a global community of peers before, during, and after the course. Learners who successfully complete an HBS Online program are added to the HBS Online Community's Official Networking Group and gain exclusive access to events and other networking opportunities.
Immerse yourself in real-world, case-based marketing examples brought to life by successful business leaders at organizations like Hue, TakaDu, Bow & Drape, and IguanaFix.
Immerse yourself in real-world, case-based marketing examples brought to life by successful business leaders at organizations like Hue, TakaDu, Bow & Drape, and IguanaFix.

About the Professor

Christina Wallace
Entrepreneurial Marketing

Senior Lecturer of Business Administration
"Throughout the course, you’ll build a concrete set of tools tested by successful businesses that have achieved product-market fit and scale."

Dates & Eligibility

Starting
Jul
09
4 Weeks  $1,850 + applicable international taxes
Payment deadline July 7
View weekly calendar
Enroll Now
Starting
Sep
03
4 Weeks  $1,850 + applicable international taxes
Payment deadline August 28
View weekly calendar
Enroll Now
Starting
Nov
19
4 Weeks  $1,850 + applicable international taxes
Payment deadline November 13
View weekly calendar
Enroll Now
  • No documentation required

All learners must be at least 18 years of age, proficient in English, and committed to learning and engaging with fellow participants throughout the course.

Learn about bringing this course to your organization.

Learner Stories

90%
are more self-assured at work
My favorite part of the program was interacting with my cohort members where I received valuable shared experiences, feedback and was able to be a thought partner around strategies and best practices in varying scenarios.
Raymond Porch
Manager of Diversity Programs at Boston Public Schools
Participating in the student discussions was empowering. It ignited a drive within me to learn and absorb as much as I could.
Leslie Pico
A small business owner and tech entrepreneur from Arizona
Programming & System Analysis, Biomedical Engineering, Estrella Mountain Community College
Small Business Administration, Northern Arizona University
* Source: 2022 surveys and course data
 
All FAQs

Entrepreneurial Marketing FAQs

Entrepreneurial Marketing participants are eligible for a Certificate of Completion from Harvard Business School Online.

Participants are expected to fully complete all coursework in a thoughtful and timely manner. This means completing each course module and fully answering questions posed therein. This course features recommended weekly deadlines to help ensure participants proceed through it at a similar pace and take full advantage of social learning opportunities. In addition to module and assignment completion, we expect you to offer feedback on others’ reflections and contribute to conversations on the platform. Participants who fail to complete the course requirements will not receive a certificate and will not be eligible to retake the course.

More detailed information on course requirements will be communicated at the start of the course. No grades are assigned for Entrepreneurial Marketing. Participants will either be evaluated as complete or not complete.

You will have access to the materials in every prior module as you progress through the program. Access to course materials and the course platform ends 60 days after the final deadline in the program.

Once you’ve earned your Certificate of Completion, list it on your resume along with the date of completion:

Harvard Business School Online
Certificate in Entrepreneurial Marketing
[Cohort Start Month and Year]

List your certificate on your LinkedIn profile under "Education" with the language from the Credential Verification page:

School: Harvard Business School Online
Dates Attended: [The year you participated in the program]
Degree: Other; Certificate in Entrepreneurial Marketing
Field of Study: Leave blank
Grade: "Complete"
Activities and Societies: Leave blank

For the program description on LinkedIn, please use the following:

Entrepreneurial Marketing is a 4-week, 20-hour online certificate program from Harvard Business School. The course teaches business professionals how to craft and continually adapt go-to-market strategies for new ventures, products, and services. Participants develop a proven toolkit for identifying, capturing, and influencing customers and learn how to create a viable, scalable business using limited resources.

 

Related Programs

Digital Marketing Strategy

Professor Sunil Gupta

Craft data-driven digital marketing strategies that effectively reach, convert, and retain customers in a dynamic online environment.

7 weeks, 6-7 hrs/week
Pay by July 31$1,850Certificate 

AI Essentials for Business

Professors Karim Lakhani and Marco Iansiti

Compete in the age of AI with a comprehensive approach to building, leading, and operating AI-powered organizations.

4 weeks, 5-6 hrs/week
Pay by July 10$1,850Certificate 

Entrepreneurship Essentials

Professor William Sahlman

Master a proven framework for building and financing new ventures, and make your entrepreneurial dreams a reality.

4 weeks, 6-8 hrs/week
Pay by August 21$1,850Certificate