CLASS SCHEDULE
DATE	READINGS	NOTES
Introduction and Brainstorming
Mon 01/26	2025 Big Ideas in Tech McKinsey Tech Trends 2025 18 Best Idea Generation Techniques 19 Top Brainstorming Techniques to Generate Ideas for Every Situation
Role of the CTO
Wed 01/28	How to Find a CTO for Your Startup: The 2025 Entrepreneur’s Guide The Many Roles of a Startup CTO What Does a Startup CTO Actually Do? Startup CTO or Developer
Why Build a Startup?
Mon 02/02	Should You Really Be A Startup Entrepreneur? Why Are You Doing a Startup? 10 Founders on What They Don't Tell You About Building a Startup Why You Shouldn't Build Your Startup in Silicon Valley-And Where To Do It Instead	Optional reading: The Innovator's Dilemma: The Revolutionary Book That Will Change the Way You Do Business by Clayton M. Christensen Crush It! Why Now is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion by Gary Vaynerchuk
What to build/Thinking about the Market/Competition
Wed 02/04	Startup KPIs and Balanced Scorecard The Startup Scorecard How to effectively determine your market size How to Determine If There's a Market for Your Business Idea Lean market research methods: a 4-step guide on how to do market research Market Research Tips for Startups Competitive Mindshare Maps Customers Included	Optional reading: The Art of the Start 2.0 by Guy Kawasaki Demand: Creating What People Love Before They Know They Want It by Adrian J. Slywotzky
Defining the Vision, Mission, Strategy
Mon 02/09	The Mission Statement: The Basis for Startups' Strategic Planning 30 Inspiring Billion-Dollar Startup Company Mission Statements How to define a mission and vision for your startup The Biggest Startup Strategy Myth (and How to Deal With It)	Optional reading: Rework by Jason Fried Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind by Al Ries
Raising Money and Financing Structure
Wed 02/11	4 Reasons Why Your Startup Should Not Raise Capital Ways to Raise Money: The Ultimate Guide to Raising Startup Capital How the World Regulates Equity Crowdfunding 10 Terms You Must Know Before Raising Startup Capital	Optional reading: Venture Deals by Brad Feld
Mon 02/16	Financing Options: Convertible Debt Title III Crowdfunding Became Legal on May 16: What It Does and What's Still Lacking Matching principle Revenue Recognition Principle
Incorporation and Setting Things Up Right
Wed 02/18	Choose Your Business Structure Incorporation Co-founder Equity Split: A New Framework to Objectively Divide Startup Ownership and Get Back to Building a Business
Defining the Offering
Mon 02/23	What is lean startup methodology 6 things wrong with the 'Lean Startup' model (and what to do about it) Lean Start-Up, and How It Almost Killed Our Company Six Keys to Building New Markets by Unleashing Disruptive Innovation Business Model Canvas: A Complete Guide Product-Market Fit: What it is and how to manage it	Optional reading: The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Ries Running Lean: Iterate From Plan A to a Plan That Works by Ash Maurya Lean Analytics by Alistair Croll
Building the Offering
Wed 02/25	Software engineering with LLMs in 2025: reality check Custom software development strategy, cost, and best practices	Optional reading: The Startup Owner's Manual: The Step-by-Step Guide for Building a Great Company by Steve Blank Business Model Generation by Alexander Osterwalder
Hiring, Talent, and Culture
Mon 03/02	How to hire the best people you've ever worked with Whom should you hire at a Startup? (Attitude over Aptitude) Stop Doing Dumb stuff: Patty McCord on reinventing the rules of work at Netflix T-Shaped and I-Shaped Individuals	Optional reading: Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh Optional reading: Powerful: Building a Culture of Freedom and Responsibility by Patty McCord Optional reading: Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey Moore
Execution: Prioritization, Planning, Data driven, Pricing, Costs, Revenue Models
Wed 03/04	Peanut Butter Manifesto Checklist Manifesto How to Prioritize Feature Building on Your Startup How to Use Data to Plan Your Startup Budget 4 Steps to Launching a Data-Driven Startup The complete guide to A/B testing​ Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) vs. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)	Optional reading: Scott Galloway blog Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap ... and Others Don't by Jim Collins Happiness & the Gorilla
Mon 03/09
Wed 03/11
Intellectual Property and Other Legal Issues
Mon 03/16	What Start-ups Need to Know About Intellectual Property Patent Strategies of Technology Startups Patenting Software Bitlaw Mickey, Disney, and the Public Domain: a 95-year Love Triangle
Wed 03/18	Open Source Software Licensing Top Open Source Licenses Explained About CC Licenses
Mon 03/23	Startup Resources Provisional Application for Patent Copyright Strategies for Start-Up Companies Trademarking Principles for Startups: A Brand Managers Guide
Miscellaneous Topics
Wed 03/25	U.S. Data Privacy Protection Laws: A Comprehensive Guide U.S. Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Review and Outlook – 2025 Essential Data Privacy Regulations Every Software Developer Should Know | MoldStud
Mon 03/30
Wed 04/01	Eric Schmidt on AI's Future: Infinite Context, Autonomous Agents, and Global Regulation Why open source is critical to the future of AI
Mon 04/06	How Great Leaders Inspire Action | Simon Sinek | TED The Counterintuitive Secret to a Wildly Successful Career From Peter Thiel and Elon Musk