“Business People are not unlike artists. What you have when you start a company is a blank canvas; you have to fill it. Just as a good artist has to get very single detail right on that canvas, a businessman or woman has to get every single little thing right when first setting up in business in order to succeed. However, unlike a work of art, the business is never finished. It constantly evolves and it’s also not that easy to paint over your mistakes!” – Richard Branson
Managing You
- Habits
- Strengths & Interests
- Energy & Attention Management
- Managing Energy, NOT Time, is the Key to High Performance
- The 4 Dimensions of Energy: Physical, Emotional, Mental and Spiritual
- Riding Oscillation: How to Build Stress and Recovery into your Work Schedule
- Achieving Flow
- First Things First
- Getting Organized
Value Creation
- Business Ideas
- Evaluating Business Ideas
- The Lean Startup
- Customer Development
- The Art of Profitability
Why the UpStartist MBA?
It just doesn’t make sense for entrepreneurs to get an MBA these days. The money ($100K!) and time costs (2 years!) are killer. The curriculum? Not very relevant (for us). And an MBA degree doesn’t convince anyone you’re a better entrepreneur – what you need is a track record.
At the same time starting a business can be a lonely and confusing journey. It pays to expose yourself to breakthrough ideas, and to connect with and learn from others. A little structure to kick your ass doesn’t hurt either.
The UpStartist MBA is for those looking to upgrade their business skills while they start their companies NOW. There’s no point in waiting 2 years (or being 100K in debt) to start. Every topic covered is relevant to entrepreneurs – NOT future managers, financiers, or consultants. The focus of every lesson is application – how can we apply what we’ve learned to our businesses today?
Each week I’ll be sending out a concise summary of the key business principles I’ve learned, with a focus on how you can apply these tools and models to your start-up business life. They should take no more than 10-15 minutes to consume, and might lead to your own personal or professional breakthroughs.
If you’re interested in getting these weekly insights, leave your name and email here. I would love to hear your thoughts on each lesson (and for future lessons). I am NOT a business guru, just someone who takes his business education seriously. I look forward to learning with you and from you.
– Darren
Note: This project lasted from March 2012 to June 2012. We had 25 people in our Facebook group. I only got through 2 of the 10 planned topics ; Touch MBA was starting to grow so I didn’t have the time to continue. The posts took much reading, reflection and distillation. I still refer to them today. 🙂