Take your business idea from planning to launch — learn the critical steps of entrepreneurial marketing, lean startup principles, business modelling, and feasibility analysis through immersive real-world scenarios.
Launching a Business Venture is the second course in the three-course entrepreneurship series, designed to help aspiring entrepreneurs take action and strategically advance a business idea from planning to launch. The course covers entrepreneurial marketing and the marketing mix, market research and target market identification, branding, sales and customer service, lean startup principles, why early failure can lead to success, business model design, feasibility analysis, and business planning. Learners step into the shoes of an entrepreneur through immersive real-world scenarios, discovering the secrets of successful business launches and the top reasons why ventures fail. Skills developed are transferable to any career, expanding business acumen and developing a multi-disciplinary approach to problem solving. This is part of the Professional Skills Learning Collection.
Curriculum Chapters
- 1. Entrepreneurial Marketing and the Marketing Mix
- 2. Market Research, Market Opportunity Recognition, and Target Market
- 3. Marketing Techniques and Tools for Entrepreneurs
- 4. Entrepreneurial Branding
- 5. Marketing Strategy and the Marketing Plan
- 6. Sales and Customer Service
- 7. Launching the Imperfect Business: Lean Startup
- 8. Why Early Failure Can Lead to Success Later
- 9. The Challenging Truth about Business Ownership
- 10. Managing, Following, and Adjusting the Initial Plan
- 11. Growth: Signs, Pains, and Cautions
- 12. Avoiding the “Field of Dreams” Approach
- 13. Designing the Business Model
- 14. Conducting a Feasibility Analysis
- 15. The Business Plan
- 16. Launching Your Venture
Skills You Will Learn
Explain entrepreneurial marketing and apply the marketing mix to a business idea. Conduct market research, recognise market opportunities, and identify a target market. Apply marketing techniques and tools for entrepreneurs. Develop an entrepreneurial brand identity. Create a marketing strategy and marketing plan. Apply sales techniques and customer service principles. Apply lean startup principles to launch an imperfect but viable business. Understand why early failure can lead to long-term success and navigate the realities of business ownership. Manage, follow, and adjust an initial business plan in response to real-world conditions. Recognise the signs, pains, and cautions of business growth. Design a business model using established frameworks. Conduct a feasibility analysis to evaluate a business idea. Develop a comprehensive business plan. Plan and execute a business launch.
Course Details
Course Type: Free self-paced
Time: 20 Hours
Modules: 16
Level: Beginner
Prerequisites
None formally required. Completion of Discovering Entrepreneurship is recommended as the first course in the series.
Certification & Career
Career and Certification alignment: No target certification for this course. This is the second of three courses in the entrepreneurship series within the Professional Skills Learning Collection. Upon completion, earners receive the Launching a Business Venture course badge plus three module-level sub-badges covering Entrepreneurial Marketing and Sales, Launch for Growth Success, and Business Model and Plan.
Achievements & Badges
Upon completion, earn a Cisco Networking Academy digital badge plus three module-level sub-badges. Share your verified achievements on LinkedIn, your CV, or professional profile.
What Cisco verifies: Cisco verifies the earner of this badge successfully completed the Launching a Business Venture course. The holder of this credential has foundational skills in entrepreneurial marketing, market research, branding, lean startup principles, business model design, feasibility analysis, and business planning, with practical experience applying these concepts through real-world entrepreneurial scenarios.
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