Startup School by Y Combinator

A great Startup Program needs a great Curriculum. The Courses that will enable founders to build functional teams and exceptionally valuable ideas.

Here is a Curriculum Template with a Course List from Y Combinator's Startup School, a pre-idea online Startup Program.

The Curriculum Template can be applied to the Univation Platform for your Program, even accompanied with other resources and Courses Libraries (at the bottom). You can change it or copy the list as it is.

Experience the Platform & Program yourself

Content

Module 1: Should I Start a Startup?

Module 2: Generating Startup Ideas

Module 3: Vetting a Startup Idea

Module 4: Finding a Co-Founder

Module 5: Planning an MVP

Module 1: Should I Start a Startup?

Course 1: Why to Not Not Start a Startup (Essay)

YC founder Paul Graham discusses 16 common reasons why potential founders choose not to start a startup. For each reason, he attempts an evenhanded analysis of its merits, separating the real blockers from the imaginary ones. This essay was first written in 2007 but is still relevant today.

More here.

‍

Course 2: Before the Startup (Essay)

The way to get startup ideas is not to try to think of startup ideas. It's to look for problems, preferably problems you have yourself.

More here.

‍

‍Module 2: Generating Startup Ideas

Course 1: How to Get Startup Ideas (Video)

YC Partner Jared Friedman shares advice on how to get startup ideas. This video was recorded for the future founder track in Startup School 2020.

More here.

‍

Course 2: How to Get Startup Ideas (Paul Graham) (Essay)

Paul Graham discusses the things you should do before founding a company to ensure you're prepared. He also dispels some myths and misconceptions potential founders have about the sort of preparation that isn't actually necessary.

More here.

‍Module 3: Vetting a Startup Idea

Course 1: How to Talk to Users (Video)

YC Partner Eric Migicovsky shares a framework for asking questions and collecting feedback from your users.

Watch this if:

you haven't started talking to users yet
your users are asking for conflicting features
you aren't getting valuable information from talking with users

More here.

‍

Course 2: How to Pitch Your Startup

In this lecture, YC Partner Kevin Hale goes over how to package up your idea and communicate it to an investor. He shares his tips on how to craft your pitch in a clear and concise way that effectively grabs your audience's attention.

Watch this if:

this is a must watch!
you want investors to pay attention to your startup
people have a hard time understanding what your startup does

More here.

‍Module 4: Finding a Co-Founder

Course 1: How to Find the Right Co-Founder

YC Partner Harj Taggar shares advice on how to find the right co-founder for your startup. This lecture was filmed for the future founder track of Startup School 2020.

More here.

‍

Course 2: How to Work Together

YC Partner Kevin Hale talks about the importance of building a successful working relationship with your cofounders, and setting up processes to optimize for the strengths of your team.

Watch this if:

you and your cofounders argue a lot
your cofounders aren't doing their fair share of work
you want to have more effective conversations with your cofounder

More here.

‍

Course 3: How to Split Equity Among Co-Founders

YC Partner Kevin Hale talks about the importance of building a successful working relationship with your cofounders, and setting up processes to optimize for the strengths of your team.

Watch this if:

you and your cofounders argue a lot
your cofounders aren't doing their fair share of work
you want to have more effective conversations with your cofounder

More here.

‍Module 5: Planning an MVP

Course 1: How to Plan an MVP

YC CEO and Partner Michael Seibel shares his approach to building an MVP and getting your first users as a pre-launch startup.

Watch if:

you haven't built an MVP yet
you're trying to figure out which features to put in your MVP
you're building an MVP but don't have anyone using it yet
your MVP is taking longer than expected to launch

More here.

‍

Course 2: How to Launch (Again and Again)

YC Partner Kat Manalac presents on how startups should think about launching and why you should do it repeatedly.

Watch this if:

you haven't launched yet
you launched, but it didn't go well

More here.

‍

Course 3: How to Prioritize Your Time

YC Partner Adora Cheung shares her framework for how founders can efficiently make use of their time. She covers ways to identify and prioritize tasks, in addition to how you can measure their impact on your company.

Watch if: