Growth, Financing, and Scaling Strategies

This unit teaches students how to evaluate and execute strategies for scaling a venture, including financing choices, market expansion, and protecting intellectual property. Learners will practice customer validation, prepare investor-ready plans and pitches, and design organizational transitions to support sustainable growth.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze and compare growth and exit pathways (incubators/accelerators, SPACs, VC, nonprofit models, and global expansion) to recommend an appropriate scale-up route for a specific venture
• Evaluate financing alternatives and compute customer acquisition cost (CAC) to develop a sustainable funding and marketing allocation plan
• Apply market research and customer validation techniques (benchmarking, sensory observation, customer interviews) to refine product-market fit and produce an investor-ready business plan and pitch deck that incorporates IP protection strategies
• Demonstrate organizational design and leadership transition planning by creating an operational structure and recruitment plan to move from a founding team to professional management while preserving agility