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Top Free Online Courses For Aspiring Entrepreneurs

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By Linkidex
6 min read

This is a list of some of the most valuable courses aspiring entrepreneurs can take for free. The list includes courses from colleges such as MIT and Harvard, online learning such as Coursera, and more.

The List

The Breakdown

Harvard - Managing Happiness

Harvard University’s “Managing Happiness” is aimed at exploring and enhancing personal happiness. This course is led by Professor Arthur Brooks and spans a variety of topics related to happiness. This course is suitable for anyone looking to understand and improve their happiness, applying practical insights and strategies for personal and professional well-being.

What You Will Learn

  • Understanding different definitions of happiness.
  • The influences of genetics, social, and economic factors on happiness.
  • Applying science to manage emotions and behaviors for greater happiness.
  • Developing strategies aligned with your goals and desires.
  • Analyzing the impact of success on short and long-term happiness.
  • Building effective happiness strategies for work and life.

Time Commitment

  • Duration: 6 weeks long
  • Weekly Effort: 2-3 hours per week.
  • Pace: Self-paced learning.

Pricing

  • Free Access: Audit the course without cost.
  • Verified Certificate: Available for $219, offering unlimited access and a certificate upon completion.

MIT - Becoming an Entrepreneur

“Becoming an Entrepreneur,” a course developed in partnership with MIT, has attracted hundreds of thousands of enrollees. The course aims to inspire participants to pursue entrepreneurship and provides tools to address the initial challenges of building a business. The course includes a mix of short videos and practical activities. It encourages learners to engage with their community for real-world impact and requires no prior experience in business or entrepreneurship.

What You Will Learn

  • Foundational Knowledge: Guidance through the basics of founding a company.
  • Inspiration for Entrepreneurship: Motivation to pursue an entrepreneurial path.
  • Overcoming Business Challenges: Tools to tackle the initial hurdles in building a business.
  • Idea Development: How to develop new business ideas.
  • Market Research Techniques: Methods for conducting effective market research.
  • Product Design and Testing: Strategies for designing and testing a business offering.
  • Pitching Skills: Learning how to pitch business ideas effectively.
  • Practical Approach: Following LaunchX’s approach, leveraging MIT’s Disciplined Entrepreneurship, lean methodologies, and design thinking.

Time Commitment

  • Duration: 6 weeks long
  • Weekly Effort: 1 to 3 hours per week
  • Pace: Self-paced learning.

Pricing

  • Free Access: Audit the course without cost.
  • $69.00: Unlimited access to this course.

Rhetoric: The Art of Persuasive Writing and Public Speaking

Harvard University’s “Rhetoric: The Art of Persuasive Writing and Public Speaking” teaches effective communication in both writing and public speaking. It is particularly focused on American political rhetoric.This course is an introduction to rhetoric, focusing on how to construct and defend compelling arguments.

What You Will Learn

  • Mastery of various rhetorical devices.
  • Understanding the distinction between argument and technique.
  • Creating persuasive opinion editorials and speeches.
  • Analyzing argument strength and identifying logical fallacies.

Time Commitment

  • Duration: 8 weeks long
  • Weekly Effort: 2-3 hours per week.
  • Pace: Self-paced learning.

Pricing

  • Free Access: Audit the course without cost.
  • Verified Certificate: Available for $209, offering unlimited access and a certificate upon completion.

Startup School by Y Combinator

Startup School by Y Combinator (YC) is a comprehensive, free online course for aspiring entrepreneurs and early-stage startup founders. Linkidex was part of YC Startup School in 2022, and we highly recommend any aspiring founder in the tech space to checkout not just Startup School, but all of the material Y Combinator has to offer.

What You Will Learn

  • Key steps in starting a startup, including planning, funding, and growth strategies.
  • Leadership skills and insights from industry leaders.
  • Tools and techniques for startup success.

Time Commitment

  • Duration: Approximately 7 weeks.
  • Weekly Effort: 1-2 hours.

Pricing

  • Free: No cost for enrollment or access.

Wharton’s Entrepreneurship Specialization Coursera

Wharton’s Entrepreneurship Specialization is a five-course series that guides learners through the entire process of starting and managing new enterprises. It is taught by Wharton’s professors and features insights from current entrepreneurs and financiers.

What You Will Learn

  • Developing the Opportunity: How to test, validate and prototype your idea.
  • Launching your Start-Up: lean approach, the minimum viable product, when to pivot, when to quit your day job, and more.
  • Growth Strategies: Understanding of the essential elements of successful scaling.
  • Financing and Profitability: How to finance your startup.
  • Wharton Entrepreneurship Capstone: Build a pitch deck for your company and review the decks of fellow students.

Time Commitment

  • Duration: 1 Month
  • Weekly Effort: 10 hours per week.
  • Format: Self-paced learning.

Pricing

  • Subscription-Based: 7 day free trial, then $79 USD per month.

Wharton: Business Strategy from Wharton: Competitive Advantage on edX

The Wharton School’s “Business Strategy from Wharton: Competitive Advantage” focuses on developing and executing strategies to sustain a competitive edge. It is part of Wharton’s Strategic Management Professional Certificate Program.

What You Will Learn

  • Compare and understand the difference between organizational effectiveness and strategic positioning.
  • Mapping and understanding the interaction between key and supporting business activities.
  • Identify barriers within your organization preventing strategy implementation and organizational change.
  • Implementing effective strategic planning methodologies.

Time Commitment

  • Duration: 6 weeks
  • Weekly Effort: 3-4 hours per week.
  • Format: Self-paced learning.

Pricing

  • Free Access: Audit the course for free.
  • Verified Certificate: $199.99

Yale - Introduction to Negotiation: A Strategic Playbook for Becoming a Principled and Persuasive Negotiator

Yale University offers an online course titled “Introduction to Negotiation: A Strategic Playbook for Becoming a Principled and Persuasive Negotiator” on Coursera. Taught by Barry Nalebuff, this course focuses on developing effective negotiation strategies and understanding the underlying principles of negotiation.

What You Will Learn

  • Case study negotiations in various contexts, including business and personal scenarios.
  • Case study discussion topics include preparing for a negotiation, making ultimatums, avoiding regret, expanding the pie, and dealing with someone who has a different world prospective.

Time Commitment

  • Duration: 9 weeks
  • Weekly Effort: 3-4 hours per week.
  • Format: Self-paced learning.

Pricing

  • Free Access: Free on Coursera.

Yale - The Science of Well-Being

Yale University offers “The Science of Well-Being”, taught by Professor Laurie Santos. This course focuses on increasing personal happiness and establishing productive habits.

What You Will Learn

  • Challenges to boost happiness and develop productive habits.
  • Overcoming misconceptions about happiness.
  • Understanding how the mind influences our perceptions and choices.

Time Commitment

  • Duration: 10 weeks (19 hours total)
  • Format: Self-paced learning.

Pricing

  • Free Access: Free on Coursera.

About Linkidex

Linkidex is a bookmarks manager for teams and individuals. Linkidex lets you save, sort, search, and share the URLs you care about all from a single easy to use tool. Sign up for free and you can save all of the above URLs and more across any browser and any device.

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