• University of Leeds

Starting a business: realise your vision

Explore the complexities of starting a business; an interactive course led by inspirational academics, entrepreneurs and advisers.

12,919 enrolled on this course

  • Duration

    2 weeks
  • Weekly study

    4 hours

If you dream of starting your own business, or are simply interested in the process of how ideas and visions become businesses, then this two-week course is for you.

We will help you spot when an idea is genuinely a good business opportunity and then take you through the steps of how to turn it into a successful business. You will learn about the resources needed, how to target the right customers and the range of finance options available.

This interactive course will help you understand and navigate the numerous challenges and critical decisions that entrepreneurs face as they go through the process of starting a business. You will do this through the eyes of enterprising students and graduates who have successfully started their own business, using video case studies, real life business plans and plenty of discussion. Throughout the course, you will be supported by university academics and experienced advisors, who will explain underlying principles and offer expert opinion.

You can join in by sharing ideas and discussing your own thoughts with other learners and the mentors. You can also interact using polls to guess the course of action taken by the entrepreneurs at key points in their business development journey. Join this course to start your own journey to starting a business.

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

Who is the course for?

No previous knowledge or experience of business is required. You may be at school, college or university, the course is open to all and designed to be flexible so you can study at a time convenient to you. You will come away from the course with a clear understanding of what it takes to realise a vision and start a business.

Who will you learn with?

Emeritus Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Strathclyde

Who developed the course?

University of Leeds

As one of the UK’s largest research-based universities, the University of Leeds is a member of the prestigious Russell Group and a centre of excellence for teaching.

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control

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