Wharton Entrepreneurship Capstone

Overview

In this Capstone project, you will be assembling a pitch deck for a new venture, including the key deliverables (e.g., customer needs, concept description, financials, and so forth). You will review your peers' projects according to a rubric develop by Wharton Entrepreneurship and practice applying the same criteria VC’s use in evaluating potential investments.

Syllabus

Start Here

Welcome to the Entrepreneurship Capstone Project! This project-based course is designed to provide you with the resources and tools you need to develop a pitch deck for a start-up, which you will submit as your Capstone Project. Please study the readings below, which provide you with the resources and timeline you need to complete a successful pitch deck. Then, please take the Project Scope Quiz. You must score 100% to pass the quiz, but you have multiple opportunities to retake the quiz until you score 100%. If you're looking for some inspiration, you can learn about how some entrepreneurs got their ideas off the ground. We've also reposted lectures from the courses that will be particularly helpful for you to review.

Building Your Pitch Deck

This week, you will spend time assembling the elements of your pitch deck so that you can submit it for preliminary review next week. Good pitch decks vary in length, but they are all impactful. Take the time this week to put together all the sections of your deck, making sure that each one is supported by evidence, analysis, and/or research when applicable. Watch Professor Mollick's video on pitch decks. As a refresher, we've also included some key videos from the Specialization courses talking about pitch decks or the components you are to include in your project. The videos and guidelines below will help you assemble your deck.

Preliminary Pitch Deck

This week, you will submit your pitch deck for preliminary review. Your peers will have a chance to give you feedback on where your pitch succeeds and where it needs work. You'll also have the opportunity to review the work of your peers and to give feedback. Evaluating the work of your peers will provide you with a new way of looking at your own work, which you may see differently after providing feedback. You might also want to spend some time this week brushing up on the financing and financial statement coursework you completed.

Revision Week

This week, you will spend time revising your pitch deck for final submission next week. Review the rubric to make sure you have all the required elements, and that each of those elements is backed by evidence, analysis, and research. You may also want to look at Reid Hoffman's comments on his own pitch deck for LinkedIn for an example of evaluating your own work. In thinking about your revisions, you may also want to consider this question - does my pitch deck tell a story?

Final Project Submission

This week, you will finish your revisions to create a final version of your pitch deck and submit it for peer review. You'll then be asked to review the work of three of your peers. Once you have gotten feedback on your deck, you may use it to pitch your product or service to a funder, or as an example of a strategic presentation at your current job, or as a work sample when you are applying for a new one. A successful pitch can change the world, even if it's just a little. Good luck!