IMMERSIVE EDUCATION FOR THE INNOVATION ECONOMY PROGRAM GUIDE 2015
The tools Startup Institute equipped me with have allowed me to be a much more effective and productive team member than I would have been otherwise. Learning to get comfortable being uncomfortable is a valuable lesson that we lived throughout the program, and is directly applicable to working at a small company that s looking to build big things with little resources. Rodney Dennis, Front-End Developer at Carbonmade 2015 Startup Institute ver. 1.8 / July 2015 3
TABLE OF CONTENTS About Startup Institute Our Curriculum Web Development Track Web Design Track Technical Marketing Track Sales & Account Management Track Core Curriculum The Partner Project Our Network Talent Expo Startup Institute Never Ends Admissions Deadlines, Tuition, and Payment Options RampUp Get In Touch 6 9 11 19 27 36 45 48 51 54 56 58 60 61 63 4
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ABOUT STARTUP INSTITUTE ABOUT US Our eight-week program will help you to build the technical skills, culture skills, and network that will launch you into the growing startup community in the areas of web development, web design, technical marketing, or sales and account management. Leverage your passions and get the skills you need to be hired by an early-stage or high-growth company, and join the innovation economy. Uniquely positioned at the center of tech ecosystems in Boston, New York, and Chicago, we ve designed our program to open new doors for you. In addition to expert training in the most in-demand skills, we offer personalized career mentorship and connections to the people and companies that will advance your career. 6
A NOTE FROM DIANE HESSAN, CEO At Startup Institute, we re training the modern workforce for the innovation economy. Our students are aspiring innovators, world-changers, and passionate people who want to make real, meaningful impacts in their careers. It is undeniably critical that you have the technical skills to be effective, but this is only one part of what happens in our program. Simulating a fast-paced startup environment, we teach both the technical skills and the culture skills people need. We use real-world situations, team projects, and interactive learning exercises (not lectures). You ll also be introduced to a wealth of people in the local community who are working in some of the most innovative companies, thus helping you to significantly expand your professional network. It is an intense and transformative program in which our goal is to help you get a job you love at a company that excites you. Our full-time program gives you the choice of one of four technical tracks: web design, web development, technical marketing, and sales and account management. 70% of your time will be focused on these skills. The rest of the time will be spent developing your network and building the culture skills that executives have told us are inherent in their most successful employees: Desire to learn Ability to thrive amidst ambiguity Passion Excellence at collaboration Scrappiness and grit Willingness to put the company before oneself 92% of the company executives surveyed in our recent study reported that these six traits are as important as if not more important than technical aptitude. This echoes the findings of American social psychologist and Yale University President Peter Salovey, who suggests that more emotionally intelligent individuals receive greater pay increases and hold higher company rank over time. We also know that a powerful network is key to finding the right opportunity: the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 70% of jobs are found through networking. Startup Institute students leverage our network of hiring partners, industry experts, and 900 alumni once they graduate, they become part of that network for life. I invite you to explore our track offerings, the curriculum, and how Startup Institute will help advance your career. We hope to see you soon. Sincerely, Diane Hessan Chief Executive Officer 7
OUR CURRICULUM In addition to skills training in one of four technical tracks, all students receive instruction and coaching in emotional intelligence, collaboration techniques, networking, and the culture of high-growth companies we call this The Core. Our core curriculum is the heart of the Startup Institute experience. It focuses on the skills and mindsets that separate great hires from good ones. No matter which track you choose, all students receive the same core curriculum training. SKILLS MINDSET NETWORK Core Curriculum Culture Skills Network Technical Track (Choose one) Web Development Web Design Technical Marketing Sales & Account Management 9
WEB DEVELOPMENT TRACK
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics says web development job opportunities will grow 20% by 2022. For the tech industry, startups, and established companies that want to innovate, a skilled developer is vital. Our web development track focuses on Ruby on Rails. RoR enables developers to get products to market quickly compared to other languages. For the fast-paced startup world, this means that young companies can have an edge; for our students, this means that their skills are in-demand and highly employable. Using Rails as a vehicle, the web development coursework encourages logic and problem-solving skills that will enable you to overcome challenges no matter what language you re working with. The program begins with the fundamentals of model-view-controller architecture. Lesson delivery includes a series of Rails labs and opportunities to work on real project deliverables both individually and collaboratively. Weekly workshops will give you exposure to topics such as test-driven development, git, AJAX, and API s. Throughout your eight weeks, you ll engineer deliverables that prove your abilities as an effective developer and teammate. Prerequisite: This is an intermediate-level course. Applicants must have a strong grasp of at least one other back-end language such as Ruby, Python, JAVA, C#, or PHP to be considered. KEY SKILLS AND CAPABILITIES Setting up a dev environment: brew, Xcode, RVM, git MVC basics: intro to model-view-controller architecture Building and testing a Rails application Source control management and cloud-based deployment Employing collaborative approaches to overcome coding challenges 12
8-WEEK INTENSIVE PROGRAM Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Web Development Curriculum Introduction to curriculum and track deliverables Setting up your environment How to use GitHub effectively Git and web architecture Agile development Building a Rails app REST, CRUD, API s Code review Big data Authentication, validation, and basic testing Code review Field visit/ shadow day Mailers and dashboards Authorization and AJAX Categories Code review Styling and catching up Principles of web security Presentations The integrated team: crosstrack knowledge share Core Curriculum Introductions and program overview Immersing yourself in the startup community Startup growth & fundraising Alumni Q&A panel Startup culture Get to know your hiring partner Ideal job description & positioning statement Résumé/ LinkedIn workshopping Communication styles Your personal narrative Pipeline to follow-up Introverts and extroverts Mentor sessions Interview styles Mock interviews Situational leadership Mentor sessions Network assessment & action plan Negotiating salary & equity Mentor sessions How to give & receive feedback Mentor sessions Public speaking workshop Pitch practice Mentor sessions Pitch practice Mentor sessions The alumni experience Onboarding to digital alumni career tool Event networking Mentor sessions Your résumé is a story Introduction to EQ Networking & Immersion Activities Fireside chats Alumni happy hour IdeaHack Fireside chats Coffee chats Partner project kick-off Fireside chats Coffee chats Hiring Partner Fair Fireside chats Coffee chats Hiring Partner Fair Fireside chats Coffee chats Partner project Fireside chats Coffee chats Open Doors Party Fireside chats Coffee chats Partner project presentations Talent Exposition Partner project Partner project Partner project Technical skills Startup immersion Career development Culture skills Mentorship Networking Group project 14
Programming can be learned on your own. Motivation and learning to work with others is a different story. SI helped put me in a room with other passionate and driven individuals who taught me how to collaborate and pushed me to want to get better. I find that experience to be invaluable in my day-to-day work. Brice Lin, Software Engineer at Spotify 15
COURSEWORK Pre-work: Intro to Ruby Skill-up for the web development track with Codecademy s free Ruby course. Serious about your code? There will be no shortage of supplementary resources to get you hacking before the course begins. Rails Application Structure The program begins with an in-depth look at the Rails application structure, MVC, dynamic client-side behavior, writing tests, git branching, and debugging. Getting Started with GitHub Learn about version control and why it s important. Tour GitHub and its main features, focusing on how it aids great developers and development teams. Create a static webpage project using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files, then check your project into git and push to GitHub. Development Processes Explore various development methodologies, such as agile, SCRUM and waterfall, and how these practices strengthen team dynamics while enabling new products to get to market faster. Delve into the development process behind a product that your instructor built to see and unpack both applications of and divergences from these practices. Consider which processes to apply to your own project and begin to execute on these ideas. Building a Rails App Explore the architecture of the web, breaking down key concepts of web development, RoR, and open-source frameworks. Then, build your first Rails app with the support of an expert practitioner and David Kehoe s Learn Rails. REST, CRUD, & API s Scope your track project, architecture resources, and understand how routing is related. Gain experience with CRUD storage functions and understand their roles in creating database-driven web apps, while leveraging RESTful API s to develop a more performant, maintainable, and scalable service. Code Reviews Get formal feedback on your code from practitioners and learn from the work of other members of your track. 16
Authentication, Validation, & Basic Testing Learn how sessions, browser cookies, and flashes persist data between requests, and how authentication is built in Rails. Explore the different components required in an authentication system and learn about the most common authentication solution, Devise. Learn to ensure only valid data is saved to your database and how to troubleshoot validation errors. Mailers & Dashboards Set up a mailing framework from the command line in Rails. Discover how mailers are similar to controllers and models, how to pass instance variables from the mailer to the mailer view, and how to send email directly from the console. Understand key terminology and be able to apply has_many associations in both Rails and SQL. Authorization + AJAX Understand the nuances between authorization and authentication and implement a role-based authorization with Devise. Create a simple voting system in Rails. Apply AJAX in a RoR setting and explore ActiveRecord. Categories Use Has and Belongs to Many associations to create a direct many-to-many connection with another model, with no intervening model. Discover how to seed data with seeds.rb to populate databases, then practice changing seed data to a variety of categories on your own. Create a category resource and send category data for your track project. Styling Learn best practices and hacks for styling a Rails application using a framework like Bootstrap. Learn how to upload images and menus to a cloud service, and implement these stylistic adjustments on your application. The Integrated Team Early-stage teams can t work in silos. To optimize performance and opportunities, startup employees need to be clear on how each member of the team fits into the big picture. In this session, you ll collaborate with students from other tracks to discover how your roles integrate and communicate. Track Deliverables GitHub repo Reservster app 17
SI WEB DEVELOPMENT GRADUATES ARE EMPLOYED BY: 18
WEB DESIGN TRACK
I think SI gave me tremendous baseline knowledge of UX and UI process, which I now take for granted I might have tanked the interview process without SI. Whenever I got most nervous or had to pull an example for an experience, I could pull from my time at SI. Julia Feld, Associate Product Designer at Tamr 20
To design is to communicate clearly by whatever means you can control or master. Milton Glaser As a web designer you will be tasked with taking a product and turning it into an experience. You ll need to balance dynamic visuals and interactivity with optimal performance and in the startup environment, you often have to do it in half the time. Our web design track will train you in agile front-end development and interface design with an emphasis on user-centered principles. You ll juggle code and design as you learn how the most innovative companies create great digital products. Built on the product development life cycle, the curriculum simulates real-life challenges to prepare you to successfully take a project from concept to launch. Lesson delivery focuses on teaching relevant industry languages such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and jquery. You ll also get hands-on experience with local designers to learn about wireframing, low-fidelity mockups, and rapid prototyping to help you work quickly and take your designs to the next level. KEY SKILLS AND CAPABILITIES HTML, CSS, CSS3, JavaScript, and jquery Best practices and techniques for responsive design Conducting user research and testing Wireframing, low-fidelity mockups, and rapid prototyping Effective portfolio presentation 21
8-WEEK INTENSIVE PROGRAM Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Web Design Curriculum Introduction to curriculum Git and Github Intro to professional web design and development Style for the web Fonts, positioning & layouts Design fundamentals and tools Best practices & CSS3 Portfolio review Responsive design & CSS framework UI, UX, and user-centered design Shadow day Wireframing and rapidprototyping JavaScript foundations, loops & if statements JavaScript functions, arrays & objects Navigation and flow Portfolio review jquery and JS libraries User research Usability testing Final portfolio presentation & review The integrated team: crosstrack knowledge share Core Curriculum Introductions and program overview Immersing yourself in the startup community Startup growth & fundraising Alumni Q&A panel Startup culture Get to know your hiring partner Ideal job description & positioning statement Résumé/ LinkedIn workshopping Communication styles Your personal narrative Pipeline to follow-up Introverts and extroverts Mentor sessions Interview styles Mock interviews Situational leadership Mentor sessions Network assessment & action plan Negotiating salary & equity Mentor sessions How to give & receive feedback Mentor sessions Public speaking workshop Pitch practice Mentor sessions Pitch practice Mentor sessions The alumni experience Onboarding to digital alumni career tool Event networking Mentor sessions Your résumé is a story Introduction to EQ Networking & Immersion Activities Fireside chats Alumni happy hour IdeaHack Fireside chats Coffee chats Partner project kick-off Fireside chats Coffee chats Hiring Partner Fair Fireside chats Coffee chats Hiring Partner Fair Fireside chats Coffee chats Partner project Fireside chats Coffee chats Open Doors Party Fireside chats Coffee chats Partner project presentations Talent Exposition Partner project Partner project Partner project Technical skills Startup immersion Career development Culture skills Mentorship Networking Group project 22
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COURSEWORK Pre-work: A Basic Web Page Get ready to build before you get to class. Start by setting up your development environment and creating a basic website that points your domain to GitHub. Introduction to Professional Web Design and Development Learn about employment opportunities for front-end developers, visual designers, and product-related jobs. An expert designer will discuss and answer questions about the skills, expectations, challenges, and demand for designers in the startup ecosystem. Introduction to Style for the Web HTML and CSS are fundamental to front-end development. Learn how they are used and practice applying CSS styles, classes, and ID s. Gain experience with the most commonly used aspects of these languages and implement stylized content in your own portfolio and track projects. Fonts, Positioning, & Layouts Add fonts and images to a website while experimenting with elements of page layout and stylization. Consider out-of-the-box solutions and survey the design work of an instructing practitioner to uncover practical applications of CSS frameworks. Best Practices & CSS3 Learn best practices for HTML and CSS and why they matter. Deepen your contextual understanding of CSS3 by diving into its history, benefits, and compatibility challenges. Understand the pros and cons of various CSS frameworks and how to make relevant data visualizations. Design Fundamentals & Tools Understand the design process, and learn about tools and methodologies that can be leveraged at each stage of the design process. Responsive Design & CSS Frameworks Understand the basics of responsive design, setting breakpoints, and how responsive design can be made easier using CSS frameworks. Experiment with responsive design on your own deliverables and get expert feedback on your work. UI, UX, & User-Centered Design Engage with the design process from start to finish, diving into concepts like 24
affordance, manufacturing cues, and usability. Learn how to critique work constructively and why you need to test and iterate on your designs. Wireframing & Rapid Prototyping Wireframing and prototyping lets designers focus on the basic structure and flow of a product, without getting caught up in the final aesthetics. Learn how and when to use these tools successfully and efficiently to inform your design. Experiment with wireframing and rapid prototyping software and conduct basic user testing. JavaScript Foundations, Loops, & If Statements JavaScript allows front-end developers to not only style content, but also add a layer of interactivity to a website. Set up your environment for using JavaScript and begin to learn and interact with the language by coding expressions, variables, conditionals and looping statements. JavaScript Functions, Arrays, & Objects Advance your JavaScript knowledge with functions, arrays, and objects. Learn and practice with coding exercises. Navigation & Flow Learn to optimize products for an intuitive user experience by designing elegant navigational flows and elements. You ll consider current and historical standards, best practices, and various form factors, from desktop to mobile devices. jquery & JS Libraries jquery makes it faster and easier to add JavaScript to a website by utilizing pre-written functions. Transition from coding JavaScript to learning jquery functions, from effects and animations to content filters. Usability Testing Deepening your understanding of user research methods, focus in on the value of usability testing in product design. Learn when to test, how to test, and what to do with your findings. You ll work with a team to perform usability testing and present your analyses. Portfolio Reviews Receive constructive feedback on your portfolio from an experienced designer and members of your track during two formal review sessions, at the middle and end of the program. 25
The Integrated Team Early-stage teams can t work in silos. To optimize performance and opportunities, startup employees need to be clear on how each member of the team fits into the big picture. In this session, you ll collaborate with students from other tracks to discover how your roles integrate. Building a JavaScript API Learn about JavaScript API s. Practice with API documentation, loading to an external library, integrating Stripe API, and how to connect to a Node.js server. Introduction to Product Management & Agile Methodologies Gain insight into the role and perspective of a product manager at different stages of a company and understand how agile methodologies, such as SCRUM, can bolster team communication, collaboration, and organization. Track Deliverables Portfolio Restaurant website SI WEB DESIGN GRADUATES ARE EMPLOYED BY: 26
TECHNICAL MARKETING TRACK
Marketing is about anticipating a customer s needs and then creating the opportunity for a sale to occur. Today s digital marketers are tasked with designing campaigns that speak to multiple audience segments, inspiring them into action, and measuring the results to make data-fueled business decisions. But what happens when your company doesn t know who their customers are, or what channels and messaging will reach them? What happens when you don t have data to build campaigns around? Startup marketers are scrappy, creative, and agile able to drive big growth on a small budget and with limited resources. Our technical marketing track will train you to be a full-stack, self-sufficient marketer, whose aim is to help a company increase their customer base by a factor of 10. Lesson delivery focuses on relevant industry tools like Google Analytics, Adwords, and Mailchimp. You ll get hands-on experience with SQL queries and implement SEO best practices on your own landing page and customized blog. To deliver on these goals, you ll learn content and inbound strategies to organically improve your rankings. This is not the marketing 101 course you took in college, this is startup marketing. KEY SKILLS AND CAPABILITIES Email marketing and landing page optimization Best practices for inbound and outbound marketing plans Working with analytics platforms and SQL Placing, testing, and optimizing paid advertising Improving website visibility through content development and targeted keyword usage 28
I literally use the skills I learned at SI every single day of my life. Before SI, I was digitally lagging; I didn t even know what HTML/CSS was, nor SEO, or anything associated with technical marketing. But I dug in, drank from the fire hose, and became a sponge. I now use the technical skills every day in my current position. Additionally, SI gave me a network of fellow marketers that I can turn to when I need help or answers on the job. It s all been extremely valuable. Caroline Lucas, Marketing Manager at Signal 30
8-WEEK INTENSIVE PROGRAM Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Technical Marketing Curriculum Curriculum overview Marketing plan Introduction to wordpress HTML/CSS Design for conversion Search engine optimization Analytic platforms Inbound sales & marketing Paid placements Content & email marketing Social media Inbound challenge Advanced analytics Structured query language Track project presentations The integrated team: crosstrack knowledge share Core Curriculum Introductions and program overview Immersing yourself in the startup community Startup growth & fundraising Alumni Q&A panel Startup culture Get to know your hiring partner Ideal job description & positioning statement Résumé/ LinkedIn workshopping Communication styles Your personal narrative Pipeline to follow-up Introverts and extroverts Mentor sessions Interview styles Mock interviews Situational leadership Mentor sessions Network assessment & action plan Negotiating salary & equity Mentor sessions How to give & receive feedback Mentor sessions Public speaking workshop Pitch practice Mentor sessions Pitch practice Mentor sessions The alumni experience Onboarding to digital alumni career tool Event networking Mentor sessions Your résumé is a story Introduction to EQ Networking & Immersion Activities Fireside chats Alumni happy hour IdeaHack Fireside chats Coffee chats Partner project kick-off Fireside chats Coffee chats Hiring Partner Fair Fireside chats Coffee chats Hiring Partner Fair Fireside chats Coffee chats Partner project Fireside chats Coffee chats Open Doors Party Fireside chats Coffee chats Partner project presentations Talent Exposition Partner project Partner project Partner project Technical skills Startup immersion Career development Culture skills Mentorship Networking Group project 31
COURSEWORK Pre-work: Content and Coding The introduction to technical marketing begins before the program starts. Your first assignment will be to setup a Wordpress website, publish two blog posts, and complete an introductory HTML/CSS online course. Marketing Plan We kick off the immersive with a tour of the marketing plan, and break down the components of developing a strategy from the ground up. We ll discuss PR and branding, social media, content and SEO, and paid search to discover how these pieces come together to create an effective marketing mix. You ll learn the key differences between B2C and B2B marketing and gain real-life experience developing marketing plans for two local startups. Introduction to Wordpress This is your chance to debrief on the work you completed pre-program. You ll troubleshoot challenges you faced and explore Wordpress functionality alongside a skilled content marketer. This session will develop your understanding of content optimization best practices and how to utilize native tools. Blogging Diving deeper into Wordpress, you ll discover the technical aspects of content development, learning how to create visually appealing content and optimized blog posts using HTML/CSS. Design for Conversion The best marketers keep their finger on the pulse of the human psyche to drive engagement. Learn to leverage data intelligence to design conversion-optimized webpages for a specific marketing campaign. A/B test your pages to strengthen performance and analyze existing landing pages for improved performance. Search Engine Optimization Learn tips, tricks, and best practices for boosting your company s rankings for organic search, while gaining a high-level understanding of how SEO fits into an inbound marketing strategy. We ll discuss the nonstop evolution of the SEO landscape and proven tactics. Analytics Platform Learn how to monitor and analyze web traffic to understand customer behavior. 32
This session will teach you to measure the performance of your digital marketing efforts using Google Analytics. Inbound Sales & Marketing Learn the different elements that make up an inbound marketing campaign and why inbound marketing is so effective for startups. Understand the role that content and social media play in inbound marketing and sales. Then, apply these skills to create and present a landing page. Advanced Analytics Dig deeper into Google Analytics by engaging with advanced features, including creating custom dashboards, mobile tracking, multi-channel funnels, and filters. Paid Placements Explore the different types of online ad platforms and how to assess which platform is right for a particular situation. Compare benefits and features alongside overall marketing strategy, understand best practices for each, and know how to measure results. Structured Query Language Marketers need to be able to segment their databases to draw meaningful conclusions about customers. Practice running SQL queries to be more insightful and self-reliant without the need for a developer. Content and Email Strategy Learn to develop a content and email marketing strategy from scratch and analyze and optimize the results. Gain experience in data capture, segmentation, and content planning. Social Media Assess the most popular social media platforms to determine which are appropriate for a particular brand or initiative. Learn how to drive site traffic and conversions via various channels and understand how to use social media analytics tools. Practical Learning Activities: Inbound Challenge User Persona Challenge Track Deliverables Wordpress blog Marketing plan project, including tools and processes for optimizing growth 33
SI TECHNICAL MARKETING GRADUATES ARE EMPLOYED BY: 34
SALES & ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT TRACK
Selling for a high-growth company requires resourcefulness. Salespeople at startups face very different challenges than their corporate counterparts. You may have to build your company s sales process from scratch, or sell a product that is still in development. You may have to validate a market or industry on your own with few resources or guidance from leadership. Your role will demand an integrated approach, often working alongside marketing teammates to ensure a cohesive customer journey. Our sales and account management track will train you to excel in the most critical revenue-driving role. From prospecting and lead generation to account management, you will learn that sales is both an art and a science. The curriculum focuses on developing the essential skills for selling in the innovation sector, and provides tools and processes for managing the sales cycle. Lesson delivery emphasizes a practical and interactive approach, as salespeople from local companies share their expertise and lessons from their own experience. Instructional presentations are supported by hands-on challenges that invite students to engage with the tools, strategies, and problem-solving techniques that make it possible for startup salespeople to exceed their quotas. KEY SKILLS AND CAPABILITIES Customer engagement throughout the sales cycle Objection handling and closing techniques Inbound and outbound sales strategies and best practices Managing long-term client relationships Defining expectations and relationship building with your sales manager and team 37
8-WEEK INTENSIVE PROGRAM Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Sales & Account Management Curriculum Curriculum overview Phases of selling Basic selling skills Basic selling skills What makes a good sales person? Sales cycle Lead generation, outbound sales, & the pitch CRM & Salesforce Handling objections Selling with email Exploring needs & options Proposals Managing rejection & resilience Presentations Big & small ticket selling Closing the sale Sales challenge (spans weeks 3-6) Field visit/ shadowing Negotiations The integrated team: crosstrack knowledge share Core Curriculum Introductions and program overview Immersing yourself in the startup community Startup growth & fundraising Alumni Q&A panel Startup culture Get to know your hiring partner Ideal job description & positioning statement Résumé/ LinkedIn workshopping Communication styles Your personal narrative Pipeline to follow-up Introverts and extroverts Mentor sessions Interview styles Mock interviews Situational leadership Mentor sessions Network assessment & action plan Negotiating salary & equity Mentor sessions How to give & receive feedback Mentor sessions Public speaking workshop Pitch practice Mentor sessions Pitch practice Mentor sessions The alumni experience Onboarding to digital alumni career tool Event networking Mentor sessions Your résumé is a story Introduction to EQ Networking & Immersion Activities Fireside chats Alumni happy hour IdeaHack Fireside chats Coffee chats Partner project kick-off Fireside chats Coffee chats Hiring Partner Fair Fireside chats Coffee chats Hiring Partner Fair Fireside chats Coffee chats Partner project Fireside chats Coffee chats Open Doors Party Fireside chats Coffee chats Partner project presentations Talent Exposition Partner project Partner project Partner project Technical skills Startup immersion Career development Culture skills Mentorship Networking Group project 38
The sales track prepared me for my current job in a few ways. The network has been incredibly helpful. I also learned how to cope with ambiguity and figure things out. The big one is, in any company, no one is going to be there to give you direction or hold your hand. In my case, there are a whole bunch of resources at my disposal, but I had to learn how to be scrappy. Kyle Cushing, Director of Sales at ClearContact
COURSEWORK Pre-work: The Customer Experience The deep-dive into startup sales and account management begins before the program starts. Your first assignment will focus on understanding the sales process from the perspective of your customer and the factors that define a positive buying experience. Overview of the Sales Curriculum We kickoff the immersive with a high-level tour of guiding principles and course objectives. Discover frameworks for selling and strategy, and learn about a range of employment opportunities in the tech sector. Essential Skills for Selling Great salespeople approach their craft in the same way great athletes and musicians do: always practicing, always refining. In these sessions, you ll develop strategies to build rapport and increase customer engagement using key skills for the entire sales process for opening the conversation, using questions to define needs, qualify and overcome objections, and close the sale. What Makes a Good Salesperson? Expert practitioners will share their perspectives on the characteristics that distinguish exceptional salespeople and account managers. They ll share relevant and actionable advice on high-growth sales tactics. Sales Cycle Learn the specific principles, tools, and selling techniques to successfully advance a lead from prospect to sale and yield loyal long-term customers. Lead Generation Many tools exist for identifying possible customers. The lead generation module invites you to think outside of the box to discover tools for pre-sales research, empowering you to identify the best means of lead gen for your future company and industry. At the same time, you ll build leadership capacity, exploring the relationship between sales and marketing to understand how these two teams work together to create a powerful force. CRM and SalesForce Learn to use Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems to manage interactions with customers. Complete assignments in SalesForce, or other systems, and receive expert feedback on your progress and performance. 40
Outbound Sales and the Pitch Demonstrate the essentials of outbound selling by preparing scripts and pitching your product in a way that clearly relates to the customer s organization and priorities. Exploring Needs and Options Before offering solutions, salespeople have opportunities to develop a more precise understanding of their customers needs. This session will teach you to work with customers to define the gaps between the optimal solution and their current situations by focusing on needs, consequences, and benefits. Selling with Emails Email has increasingly become the primary way to introduce yourself and your products to customers. In this session, you will learn what differentiates good emails from those that are annoying intrusions: not read or worse, not opened. Proposals A well-written proposal builds credibility and trust in you and your company. A poorly written document can kill a sale. This workshop will teach you the structure for developing a successful proposal. Sales Presentations Gain hands-on experience using the information gathered in the early phases of the selling process to develop a winning presentation. Managing Rejection and Building Resilience It is crucial for salespeople to have a thick skin. Learn methods for staying positive and building resilience in the face of rejection. Technical Presentations and Demos This session builds on your presentation and pitching skills. You ll discover strategies for organizing and conducting product demos so that your customers clearly understand how the product will work for them. Sales Management In this two-part module, you ll focus on the goals of your future manager, developing a framework for working successfully with sales management staff in startup companies and measuring performance. Sales managers will join the conversation to discuss how they set goals, conduct planning sessions, and use coaching and feedback to improve performance for salespeople and account managers. 41
Closing the Sale Explore strategies and best practices for sealing the deal. This session will look at tools for advancing a sale that is stuck because of multiple decision makers, changes in the customer s organization, delays, and more. Big Ticket Items and Enterprise Selling Do big ticket items or selling to customers in large and complex organizations require unique approaches? In this session, you ll learn tactics for selling higher-cost products and working with enterprise-wide selling processes. Selling Small Ticket Items Gain insight into the pacing of the sales process and other adaptations required for selling small ticket items with long-term impact. Negotiations In this session, you ll learn from the experiences of salespeople in the trenches, as they share anecdotes of their objectives and challenges, as well as the tactics that successfully moved their negotiations forward. Motivational Selling Empathy and an understanding of the individual motivations of a customer are often the keys to a salesperson s success. Learn the three main categories of motivation and determine how those motivations can be addressed during the sales process. Storytelling and the Sales Process When done right, compelling examples and success stories enrich presentations and sales conversations. This workshop will teach you to craft sales narratives that are memorable, succinct and credible. Account Strategies and Competitive Selling Learn how salespeople and account managers work with colleagues to develop strategies for existing accounts and prospects. The Integrated Team Early-stage teams can t work in silos. To optimize performance and opportunities, startup employees need to be clear on how each member of the team fits into the big picture. In this session, you ll collaborate with students from other tracks to discover how your roles integrate and communicate. 42
Practical Learning Activities The Sales Challenge: Putting strategies into action for a competitive sales initiative Field visit for sales and account management Salesperson Shadow Day Track Deliverables Develop a comprehensive sales plan SI SALES & ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT GRADUATES ARE EMPLOYED BY: 43
CORE CURRICULUM The core strengthens the weaknesses you didn t even know you had. It s hard to describe the personal confidence that comes with this kind of self-transformation. Tay Tufenkjian, Startup Institute New York graduate The core curriculum is the heart of the Startup Institute experience. Who hasn t had the experience of working with a technical wiz who has all the brainpower, but none of the social skills to effect change? The fact of the matter is, no one can rely solely on technical skills, higher education, or a fancy résumé. Modern-day career success depends on the intangibles. Our core curriculum is designed to target the culture skills that our hiring partners value most and the skills that will take you from worker to leader. KEY COMPONENTS Culture Skills Research shows that people who rate highest in emotional intelligence receive the biggest raises and are promoted more frequently. The core curriculum will prepare you to take on progressive leadership roles with a series of exercises that will challenge you to acknowledge your weaknesses and strengthen your culture skills. Sessions include: Emotional Intelligence Communication Styles Introverts and Extroverts Situational Leadership How to Give & Receive Feedback 45
Career Development From personal branding and résumé workshops to acing the interview and negotiating salary, we ll equip you with the tools to succeed in your job hunt. Sessions include: Your Résumé is a Story Ideal Job Description & Positioning Statement Interview Styles & Mock Interviews Negotiating Salary & Equity Public Speaking Team Dynamics In a startup, all departments and roles have to work closely together. As part of a growing company, it will be critical that you maintain open lines of communication as you collaborate and juggle a range of responsibilities. You ll continue to build on culture skills and apply your technical learning to solve real problems in cross-disciplinary teams. Activities include: Hackathons Partner Project Workshop: The Integrated Team Mentorship Our in-program staff are here to support you every step of the way. You ll meet with a staffmember each week for an individualized mentor session, during which you ll address your goals, develop action-plans, and conquer roadblocks. 46
Startup Institute gave me the orientation to the Boston tech startup scene that I needed in order to feel knowledgeable and welcome. Transitioning from the arts, I had never worked with Hubspot, hadn t heard of Salesforce, and didn t really know what UX meant. Now I feel like I m in the know and can hold my own in conversations with other techies. Emily Griffin, Content Marketing Manager at 3PlayMedia 47
THE PARTNER PROJECT The only way to know what it s like to work for a startup is to work for one. The Partner Project assignment is designed to give you hands-on experience so you can be job-ready on day one. Working on-site once a week for one of our hiring partners, you ll be exposed to what it s really like to problem-solve for a high-growth company. HANDS-ON LEARNING Experience being part of an agile, multi-functional team Develop solutions that create tangible results Get an inside look at startup culture Receive coaching and feedback from practitioners Gain valuable insight about job opportunities PAST PROJECTS Company: Hudl City: Boston Challenge: Explore the full product development cycle, from research to design, development, and testing to optimize user engagement. 48
Company: Chitika City: Boston Challenge: Design, build, launch, and optimize an online tool to support a startup s lead generation strategy. Company: The Grommet City: Boston Challenge: Redesign a company s career page and develop on-brand materials, resources, and processes to support hiring initiatives. Company: SpaceWays City: Chicago Challenge: Research new market verticals, design assets for customer acquisition, and develop a sales cycle model. Company: UrbanBound City: Chicago Challenge: Create an end-to-end inbound marketing strategy for a new market. Company: Pursuits City: Chicago Challenge: Research new market verticals, develop a lead generation strategy, and build frontend features to increase conversion rates. Company: Krossover City: New York Challenge: Build a community platform that incorporates gamification, social media, a leader board, chat function, technical support, and administrative tools. Company: Reelio City: New York Challenge: Design and build a fully optimized landing page for Reelio U to help promote this new learning platform. Company: MediaMath City: New York Challenge: Develop a multi-channel social media strategy and supporting content to drive brand-awareness. 49
OUR NETWORK You re going to be networking with people who are really the cornerstones of the community. You have the benefit of not only seeing what the entrepreneurial experience is like, but also having at arm s length some of the world s greatest talent in terms of forming ideas, forming companies, guiding companies, and funding companies.. Tom Hughes, Co-Founder at IdeaLab, formerly Creative Director at Apple Marketing & Web Design Instructor at Startup Institute Fact: At least 70% of jobs are found through networking. US Bureau of Labor Statistics Whether you re looking for a new gig or are focused on advancing your career, a powerful network is the most valuable asset you can have. Why Network? Gather intel about job opportunities Get facetime with the people looking to hire Build your personal brand Connect with key players in your industry Learn how to grow your career and skillsets Develop alliances to help scale your organization The startup community is tight-knit, and most job opportunities are never listed online. More often than not, founders and hiring managers will rely heavily on their networks and past interactions; preferring to find what they need organically before ever posting the job. This Is Where We Come In Startup Institute puts you at the center of the innovation ecosystem. Every aspect of our program is designed to turbocharge your professional network. This isn t superficial networking we re talking about building real relationships with the industry experts and partners who help us develop our curriculum and teach our classes. They also hire our graduates. This is Your Network The Startup Institute experience begins as immersive learning with a cohort of strangers it ends as a network of mentors, entrepreneurs, practitioners, and peers that you take with you for the rest of your career. 51
Your Cohort Your cohort will be your family for eight intense weeks. You ll support each other, learn from one another, and leverage your networks to help each other achieve your goals. We ve taken the solo job hunt exercise and turned it into a team effort. We re in this together. Alumni With 900+ alumni working in hundreds of high-growth companies around the world, you ll be joining a powerful alumni network. They ve been in your shoes, so they get it. They ll pay it forward as your advisors and connectors. Instructors Our guest speakers are entrepreneurs and professionals from the local community. All of our instructors are working professionals in the innovation sector. They know the in-demand skills and what companies look for in their next hire. You ll have to put your best foot forward each day you never know when you could be meeting your future boss or colleague. Hiring Partners Over 400 innovative companies partner with us to elevate their brands and get access to our rich pool of talent. You ll get to meet their founders and CEO s during our intimate fireside chats and get facetime with hiring managers during exclusive networking events and partner fairs. Community In addition to our immediate Startup Institute community, you ll gain unique access to the tech community-at-large. We host and participate in dozens of events throughout the city where you ll have the opportunity to learn more about top companies that are shaping the future of innovation. 52
TALENT EXPO The program culminates with our signature event: Talent Expo. We turn the traditional career fair on its head to showcase our startup-ready graduates in a room full of CEOs and hiring managers. You ll take center stage to pitch your skills, ambition, and hustle in 60 seconds to this talent-hungry audience. Following the exposition, you ll work the crowd to network and schedule interviews. Don t worry about finding companies to talk to you ll be in high demand. 54
STARTUP INSTITUTE NEVER ENDS THE ALUMNI EXPERIENCE We re here to support your lifelong career growth. Networking As a Startup Institute graduate, you re always on the guest list. We invite you to participate in networking activities with each new cohort, and we host exclusive alumni events to keep you in constant contact with our partner companies. Mentorship Whether you re negotiating a new job offer or having trouble at work, we re here to help you navigate any career challenge. Continued Learning We re constantly developing new programming, based on what you tell us you want learn. Whether you want to skill-up with an evening class, participate in online learning, or just want to be inspired, we have a variety of offerings to keep your skill set relevant and in-demand. The Tent Our digital alumni platform enables our alumni to connect with each other around the world, post events, get inside access to job opportunities, ask questions, share insights, and learn about exclusive alumni perks. 56
Our vision at Startup Institute is to have thousands of alumni who are making a dent in the global innovation economy and who are stronger because of their connections to the SI network. Our new portal [The Tent] is step one in that journey and we hope that everyone leverages it as much as possible. Diane Hessan, CEO at Startup Institute
ADMISSIONS Our admissions team selects applicants who demonstrate an ability to thrive in the innovation economy and whose backgrounds will enrich the dynamic of their cohort. What makes a great Startup Institute candidate? Great applicants are curious, adaptable, and resourceful team-players. We look for strong communication skills and coachability, as well as action-oriented leaders who are prepared to tackle our intense curriculum and who are eager to make a profound impact on something bigger than themselves. What makes a great startup employee? To answer this question, we surveyed over 200 executives, entrepreneurs, and hiring managers. We found that there are six characteristics that best predict success for employees at high-growth companies. Our admissions process is designed to uncover which of these qualities you possess: Desire to learn Ability to thrive amidst ambiguity Passion: for the work and culture Scrappiness and grit Excellence at collaboration Willingness to put the company before oneself How can we support you? It is our priority to provide you with a remarkable learning experience that will advance your career. For this reason, our admissions process is high-touch. Multiple interviews with various members of our team will focus on exploring who you are, what you re looking to accomplish, and if Startup Institute can help you get there. If we re not right for you, we won t move forward with the process it s that simple. How can you support the community? We also have a responsibility to our hiring partners, and to the innovation economy at large. This is why we only accept 20% of applicants we owe it to our community to bring them the very best. 58