Entrepreneurship: Scaling & GTM Growth Strategy

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Provider

Coursera
Pricing

Paid Course
Languages

English
Certificate

Paid Certificate Available
Duration & workload

15 hours 5 minutes
Sessions

On-Demand
Subtitles

English

Found in

Part of

The Entrepreneurial Toolkit

Overview

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The CREO Entrepreneurship: Scaling & GTM Growth Strategy Course supports entrepreneurs and growth-stage professionals in designing and executing effective go-to-market strategies. The course focuses on how start-ups and growing ventures can take products or services to market with clarity, structure, and strategic intent. Participants explore the core components of a GTM strategy, including market analysis, customer segmentation, value proposition development, competitive positioning, and channel selection. The course examines how data, insights, and experimentation inform marketing and growth decisions, and how GTM strategies evolve as ventures scale. Through applied frameworks and real-world examples, learners develop practical approaches to aligning product, marketing, and sales efforts. By emphasizing strategic thinking and execution, the course enables learners to approach market entry and growth decisions with greater confidence and discipline. By the end of this course, you will be able to: - Analyze market opportunities and customer segments - Develop a structured go-to-market strategy - Position a product or service relative to competitors - Apply growth and marketing tactics aligned with GTM goals - Evaluate and refine GTM strategies based on market feedback Prerequisites: - Basic familiarity with entrepreneurship or early-stage business concepts is recommended but not required. The course is suitable for founders, start-up team members, and professionals involved in growth and market expansion.

Syllabus

Market Study

This module provides a structured and practical introduction to market studies, equipping learners with the tools needed to assess whether a business idea addresses a real, viable market opportunity. It begins by defining what markets are and how they can be segmented using demographic and psychographic factors, helping learners understand who their customers are and why they behave the way they do. The module introduces essential market concepts such as market size, return on investment (ROI), and key market metrics including TAM, SAM, and SOM. Learners explore different approaches to market analysis, including top-down and bottom-up methods, and examine the conditions required to achieve product–market fit. Through real-world examples, the module also highlights common characteristics of weak or unattractive markets and examines Rashleff’s law of start-up success to reinforce the importance of market timing and readiness. A significant portion of the module focuses on conducting effective market studies through both primary and secondary research. Learners are guided through interviews, focus groups, surveys, and field trials, learning how to design insightful questions and collect meaningful data. The module concludes by exploring best practices for secondary research and introducing open-access tools that support evidence-based decision-making.

Competitive Analysis

This module introduces learners to competitive analysis as a critical tool for understanding the business landscape and positioning a venture effectively within it. Learners begin by defining competitive analysis and clarifying its purpose, while addressing common misconceptions such as focusing only on direct competitors or copying existing solutions rather than learning from them. The module guides learners through the core components of a competitive analysis report, including competitor profiling, market positioning, sources of advantage, and strategic differentiation. Participants learn how to systematically compile competitor profiles by examining offerings, pricing, customer segments, value propositions, and go-to-market strategies. Emphasis is placed on identifying meaningful insights rather than collecting surface-level data. Learners also explore what constitutes a true competitive advantage and how it can be created, sustained, or strengthened over time. The module introduces practical frameworks and tools, including the competitive matrix, to visually map competitors and assess relative strengths and weaknesses.

Product Development

This module provides a structured and practical introduction to product development, guiding learners through the full journey from idea to a viable market-ready product. It begins by clarifying what product development entails and why many products fail, helping learners understand common pitfalls early-stage entrepreneurs often face. Learners are introduced to the product development process and its six key steps, with a strong focus on ideation, research, planning, prototyping, sourcing, and costing. The module highlights frequent mistakes made during the research phase, particularly assumptions about customer needs, suppliers, and feasibility, and explains how better validation can reduce risk. Special attention is given to the importance of planning with both suppliers and potential customers, ensuring that product decisions are grounded in real-world constraints and market expectations. Learners explore prototyping as a critical tool for learning and refinement, alongside sourcing strategies that minimise operational and financial risk. Practical examples are used to illustrate different costing approaches and their implications. The module concludes by emphasising the value of running costing, sourcing, and prototyping in parallel rather than sequentially, enabling faster learning, better decision-making, and more resilient product outcomes.

UX Design

This module introduces entrepreneurs to the fundamentals of User Experience (UX) design and its critical role in building products that users find intuitive, valuable, and engaging. It begins by clarifying key design and UX terminology that founders need to understand in order to collaborate effectively with designers, developers, and product teams. Learners explore what “user experience” truly means beyond visual design, focusing on how users think, feel, and behave when interacting with a product or service. The module breaks down the essential components of UX design, including usability, accessibility, consistency, and user-centred thinking, helping learners recognise what makes an experience successful or frustrating. Through real-world examples of effective UX, learners analyse why certain products resonate strongly with users and how thoughtful design decisions influence adoption, retention, and trust. The module also walks through the UX implementation process, from understanding user needs and mapping journeys to testing and iterating solutions. Finally, learners are introduced to essential considerations and emerging trends shaping the future of UX, enabling them to make informed design choices as their products evolve.

Market Test

This module focuses on how entrepreneurs can systematically validate ideas and reduce uncertainty before committing significant time, resources, or capital. It introduces the concept of market testing as a critical step between ideation and full-scale product development, helping learners understand when testing is necessary and how to do it effectively. Learners begin by exploring the idea validation process and why early experimentation is essential for building solutions that genuinely meet market needs. The module highlights the role of research and development (R&D) in strengthening ideas, improving product quality, and increasing the likelihood of market success. The module then explains what market testing entails, including its objectives, costs, and practical considerations. Learners examine different testing approaches, with a particular focus on A/B testing understanding what it is, when to use it, and how to interpret results responsibly. Emphasis is placed on identifying the right variables to test and avoiding common pitfalls that lead to misleading conclusions. Finally, learners learn how to analyse and interpret market test results to make informed decisions, whether to iterate, pivot, or proceed.

Go-to-Market Strategy

This module introduces learners to the fundamentals of designing and executing an effective Go-to-Market (GTM) strategy. It clarifies how a GTM strategy differs from a broader business plan or marketing strategy, and why it plays a critical role in translating a product or service into real market adoption. Learners explore the key considerations involved in GTM implementation, including timing, resource allocation, market readiness, and organisational capabilities. The module examines strategic choices entrepreneurs face when entering a market, such as collaborating with existing players versus competing directly, and adopting slower, incremental approaches versus faster, more aggressive market entry strategies. The module then focuses on the four main market strategies, illustrating how each can be applied in different contexts. Through practical examples and case studies, learners assess the strengths, limitations, and risks associated with each approach, developing the ability to critique and adapt strategies rather than apply them mechanically. Finally, learners examine different growth strategies and compare GTM approaches across business models and product types.

Pricing & Sales Strategies

This module explores how pricing and sales strategies work together to drive revenue, profitability, and sustainable growth. It introduces learners to different pricing models and dimensions, helping them understand how pricing decisions are shaped by both internal factors such as costs, margins, and business objectives—and external factors, including customer behaviour, competition, and market dynamics. Learners examine a range of pricing strategies and assess when each is appropriate, alongside an overview of standard retail and distribution margins. The module then shifts focus to sales execution, explaining what a sales cycle is, how it is structured, and why managing each stage effectively is critical for closing deals and scaling a business. Through practical frameworks and examples, learners identify strategies to move opportunities forward within a sales cycle, diagnose bottlenecks, and improve overall sales efficiency. The module also introduces key sales cycle KPIs, enabling learners to measure performance, forecast outcomes, and make data-informed improvements.

Fundamentals of Marketing

This module introduces the core principles of marketing and provides entrepreneurs with a practical foundation for building and communicating a strong market presence. It begins by familiarising learners with essential marketing terminology, ensuring a shared understanding of key concepts commonly used across branding, positioning, and growth discussions. Learners explore how to position a brand clearly and strategically, examining different positioning approaches and how they influence customer perception. The module also looks at the role of branding elements such as colours, logos, and visual identity in shaping trust, recognition, and emotional connection with target audiences. In addition, learners are introduced to brand archetypes and how they can be used to create consistent and authentic brand narratives. The module then outlines the main pillars of marketing, connecting strategy with execution. Learners gain an overview of basic marketing strategies and channels, alongside a practical introduction to commonly used marketing tools. Throughout the module, the focus remains on clarity, consistency, and alignment between a business’s value proposition, brand identity, and marketing activities.