Discover the Librareome
For entrepreneurs of all levels, the Librareome is your self-directed digital library, featuring an exhaustive and ever-evolving curation of incredible articles, lectures, templates, videos and other relevant and informative content to support your entrepreneurial journey.
The information contained in this webpage is for general guidance on matters of interest only. The librareome content is for informational purposes and is not intended to substitute for the advice of a licensed or certified accounting, tax, legal or other competent advisers.
The views and opinions expressed by the speakers/authors do not state or reflect those of the UC San Diego and its management.
Have additional resources? Submit Resources.
How's our library doing? Leave Feedback.
Technical Skills
Business Development
Business Development is the identification of opportunities, either externally or internally that drive growth for the company.
- Business Development: Step-by Step (external link)
- Creating a Sales and Business Development Strategy (external video)
Business Model Canvas
The Business Model Canvas (BMC) is a strategic management tool to quickly and easily define and communicate a business idea or concept. It is a one-page document that works through the fundamental elements of a business or product, structuring an idea in a coherent way.
- Explaining the Business Model Canvas (external video)
- Business Model Template - Canvas (pdf)
- Business Model Template - Lean Model Canvas (pdf)
- Business Model Template - Mission Model Canvas (pdf)
- Business Modeling - Lecture (pdf)
- Flourishing Business Canvas - Overview (external video)
- Flourishing Business Canvas - Template (pdf)
- Essentials of Entrepreneurship & Innovation - Business Modeling (video)
Customer Discovery
Move beyond assumptions and explore how to better align your solution to your customer to ensure a proper fit for success.- Customer Discovery Basics (external link)
- Talking to Humans (pdf)
- Steve Blank: Acting on Customer Discover (external video)
- The Customer Development Methodology (pdf)
- Essentials of Entrpreneurship & Innovation - Customer Discovery (video)
- Gravity (Boss Academy) (website)
Design Thinking
Design thinking is a non-linear, iterative process that teams use to understand users, challenge assumptions, redefine problems and create innovative solutions to prototype and test.
- Larry Leifer on Design Thinking & the "Hunter" Metaphor (external video)
- Design Thinking - Lecture (pdf)
- Essentials of Entrepreneurship & Innovation - Design Thinking (video)
Financing
While ideas and technology are the engine of your business, capital is the fuel necessary to catapult your endeavor forward. Your success requires you to determine the right type of capital for the size and stage of your business. Learn how to prepare for, and approach investors to ensure the best chances for success.
- Startup Funding Book - Nicolaj Højer Nielsen (pdf)
- Investment Handout Template (pdf)
- How to Value an Early Stage Company (pdf)
- Sample Financing Presentation (pdf)
- Draft Term Sheet (pdf)
- Essentials of Entrepreneurship & Innovation - Financing (video)
- SBIR Grant Collaboration with DoD, NAVWAR and NIWC Pac Workshop Series (external video)
- SBIR Grant Collaboration with DoD, NAVWAR and NIWC Pac Tutorial Videos (external video)
- Gravity (Boss Academy) (website)
- 5 Patterns VCs Use to Help Spot Founders Worth Investing In (pdf)
- How to Go from Seed to Series A to Series B Funding (pdf)
- Give Me Equity or Give Me Debt: Making the Right Non-dilutive Financing Decision (pdf)
Human Resources
Managing people and those relationships are just as important your bottom line.
- Navigate Cofounder Relationships (external link)
- Get More Done (external link)
- Diversity and inclusion at Early Stage Startups (external video)
- Creating a Culture of Responsibility (pdf)
- Essentials of Entrepreneurship & Innovation - Teams (Coming Soon)
Intellectual Property
Intellectual property emerges as a crucial asset for protecting, enhancing, and monetizing innovation. By securing patents, trademarks, and copyrights, startups can establish a formidable competitive advantage, attract funding, and drive growth.
- IP-rimer: A Basic Explanation of Intellectual Property (external link)
- Intellectual Property Essentials for Academic Researchers (external link)
- Essentials of Entrepreneurship & Innovation - Intellectual Property (Coming Soon)
Marketing/Sales
At the heart of any successful sale and marketing strategy is an understanding of your target audience and customer base. By learning who your customers are, what they need and why they buy, you can tailor your sales & marketing strategy to better meet their needs.
- The Power of Branding (external link)
- Sale and Business Strategies (pdf)
Product Development
Product development is of critical importance for technology startups: given the limited budget typically available to early-stage startups, making the right product development decisions can make the difference between success and failure.
- Illustrated Guide to Product Development (external link)
- Product Market Fit - Techstars (external video)
- The Arc Product-Market Fit Framework (pdf)
Prototyping
The first stage of product development in startups is prototyping. A prototype is a very simple product to visualize your idea so that you can start getting feedback and traction.
- Rapid Prototyping (external video)
- Minimum Viable Product - Steve Blank (external video)
- Essentials of Entrepreneurship & Innovation - Prototyping (Coming Soon)
Storytelling/Pitching
Storytelling is a craft. Just like product development, you have to improve your story through practice, feedback, and iteration.
- Master Your Pitch (external link)
- How pitching investors is different than pitching customers (external video)
- Getting to Wow! - Bill Reichert (pdf)
- Getting to Wow! - Slide Deck - Bill Reichert (pdf)
- Pitch Deck Template (pdf)
- Essentials of Entrepreneurship & Innovation - Storytelling (Coming Soon)
Team Building
For a team to win, it first needs to be the right team.The company’s DNA is a crucial factor in its chances of succeeding, and the biggest challenge for founding entrepreneurs is to build it the right way.
- Build a Diverse Workforce (external link)
- How to Be a Good Leader (external video)
- The Real Genius of Steve Job (video)
Technical Skills
Entrepreneurs need to possess the technical savvy to move their ventures forward in uncharted territory. Technical skills are important for every entrepreneur.
- How to Build and Succeed as Technical Founder (external video)
Interpersonal Skills
Most entrepreneurship programs tend to focus on the technical and business skills necessary to build a business, but often neglect the soft skills which are critical for success.
Behaviorial ‘Fitness’
Running a company can be stressful in the best of times and team dynamics, customer preferences, and market conditions are in constant flux, requiring entrepreneurs to navigate these changes with awareness, precision, and agility.
In addition, cultivating and practicing trust can be difficult for startup founders who often have to be reminded that “their baby” is bigger than they are. By trusting others entrepreneurs can achieve exponential outcomes, while improving creative outcomes, team morale and acceptance.
- Resilience: The Cornerstone Of Entrepreneurship (external link)
- Putting Purpose Into Practice (pdf)
- Startup Founder Survival Guide (pdf)
Cognitive ‘Athleticism’
Extraordinary entrepreneurs possess the ability to think in a non-linear way, particularly under conditions of volatility, ambiguity, and stress. It is important to not only embrace the obvious and most direct path, but also to see routes that can.
Communication
Entrepreneurs have to be able to effectively communicate with your team, customers, partners, and investors. It also means being a good listener and understanding what people are saying to you. To describe a future that a customer, partner, or team member has not yet experienced yet requires entrepreneurs to be master storytellers and take us with them on a journey we can not only imagine, but can see ourselves participating in.
- 5 Honest Reasons Why Founders Ghost You (pdf)
- The Correct Way Entrepreneurs Should Manage Warm Introductions (pdf)
- Think Fast, Talk Smart: Communication Techniques (external video)
- What Founders Should Ask VCs In Fundraising Meetings (pdf)
- How Bad Entrepreneurs Reveal Themselves in the First 5 Seconds of a Pitch (pdf)
- How Much Can Founders Realistically Raise in their First Round? (pdf)
Conflict Resolution
Conflicts arise in any environment where people interact. Businesses are no different. While conflict is largely inevitable, a leader's ability to resolve disagreements quickly and effectively can prevent those conflicts from damaging productivity and interpersonal relationships.
- The Big Book of Conflict Resolution Games (pdf)
- Leading Off: Fight or Flight? A leader's Guide to Managing Conflict (external link)
Creative Problem Solving
Creativity can be an important trait of an entrepreneur. The intent of being an entrepreneur is to break away from practical norms and use imagination to embrace quick and effective solutions to an existing problem.
- Why Creative Problem Solving (external video)
- Why Creative Problem Solving Works (external video)
- Anatomy of Creative Problem Solving (external link)
Empathy
Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within the other person's frame of reference. Empathy is a critical skill for entrepreneurs because it allows them to put themselves in their customers', employees, and partners' shoes, and understand their needs, wants and aspirations.
- How Empathy Pays Off for Entrepreneurs (external link)
- Transactional Versus Relationship View - Heidi Roizen (external video)
How to Play (Serious Play)
Play can increase creativity, reduce stress, therefore, increasing overall performance with improving your overall mood and productivity level. Play, especially in adulthood, helps to increase innovation and creativity, which leads to business success.
- Play an Important Skill for Entrepreneurs (external link)
Imagination
Entrepreneurial imagination involves the ability to envision possibilities beyond the existing boundaries. It allows entrepreneurs to think beyond conventional wisdom, challenge the status quo and imagine new possibilities of solving problems or meeting customer needs.
- From Imagination to Entrepreneurship (external link)
- Imagination Starts with Engagement - Tina Seelig (external video)
Leadership
Entrepreneurial leadership is a mindset that sees opportunities where others see problems. Leadership skills are essential for entrepreneurs as they need to be able to motivate and inspire their team members in order to achieve success.
- Leadership and Entrepreneurship (external link)
- Leadership Is Responsibility, Not Power (external video)
- The Death of Command-and-Control: Why Old-School Leadership is Killing Your
Team's Potential (pdf)
Navigating Uncertainty
At the core of entrepreneurship lies a willingness to embrace uncertainty. Entrepreneurs who navigate risks successfully can reap financial gains, industry recognition, and personal fulfillment.
- Risk & Reward: Navigating Uncertainty on the Path to Entrepreneurial Success (external link)
- Superlinear Returns - Paul Graham (external link)
- How do businesses deal with uncertainty effectively (external link)
- How to Navigate and Thrive Through Uncertainty (external video)
Organizational Culture
Organizational culture is the set of values, beliefs, attitudes, systems, and rules that outline and influence employee behavior within an organization. The culture reflects how founders, employees, customers, vendors, and stakeholders experience the organization and its brand.
- The Leader’s Guide to Corporate Culture (external link)
- The Power of Corporate Culture (external video)
Search Lectures
Powered by EVT, you can now search all of our hosted lectures on entrepreneurship, innovation and other assorted topics.