As an entrepreneur, you will come to realize that there is a never-ending amount of information about business, marketing and money. But, you don’t always have the time or resources to spend learning the ins and outs of every skill it takes to run a business. Flipping through hundreds of books, podcasts and online courses to grab the best pieces of business advice is overwhelming. So we searched near and far for some of the best courses, podcasts, and books that help entrepreneurs master startup finance.
Online Finance Courses for Entrepreneurs
Financial Markets with Bob Shiller by Yale University
Learn the basics and then some from this Nobel Laureate in Economics and one of the most important thinkers in finance. The course includes ideas, methods, and institutions that permit human society to manage risks and foster enterprise, with an emphasis on financially-savvy leadership skills. Get the groundwork for your startup’s success well laid before there are too many moving parts, and equip yourself with the knowledge to help make great decisions as your company grows.
Game Theory with Mathew O. Jackson by Stanford University & The University of British Columbia
Look at the incentives and behaviour driving everything from what we traditionally think of as games to competition among firms, trading behaviour on stock markets, and Google keyword auctions. This famous and well-studied methodology for modelling is commonly used in economics as a valuable tool to aid in the fundamental analysis of industries, sectors, and any strategic interaction between two or more firms.
Entrepreneurial Finance: Strategy & Innovation by Duke University
This course was designed to help entrepreneurs understand their financial strategy and look at it strategically to appeal to investors, banks, and other types of funding to create long-term financial growth. Learn how to evaluate entrepreneurial ventures—including high-growth startups, build and manage capitalization tables, study blockchain success and failure applications, and use R programming to determine the rate of return on stock portfolios.
Startup Financing Books
The Startup Owners Manual by Steve Blank
Taught at top business schools, Amazon’s #1 title under entrepreneurship, and tens of thousands of positive reviews. This entrepreneurial book is more than just finance, but should be a must-read for all people thinking about starting their own business. Explore the title even further through Steve Blank’s website which has teaching resources, speeches, podcasts, & more.
Zero to One by Peter Thiel
Written by the co-founder of PayPal, this book is just over 200 pages but packs a punch. It’s a part self-help book, part call to action for startups to build a better world. Dive into a ‘profound articulation of capitalism and success in the 21st-century economy’, ‘bursting with bromides and sunny confidence’, – Derek Thompson. The book focuses on basic concepts that are easy to implement for every industry, which is surprising coming from a man who has invested in; an anti-aging biotech firm, an organization dedicated to building ocean communities underwater, and a foundation that pays teenagers to drop out of college and start new companies.
Startup Financing and Business Podcasts
The Backbone
The LinkedIn profile of Shubham Datta, CPA, CA, includes names like KPMG and Shopify. And he was an adjunct professor for the University of Waterloo, teaching a master’s course in an introduction to startup finance. Skip the hefty tuition fees and listen to Datta interview financial leaders at tech startups whenever is most convenient for you. Don’t work, this podcast launched in 2017, so there is lots of content to binge.
The Top Entrepreneurs
Serial Entrepreneur Nathan Latka releases a 20-minute interview every day with up-and-coming or top startup executives to discuss. how much they sold last month, how they are selling it, and what they are selling. People consistently praise Latka for his ability to get the people he interviews to open up about very sensitive information.
The Tim Ferriss Show
Tim Ferriss is an Angel Investor and advisor to Uber, Evernote, Shopify, Automattic (WordPress.com), Early investor in Twitter, Facebook, and 20+ others. He’s the author of the 4-Hour Workweek, and his podcast interviews experts in all industries and specialties to find out tips, rules, and processes that can be applied to all areas of business. A refreshing look on what business can mean.
Looking to take your startup to the next level?
As a leader, you should always be striving for self-improvement. No matter which way you learn best, there are so many great ways to get your hands on new ideas, materials, and ways of thinking.
TBDC is Toronto’s oldest business incubator, and we are a designated partner for the Startup Visa Program. Our 6-month business incubation program was specifically designed to help international entrepreneurs with high-potential companies scale to international markets. Come join thousands of business leaders, ecosystem partners, and other founders looking to change the world! Apply today.
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