Business Fundamentals for Entrepreneurs

By Prof. Devdip Purkayastha | IIT Bombay

Learners enrolled: 6172 | Exam registration: 282

ABOUT THE COURSE:

The ‘Micro-MBA’ curriculum design provides a real-world and multi-disciplinary overview of successful companies. Students can learn diverse aspects of business, make better career choices and be more ready to join Industry. Working professionals can develop the cross-functional knowledge to perform better in their current jobs and be prepared for a broader role. Faculty members can widen the scope of their Business and Entrepreneurship courses. Entrepreneurs & Small Business Owners can better prepare to start or scale their businesses to the next level.

The course instructor, Prof. Devdip Purkayastha, is a Professor of Practice at the Desai Sethi School of Entrepreneurship at IIT Bombay. He combines 30+ years of senior-level Industry experience in leading MNCs with ~10 years of teaching and mentoring aspiring entrepreneurs at IIT Bombay.

INTENDED AUDIENCE:

All Engineering, Science, Humanities and Commerce Students
Working Professionals
Faculty Members
Entrepreneurs
Small Business Owners

INDUSTRY SUPPORT:
Entrepreneurship is a national priority for India, supported by various missions like Startup India and Smart India and policies like the National Innovation & Startup Policy. It is being encouraged at all IITs and higher educational institutes. Various organisations are also conducting programs to promote and enable ‘Micro-Entrepreneurship.’

Companies are actively re-skilling and upskilling their employees for superior performance, satisfaction, and' future readiness’. This online Micro-MBA course supports the corporate Learning and development process for employees.

Summary

Course Status :	Upcoming
Course Type :	Elective
Language for course content :	English
Duration :	12 weeks
Category :	Management Studies Entrepreneurship
Credit Points :	3
Level :	Undergraduate/Postgraduate
Start Date :	20 Jan 2025
End Date :	11 Apr 2025
Enrollment Ends :	27 Jan 2025
Exam Registration Ends :	14 Feb 2025
Exam Date :	04 May 2025 IST

Note: This exam date is subject to change based on seat availability. You can check final exam date on your hall ticket.

Page Visits

Course layout

Week 1

Introductory Module: Course Structure & Overview

Learning Objective: Understand the DNA of Business & Companies

Module 1: Overview of a Business

Module 2: Company & Structures

Week 2

Learning Objective: Understand Company Purpose. Vision, Strategy & Culture

Module 3: Vision, Mission, Goals, Strategy & Culture

Week 3

Learning Objective: Understand Innovation & Quality Manufacturing Processes

Module 4: Innovation & Product Development

Module 5: Manufacturing & Quality

Week 4

Learning Objective: Understand Leadership, People and Financial Management, ESG

Module 6: Finance & Accounting

Module 7: Leadership & Human Resources

Module 8: Environment, Society & Governance

Week 5:

Learning Objective: Understand Markets and Customers

Module 9: Market Research

Module 10: Customers & Segments

Week 6:

Learning Objective: Understand Basics of Marketing

Module 11: Values Based Marketing

Module 12: Marketing Communication

Week 7:

Learning Objective: Understand Basics of Sales

Module 13: Sales Channels & Distribution

Module 14: B2B & B2C Sales

Week 8:

Learning Objective: Understand Basics of Customer Service & Supply Chain

Module 15: Customer Service Management

Module 16: Supply Chain & Logistics

Week 9:

Learning Objective: Understand Business Information & Risk Management

Module 17: Business Risk & Management

Module 18: Business Information & Management

Week 10:

Learning Objective: Understand Business Models and Social Business

Module 19: Business Types & Models

Module 20: Social Business Development

Week 11:

Learning Objective: Understand How to Start New Tech & Social Ventures

Module 21: Starting Up a New Technology Venture

Module 22: Starting Up a New Social Venture

Week 12:

Learning Objective: Understand How to Create and Present a Business Case

Module 23: Business Case Discussion

Module 24: Course Recap & Wrap up

Learning Objective: Understand How to Accelerate Your Career

Bonus Module: 'The Quadrangle of Success'

Expert Modules

Week 1
Objective: Understand ‘What it Takes to Succeed’ as an Entrepreneur

Module A: Prof. Raj Jaswa, Silicon Valley Serial Entrepreneur & Senior Academician

Week 2

Objective: Understand Strategy in Practice

Module B: Prof. Ramesh Mangaleswaran, McKinsey Senior Partner and Academician

Week 3

Objective: Learn about ‘Innovation & Fast-Cycle Product Development’

Module C: Mr. Ashok Balasubramanian, CEO & Co-Founder of OpenWeaver

Week 4

Objective: Understand Entrepreneurial Finance, Valuations and Fund Raising

Module D: Prof. Umakant Jayaram, Senior Finance Professional, Academician & Bombay

Stock Exchange (BSE) Board Member

Week 5

Objective: Understand ‘How to Identify Technology Trends & Leverage Innovation?’

Module E: Prof. Raj Jaswa, Silicon Valley Serial Entrepreneur & Senior Academician

Module F: Prof. Raj Hirwani, Ex-Director at CSIR-URDIP & Senior Academician

Week 6

Objective: Learn “How to Discover your Customers?’

Module G: Dr. Nishant Tikekar, Medical Industry Expert and Academician

Week 7

Objective: Understand ‘How Brands can Create Value?’

Module H: Prof. Anu Narasimhan, Strategic Marketer & Board Member. Head - DS School

of Entrepreneurship, IIT Bombay.

Week 8

Objective: Learn about ‘The Magic of Winning Team!’

Module I: Prof. Sankalp Pratap, Ex-Tata Group & ex-IIM Faculty. Current Faculty for

Innovation & Entrepreneurship at IIT Bombay.

Week 9

Objective: Understand ‘How to Build ‘Responsible’ Business?’

Module J: Mr. H. V. Harish, Senior Finance Professional. Founder and Managing Director at

ECube Investment Advisors.

Week 10
Objective: Understand 'How to start own business?'

Module K: Mr.Kalpit Veerwal, Founder of Acadboost

Books and references

Management | by James A. F. Stoner, R. Edward Freeman, Amitabh Deo Kodwani Daniel R.

Gilbert, Ranjeet Nambudiri | Pearson Paperback - 19 January 2018

Principles of Corporate Finance | Richard A Brealey, Stewart C Myers, Franklin Allen,

Pitabas Mohanty | McGraw Hill

Human Resource Management | Gary Dessler & Biju Varkkey | Pearson Paperback

Marketing Management | Philip Kotler, Kevin Keller, Alexander Chernev, Jagdish Sheth, G

Shainesh | Pearson Paperback

Sales and Distribution Management | Richard R. Still, Edward W. Cundiff, Norman A. P.

Govoni, Sandeep Puri (Author) | Pearson Paperback

Operations and Supply Chain Management | Richard B. Chase, Ravi Shankar, F. Robert

Jacobs | McGraw Hill

Mini Case-studies and Websites:

Will be referred to and provided links as part of the course modules

Instructor bio

Prof. Devdip Purkayastha

IIT Bombay

Devdip Purkayastha is a full-time Professor-of-Practice at IIT Bombay, Desai Sethi School of Entrepreneurship. He combines 30+ years of senior management experience in leading global companies plus almost 10 years of teaching & mentoring Entrepreneurship students at IIT Bombay. During his corporate career, he worked successfully in various senior-level roles across India & Asia at reputed MNCs like P&G & DHL. He has been recognised in various industry forums, including as 'CEO of the Year'. For the past decade, he has been closely involved with the start-up ecosystem in the technology and social sectors. He teaches technology entrepreneurship courses, mentors start-up teams, and advises investors. He has served in the past as President of Enactus India. Enactus is a non-profit organisation that supports student social entrepreneurs across ~35 countries. He studied at IIT Kharagpur & IIM Calcutta and later participated in executive programs at Wharton & INSEAD.
Click here for the Linked In profile.

Course certificate

The course is free to enroll and learn from. But if you want a certificate, you have to register and write the proctored exam conducted by us in person at any of the designated exam centres.

The exam is optional for a fee of Rs 1000/- (Rupees one thousand only).

Date and Time of Exams: May 4, 2025 Morning session 9am to 12 noon; Afternoon Session 2pm to 5pm.

Registration url: Announcements will be made when the registration form is open for registrations.

The online registration form has to be filled and the certification exam fee needs to be paid. More details will be made available when the exam registration form is published. If there are any changes, it will be mentioned then.

Please check the form for more details on the cities where the exams will be held, the conditions you agree to when you fill the form etc.

CRITERIA TO GET A CERTIFICATE

Average assignment score = 25% of average of best 8 assignments out of the total 12 assignments given in the course.

Exam score = 75% of the proctored certification exam score out of 100

Final score = Average assignment score + Exam score

Please note that assignments encompass all types (including quizzes, programming tasks, and essay submissions) available in the specific week.

YOU WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR A CERTIFICATE ONLY IF AVERAGE ASSIGNMENT SCORE >=10/25 AND EXAM SCORE >= 30/75. If one of the 2 criteria is not met, you will not get the certificate even if the Final score >= 40/100.

Certificate will have your name, photograph and the score in the final exam with the breakup.It will have the logos of NPTEL and IIT Bombay .It will be e-verifiable at nptel.ac.in/noc.

Only the e-certificate will be made available. Hard copies will not be dispatched.

Once again, thanks for your interest in our online courses and certification. Happy learning.

- NPTEL team