Nuts and Bolts of New Ventures
MIT Sloan's long-running IAP course walks through the process of launching a new venture, from an idea's inception to a working business or social enterprise. Sessions cover customer identification, business and economic models, financial projections, legal and operational issues, and financing alternatives and sources. Every session is led by practitioners who have actually founded or worked in successful ventures, not career academics. A 2026 addition, The Blues-Print for Innovation, pairs entrepreneurship with blues guitar through guest speaker Bob Jones. Materials come from MIT OpenCourseWare and include the syllabus and session recordings used in the on-campus version taught during MIT's January Independent Activities Period for 36 years. The course is free to access through OCW, with no certificate offered.