RESOURCES

From ideation to launch, follow these recommendations and how-to resources to guide your entrepreneurial journey.

Our Annual Impact

Launched 40 startups through our accelerator & venture competition

Provided 750+ startups with 1:1 advising & educational programming

Awarded $425K funding, prototyping grants & pro bono services

STARTUP TIMELINE​

Go from 0 to launch with these resources!

Start

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STEP 0
should i start a startup?

 

Before a founder even gets to the point of evaluating a startup idea, determine the risk-reward calculus and assess whether you have the appetite to launch a new venture.

Key Learning: What's the Opportunity Cost?

Starting a startup is a big decision that requires an understanding of the challenges involved. Understanding your motivation will help you correctly calculate the opportunity cost.

 

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Take Action: Leverage Your Network

Talk to people who know you well. What do they think about your entrepreneurial appetite? Meet other NYU entrepreneurs in the startup community to learn from peers.

 

Join Network

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STEP 1
Ideation

Start by identifying a problem or opportunity that you are passionate about. Look for areas where you have expertise or interest, or identify gaps in the market where a solution is needed.

Key Learning: Have You Picked the Right Problem?

Start with a problem rather than a solution. Ideas that begin as solutions in search of problems are doomed to fail. Instead, focus on identifying a problem you’re uniquely positioned to solve.

 

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Take Action: Find Your Early Audience

Who do you want to build for? If you have identified a problem and an audience that experiences that problem, start talking to users to substantiate your hypotheses.

 

Upcoming Events

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STEP 2
Market Research

Market research is essential for founders to understand their target audience, validate product ideas, and gather valuable insights to build the right MVP.

Key Learning: Do You Understand Your Market?

To gain a comprehensive understanding of the market you want to operate in and how to differentiate, you will need to conduct both primary and secondary market research.

 

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Take Action: Validate Your Market

You need to talk to users and gain industry insights in order to differentiate your solution and come up with a unique value proposition. But how? Join our Startup Basics session to learn how.

 

Join Startup Basics

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STEP 3
Building a Team

Choosing your co-founder and picking the right early hires is a critical part of launching a successful startup and a sustainable business.

Key Learning: Why Are You Hiring?

Before you can bring on a team, you need to have clarity on your company vision and why you need to recruit team members. Hiring too quickly or for the wrong reason can hurt early growth.

 

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Take Action: Build Your Network

Join one of our many entrepreneurship events to build your startup network and find a co-founder. Events, like our Pitch Power Hour & Founder Matchup event, are a great way to recruit teammates.

 

Upcoming Events

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STEP 4
Launching a Prototype

Begin prototyping by leveraging simple, low-cost tools (even paper prototypes!) to visualize ideas, test concepts, and gather feedback before investing in more complex solutions.

Key learning: Perfect is the Enemy of Good

The purpose of a prototype is to test out your hypotheses and get early user feedback. To that end, you don’t need a fancy, high-fidelity prototype. You’re simply looking to determine whether you’re on the right track.

 

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Take Action: Book Appointment

Focus on releasing an imperfect, low-tech MVP to learn from real user feedback. Iteration, not perfection. Book a help desk with one of our Product Development experts to learn how.

 

Book Appointment

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STEP 5
Legal and Administrative

Startup law typically encompasses business formation, intellectual property protection, employment compliance, and contract management.

Key Learning: Don’t Reinvent the Wheel

Before asking a legal professional (and racking up a legal bill), check out existing legal resources for startups and follow standard best practice. Startup law for early ventures is very boilerplate.

 

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Take Action: Get an Expert’s Opinion

Once you have done your homework and you still have questions, book a session with our Legal or Intellectual Property help desk to determine your next steps.

 

Book Appointment

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STEP 6
Business Models and Financials

Each business model has it's own set of key metrics which are important to understand measure.

Key Learning: Different Metrics for Different Industries

Whether you’re developing a SaaS product, launching a marketplace, or entering the complex world of hardtech, knowing how to measure and drive key metrics can make or break your venture.

 

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Take Action: Get Feedback on Your Metrics

Book this 30-minute session with our Sounding Board advisory panel of former founders and startup advisors to get feedback on your ideas, learn what next steps to take, and plug into available startup resources across NYU’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

 

Book a Session

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STEP 7
Marketing and User Acquisition

Go-to-market and user acquisition strategies for early-stage startups focus on identifying target audiences, crafting compelling value propositions, and differentiating from solutions that already exist on the market.

Key Learning: How Deeply Do You Understand Your User?

Many startups overlook the importance of developing a deep understanding of their ideal customer profile (ICP). In order to know where to put your resources, you need to optimize how you acquire your best-fit users.

 

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Take Action: Define Your Go-To-Market Plan

Attend one of our upcoming Go-To-Market (GTM) workshops, or book a 1:1 session with our GTM expert. Almost all of initial startup planning leads to developing a strong GTM strategy to launch.

 

Book Appointment

launch

Other RESOURCES​

Here are some Berkley Center offerings to plug into the startup ecosystem at NYU

1:1 Startup Advising

Not sure how to launch your startup or where to begin? Book a 30 minute one on one talk with our Sounding Board advisory panel to kickstart the process.

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Entrepreneurs Challenge

The Entrepreneurs Challenge, hosted annually by the Berkley Center for Entrepreneurship, is a springboard for promising NYU startups.

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Stern Venture Fellows

The SVF program supports NYU’s high-potential entrepreneurs in advancing their ventures over a customized summer program. Fellows will spend ten weeks, full-time, growing their startup ventures with the guidance and support of NYU faculty and staff, alumni, and the bi-coastal mentor community.

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Upcoming Events

Check out our future events about entrepreneurship at Berkley Center! Stay tuned for networking sessions, guest speaker panels, and hands-on workshops designed to inspire and equip aspiring entrepreneurs. Don’t miss our upcoming Pitch Night, where innovators showcase their ideas, and our Startup Bootcamp, a weekend-long intensive to help you refine your business model. Visit our website for the full schedule and to register!

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Take your startup further, faster
with NYU's Premier Venture Competition

NYU Entrepreneurs Challenge

APPLICATION CLOSING

DEADLINE: SUNDAY DECEMBER 1 @ 11:59 PM EST

Apply Now!
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See NYU's top startups
of Face off for $225K In Seed funding

NYU Entrepreneurs Challenge

Final Pitch Off & Awards

Friday, April 26th

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