ENTREPRENEURSHIP COURSES FOR EVERY STAGE
Choose the course that matches your next business decision
Build practical work for your own venture in the stage you are in today. Complete one course to earn its certificate, then continue through all three to become eligible for the Certified Entrepreneurial Professional designation.
Every course includes the opportunity to earn a certificate. CEP adds a distinguished professional credential to the full three-course pathway.
Try a free 15-minute business decision exercise.
Choose the course that fits the decision in front of you
Start with the business decision that matters most right now. Each course helps you turn what you learn into practical work for your own venture, so you leave with an evidence-based business model, a focused launch plan, or a 90-day growth strategy you can use.
Complete a course to earn its individual certificate. Complete all three to become eligible for the Certified Entrepreneurial Professional designation, adding a professional credential to the practical work you have built along the way.
Start where you are and keep building as your goals grow. Add the Venture Community or coaching whenever you want more connection, accountability, or personalized support.
CHOOSE YOUR STAGE
Shape your idea. Launch with direction. Grow with focus.
Start with the statement that sounds most like you. Each course helps you solve the decision in front of you and leave with practical work you can use. Earn a certificate for each course you complete, then continue through all three whenever you want to add the CEP designation.
Venture Mapping
I have an idea, but I need to know whether it can really work.
Map Your Venture
Turn an early concept into an evidence-based business model grounded in customer and market understanding.
You Will Leave With
A business model you can explain, test, and use to decide what to do next.
Course Certificate
Certificate in Business Model Development after the published requirements are completed.
Formats
Self-paced Venture Mapping drops on September 15, 2026 at 6 AM Eastern. Enroll now for self-paced access on September 15, or explore the separate live cohort option.
Launch Navigation
I’m preparing to launch and need a clear plan for reaching my first customers.
Launch With Direction
Turn an evidence-based model into a focused launch plan connecting brand, marketing, sales, operations, and early performance decisions.
You Will Leave With
A practical plan for bringing your business to market, reaching first customers, and knowing what to do next.
Course Certificate
Certificate in Business Launch Strategy after the published requirements are completed.
Formats
Self-paced and live cohort options are being prepared.
Growth Mapping
My business is operating, but I need clearer priorities and a practical path forward.
Grow With Focus
Turn competing priorities into a focused strategy connecting customers, operations, and capacity.
You Will Leave With
A practical 90-day growth strategy that identifies what to do now, next, and later.
Course Certificate
Certificate in Business Growth Strategy and Scaling after the published requirements are completed.
Formats
Self-paced and live cohort options are being prepared.
Build the work. Earn recognition. Keep advancing.
Every course creates practical work for your venture and an opportunity to earn a stage-specific certificate. Complete all three to become eligible for the comprehensive CEP examination and professional designation.
1. Choose your current milestone
Match your next decision to Venture Mapping, Launch Navigation, or Growth Mapping and begin building the work your business needs now.
2. Build practical work for your business
Complete module quizzes and deliverables, then bring your work together in a final course project and comprehensive assessment.
3. Earn recognition for that stage
Meet the published course requirements to earn the related certificate, recognizing your assessed learning and completed work.
4. Qualify for the CEP designation
Earn all three course certificates, then pass the comprehensive CEP examination to add the Certified Entrepreneurial Professional designation to your achievements.
WHAT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO DO NEXT
MEET YOUR INSTRUCTOR
Learn from someone who has taught it, led it, and lived it
The CEP pathway was built by Kristi Mitchell, MBA, Professor of Practice in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Butler University and a founder who has built and led multi-million-dollar businesses.
Kristi has taught entrepreneurship at Butler for more than 10 years and directs the Real Business Experience program, where 56 student teams a year launch and operate real businesses with real customers and real revenue. Butler’s entrepreneurship program received the 2026 USASBE Model Re-Emerging Program Award, and Butler credits Kristi and a faculty colleague with helping advance the academic rigor and applied relevance of two cornerstone courses.
Every MVC course connects university-level frameworks with four decades of business experience and the practical decisions founders make in real ventures.
QUESTIONS? ANSWERED.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to complete all three courses?
Which entrepreneurship course should I start with?
What is the difference between self-paced and a live cohort?
How do I earn a course certificate or the CEP designation?
How much time should I plan each week?
What technology do I need to take a course?
Choose the business decision you need to make now. Complete one course, return for another stage later, or build toward CEP over time. The pathway is available when it serves your goals.
VIEW ALL COURSE OPTIONSTry the MVC approach: prepare one business decision
You can start before enrolling. Set aside 15 minutes and use a notebook or document you already have.
Choose the question that fits your stage
- Map: Which customer or problem assumption most needs evidence? Plan a conversation about the last time someone faced that problem.
- Launch: Can a customer buy what you offer and receive what you promise? Walk through one realistic purchase and mark the first unclear or untested step.
- Grow: What is limiting the business now? Trace one recent sales, delivery, or capacity problem, then compare it with other records before treating it as a pattern.
Write a six-part decision note
- The decision: What am I trying to decide?
- What I know: What have I observed, and where did the information come from?
- What I assume: What still needs checking?
- My next action: What small step could give me useful evidence?
- My limit: How much time or money can I reasonably commit?
- My review: When will I examine the result, and what would lead me to continue, revise, or pause?
After the action, add what happened, what else might explain it, and what you will change. Keep the earlier note so you can see how your reasoning developed.
Check your work: Can someone else distinguish observations from assumptions? Does the action address the decision? Have you allowed for a result that changes your mind?
If the evidence is inconclusive, narrow the question or choose a different way to learn. A thoughtful decision to change or pause is useful progress.
