Most successful founders will tell you that there’s no single guide, book or course that could have taught them exactly what they needed to know to get their business to this point. They likely made it here through an amalgamation of consuming content, talking to other founders and most of all, hard fought experience.
Even the most well read founders I’ve met have told me that even though they had read or heard the lessons before (talk to customers, start small, look after your staff), they didn’t really understand those lessons until they had experienced them themselves.
Regardless, if you’ve come from a traditional education system and this is your first startup idea, then no one would blame you for looking for a course, guide or process for turning that idea into a reality - and there can be some value in taking a course.
As long as you couple your learning with taking action.
So with that said, here are some of the best free courses and content in startup 101 that you can access from Dunedin.
Antler Launch Academy
A curated resource library and global community of founders to grow your startup.
Antler Academy is a free online resource and community by global VC Antler. They have a huge library of content for founders at a variety of stages in their startup journey.
Pros
Free
Any stage
Decent UI/UX
Cons
Self-directed
Limited access to real people
Why does it exist?
Antler VC uses the Antler Academy as a way to generate deal flow for their venture capital firm.
Y Combinator Startup School
Learn how to start a company, with help from the world's top startup accelerator - Y Combinator.
Y Combinator is renowned as the world’s top accelerator programme. Their startup school includes more than just content with support for finding a co-founder and staying accountable for weekly progress.
Pros
Free
Learn from founders who have been there and done it.
Co-founder matching
Automated accountability tracking.
Cons
Mostly self-directed
Limited access to real people
Why does it exist?
Y Combinator uses the Startup School as a way to generate deal flow for their venture capital firm and improve the quality of their accelerator startups.
Blackbird Giants
1:1 mentoring from the best people from companies like Brighte, Culture Amp, SafetyCulture, Atlassian, Dovetail, Baraja, Airbnb, and Stripe. Giants is the place to validate your idea with access to resources, workshops and peer support.
Blackbird Giants combines workshops, 1:1 mentoring and a community of founders into a comprehensive programme designed to help you validate your idea.
Pros
Free
Talk to real people.
Content & 1:1 mentorship
Cons
Still requires self-direction.
Application required
Great startup names, but limited access to the actual founders of those startups.
Why does it exist?
Blackbird uses Giants to generate deal flow for their venture capital firm and get insight into which startups they should consider for investment.
Audacious
Tertiary Students - validate your startup idea over 7-weeks, while speaking to real Dunedin based founders and taking a shot at $10,000 worth of cash.
Audacious is for University of Otago and Otago Polytechnic students of ALL areas of study, all majors and minors. It is 14 hours total, with an optional pitch competition at the end through which you can win $10,000 worth of cash and prizes.
Pros
Free
In-person or online options
Talk to real people
Hear from Dunedin-based founders
$10k worth of prize money
Cons
You must be a University of Otago or Otago Polytechnic Student.
The founders you hear from don’t necessarily have the same level of success as Musk, Zuckerberg or other founders that feature in e.g. Y Combinator content.
Why does it exist?
Audacious exists to foster student entrepreneurship. It is funded by the University of Otago, Otago Polytechnic and Dunedin City Council who hope it will create better graduates, new companies and more jobs in Dunedin.
Kōkiri Online Pre-Acceleration Short Course
The Kōkiri pre-accelerator course supports Māori-led start-ups and provides a great foundation before entering the Kōkiri Accelerator programme.
Pros
Designed by Māori for Māori.
Free.
No start/end dates.
Cons
Online or must relocate.
Requires self-direction.
Why does it exist?
The Kōkiri pre-accelerator exists to support Māori entrepreneurs in preparation for applying for their accelerator programme.
Not sure where to start? Want bespoke support in working out your first steps?
Book in for a free startup check-in with us today.