A widely accepted notion in entrepreneurship circles is that the way to start and grow a thriving business is to come up with a great “idea”, write a great business plan, raise capital from angels or VCs, flawlessly execute the plan, and (Voila!) get rich! But it hardly ever happens this way.
The most cash-efficient entrepreneurs sometimes get their growth funding not from investors, but from their customers. Angel or venture capital can come later, once some customer traction is in hand. By doing it this way, they (and often their early investors) will end up owning more of their companies.
Professor Mullins is coming across the pond to teach entrepreneurs and investors alike the five customer-funded business models to put to work to fund their start-ups or grow their companies with some local rock star exemplars as case studies.