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Advanced Certificate in Entrepreneurship: Building Your First Startup

  • Innovation & Business Improvement
  • Basic
  • SkillsFuture
  • Full Certificates
Next course starts on
To be advised
Fee
SGD10,464* (as low as SGD1,219.20 after maximum funding) Learn More
Duration

Each session is conducted over a full Saturday. Please refer below for respective dates.
 

Level
Basic

Who Should Attend

Anyone who is thinking of starting an establishment, a startup company, entrepreneurs and SME business owners. 

Overview

Learn to build your first startup—from idea to prototype, testing, and pitching—guided by experienced entrepreneurs.

Building your first startup can be an exciting but challenging experience! Many of the ideas you might want to pursue come with both opportunities and limitations that can be better analysed with a structured approach towards risk-taking.

This programme brings participants in the cycle of building their first startup, from identifying the right opportunity, building rapid prototypes, testing it to pitching the idea to investors and customers. Participants will learn the process with seasoned entrepreneurs and practitioners who have built their own successful startups.

Topic/Structure

Modules are not available on a standalone basis.

Module 1: Conceptualisation 
What problems do you face in your startup? How then do you decide what opportunity you should pursue when there are so many problems out there in the world today? This module brings you through a rapid problem to ideas generation process and narrows it down on your top 3 opportunities to pursue, using lean business model canvas to design workable solutions.

Module 2: Validation
Now you have a solution to the problem, but is the solution actually going to be purchased and used by your user? In this module, take your solution hypothesis out in the real world and gather feedback to determine which avenue to pursue and which solutions are not workable.

Module 3: Building 
Time to get your hands dirty! You identified the top solution you want to pursue, now to build a quick prototype to test with even more customers. Learn about how to build something without any codes and deciding what is your minimum viable product to use.


Module 4: Test & Iterate 
Take your solution out there and get it tested. Collect feedback and adjust the prototype as you see what is relevant and what is not. In this module, get an understanding of good product management, testing using frameworks and collecting customers' feedback.


Module 5: Pitch 
A successful pitch has many elements to it from the problem you are trying to solve to market sizing and team composition before the final ask. In this module, work on your first pitch deck collaboratively with experienced entrepreneurs and investors and get ready for your first pitch.


Module 6: Funding 
Not all startups require investors’ money for it to work! In wrapping up our 6 modules, get an overview of different funding sources available including Government grants. A quick look at investors' management and getting your first customers.

Assessment

Course assessment will be based on classroom exercises, case studies and project presentations. 

Calculate Programme Fee

Click here for more information about SkillsFuture Credits (Not applicable for Company-sponsored participants)
For PSEA - Available only for Singapore Citizen below 31 (Not applicable for Company-sponsored participants)

Total Program Fee: SGD0.00

Fee Table

COMPANY-SPONSORED

PARTICIPANT PROFILE

SELF-SPONSORED

SME

NON-SME

Singapore Citizen < 40 years old

Permanent Resident

LTVP+

$3,139.20

(After SSG Funding 70%)

$1,219.20

(After SSG Funding 70%
+ ETSS Funding 20%)

$3,139.20

(After SSG Funding 70%)

Singapore Citizen ≥ 40 years old

$1,219.20

(After SSG Funding 70%
+ MCES Funding 20%)

$1,219.20

(After SSG Funding 70%
+ ETSS Funding 20%)

$1,219.20

(After SSG Funding 70%
+ MCES Funding 20%)

International Participant

$10,464

(No Funding)

$10,464

(No Funding)

$10,464

(No Funding)

All prices include 9% GST

Please note that the programme fees are subject to change without prior notice.

Post Secondary Education Account (PSEA)
PSEA can be utilised for subsidised programmes eligible for SkillsFuture Credit support. Click here to find out more.

Intake Information

Run 1: [To be determined]

 

Trainers

Clement Tay
Mentor
Mendaki Mentoring Circle
Clement Tay
Mentor
Mendaki Mentoring Circle
Clement, Mentor at Mendaki Mentoring Circle and former Interim Head of Product & Head of SEA at Snapask, blends his passion for entrepreneurship and education. With eight years in start-ups spanning performance marketing, product development, and user research, he now empowers entrepreneurs at the Institute of Innovation & Entrepreneurship. His prior roles at Snapask, backed by Meitu, Tencent, and CP Group founders, led its SEA expansion. Clement prioritises operational excellence, driving people development and scalable growth strategies. An avid learner, he enriches his life through reading, podcasts, and reflective meditation. He looks forward to sharing and learning life lessons from the diverse people and start-ups he encounters.
Denise Lim
Expert Associate Partner | Business Building & Corporate Innovation
Bain & Company
Denise Lim
Expert Associate Partner | Business Building & Corporate Innovation
Bain & Company
Denise, Senior Manager at SMU Institute of Innovation & Entrepreneurship, is a seasoned entrepreneur with global experience. She has successfully exited two businesses and advised over 30 others in their early stages. Her expertise spans ideation, validation, and go-to-market strategies, showcased in media profiles like Channel NewsAsia and The Straits Times. Leading SMU's Incubation program, Denise has boosted startup funding by 50% in the past two years. With a background in management consulting at Accenture and founding businesses in Latin America, she brings a wealth of experience to her role. Denise holds a double degree from Singapore Management University and has received prestigious awards and scholarships, including the American Chamber of Commerce Scholarship and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs DUO-Singapore Exchange Fellowship Award.
Ivan Chang
Consumer Payments, APAC
The Walt Disney Company
Ivan Chang
Consumer Payments, APAC
The Walt Disney Company
Ivan is the Head of Payments, APAC for a Fortune 100 media company, overseeing a team managing over US$250 million in monthly transactions. He co-founded Wonder Group, managing offshore software teams across Asia, raising over US$1.5 million in startup capital. Ivan serves as Adjunct Faculty at SMU, teaching accounting and finance. He holds a Bachelor of Business Management from SMU and a Bachelors in Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes University. Ivan is also a Chartered Accountant and Certified Financial Analyst. In his free time, he enjoys adventurous travel and holds licenses for free fall parachuting and skydiving.

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