Good content but MOOC format fails due to lack of participants doing the assignments. The problem is I complete my assignment but not enough participants are available to peer-review the assignment. I follow coursera guidelines and post messages to the forum. The expectations Mullins sets forth for the assignments are good in practice (you work for your grade) but unrealistic for a MOOC format where I assume time is of a premium. For this course, I actually peer reviewed assignments from 2016! (It's 2020!) That is how long those assignments were waiting to get reviewed. THIS COURSE SHOULD NOT BE OFFERED FOR CREDIT! TAKE AT YOUR OWN RISK! I have not found a way to contact coursera for a refund. I have not tried reaching Mullins or the London Business School to somehow take action. It's not worth my time and $49. Of course the London Business School or Mullins could be laughing themselves to the bank but they will lose reputation because of not having a contingency to manage MOOC quality control. I think coursera loses reputation as well for not publicizing a notification process for courses like this one that have quality content but not the controls in place to deliver the final product (a certification) in a timely manner. I stopped doing homework for this MOOC because what is the point if no one else is grading the assignments? Ridiculous, rubbish. I ended up listening to most of the remaining interviews. I still learned something. But I PAID for the opportunity to get a certificate and COURSERA, London School of Business and Mullins did not hold up their end of the bargain. Yes, these are legal words. Now, I'm not about to sue over $49 but I do have a case as do other MOOC participants before me.

The course is good but the peer-graded assignments are a headache. There is too much work and the given time is very less, this is something which I didn't like about the course.

There's great information on how to get your business or idea started without actually having to get any finance from any VC or angel investors. Great insights, stories, and interviews.

Fantastic course, very precious advice. Gives fantastic perspectives on how to execute any entrepreneurial projects by focusing on generating cash and profitability from day 1.

I have done a few courses on entrepreneurship and venture capital, so I was quite curious to see what this course had to offer, taking the opposite approach.

And I must say, that it has been the most valuable learning experience so far for me on Coursera. It's really good and it gave me confidence that I'm on the right track, because I will much rather work with my customers than investors, and then bootstrap until I have to money to grow.

This course is very well organised and entertaining. Most of all its content is extremely useful and well backed up by theories (although they are explained in simple terms like the Porter's 5 forces framework) and resources (books, articles, interviews). As a mentor of start ups I already advised this course to some mentees and I myself will get back to it expanding through the main text book. Thanks

The course is excellent but some parts of the curriculum are a little outdated so I think it needs to be refreshed.

This course does not do what it says on the tin. I took this course and bought the book (£15) to learn how to fund my Start-Up. This course offered several scenarios that can be used 'once you get to a certain position'. If you start a website and want to put buyers and sellers together, then yes, getting the customer to fund it is possible. Having an idea and wanting to get that idea to a working demo or actual product, then no, this course doesn't do that. It tells you to 'Bootstrap' at the start and then once you have a product or service, then you can get a or some customers to fund the business.

I have an idea for a product to reduce Carbon Footprint, save on Feed costs for livestock and half the current cost of feed. It will use 95% less water than traditional methods, require no transport and benefit farmers and livestock, which then benefits the marketplace and consumers. But I have a Pitch Deck, Biz PLan, Financials, Website etc but need to build the product. I have no money to bootstrap any further and need at least £100k to get this system made and working to prove concept. Once I have proved concept, I can then approach customers to help fund the next step or approach Angels.

This course does not show me how to get funding for my start-up, to get to a stage where a customer would look at us.

Seems to be a marketing tool for the course leader's book

It was a great experience in doing this MOOC. What got me interested was "provocative title". In fact, I was wondering whether it is a ploy to get some hooked on to the course. But, all trepidations simply vanished when the course commenced and gathered pace. The subject matter that was covered was not only topical and very relevant but, it also greatly underscores the importance of bootstrapping that is very much needed for someone who is embarking on a entrepreneurial journey. The do's and don'ts ably illustrated by the illustrious professor John Mullins in this course, was quite an eye-opener. The regular reference to one of the all time best seller books i.e. #thecustomerfundedbusiness by the professor made this experience all the more invigorating and rewarding . Thank you very much for this opportunity.

Brilliant course, I got a lot out of this. Covers the main revenue models for customer funding. A great counter to the fashionable way of starting a company (business plan + VC) and a course I'll recommend to those looking to start their own businesses.

The assignments were genuinely challenging (not quizzes) which had me out speaking to entrepreneurs about their perspectives - something I honestly wouldn't have done if not encouraged to do by this course.

The course does assume that you have at least a rough idea for a business before you start. If you're just vaguely interested in business this will be less relevant for you.

It's a great course. Really loved it. No ready to use solutions, but certainly helps you unlock your potential to be a successful entrepreneur. At least that is the way I found it. The brief moments of pause John had given to the participants asking to think through, is a marvel. It made me come up with many ideas, which never happened in that rate before. If you patiently walk along, rather trying to finish it quick, may be you may find it the same way as me or even better. Best of luck to all of you with your projects and plans!

Very interesting and useful. It was a pleasure to take this course, by professor John Mullins. I read one of his books, "The Customer-Funded Business" which bring some valuable insights to topics revealed during this course. The assignments were useful ass well, and support me to better understand the concepts taught during the course. I recommend this course for everyone that want to have a deeper understanding of the Internet business models and some of the necessary entrepreneurial skills.

John Mullins, thank you for creating such an amazing and compact course, that I believe every start up founder should do! All the truth and advice hidden in all the interviews is just priceless!

The rich content and easy to follow tips, provide easy to implement knowledge! The variety of business models discussed make the course relevant to majority of the start ups.

I can't wait to put all that valuable knowledge into practice now!

Daria Marczak

As a recent MBA graduate, I can only recommend this course. So far the course is based on diverse and interesting interviews to know first hand the opinion and experience of some of the best players of the sector. These interviews are complemented with optional and mandatory readings to allow any student to catch up with the needed knowledge to take advantage of this MOOC.

I have taken a course about VC, and this course is about not needing VC. It's great to have different opinions, and this course offers an easy-to-understand format which consists of introductions of concepts and interviews from startups and investors. Very good course for moving past theoretical ideas and implementation of solutions in real business situations.

Really interesting and helpful !

As technical founder, I wanted to learn how to build a sustainable business around the product.

I found the course both : pragmatic and accessible. I also really appreciate the refrences given by Prof. Mullins.

I highly recommend for everyone who wants to understand the concepts of business without external funding.

A great set of ideas, strategies, and examples on how to grow without Venture Capital. I personally love the interviews with experts and successful entrepreneurs. Plus, it has some of the most interesting homework assignments ever; example: talk to at least five entrepreneurs about their experience with VC. Excellent!

You are my mentor, I really appreciate your dedication, this course has the most advance technique for entrepreneurship, I have obtained an extensive understanding of business architect, I recommend this course to make a master course or be part in an MBA module.

Very useful course for start-uppers seeking for VC. It gives many insights on DO's and DONTs through the whole process of building you business.

Happy to discover it exactly on the stage of the beginner. I think this course will help me avoid many stupid mistakes.

Truly inspiring course, very dynamic and with a lot of useful tools as the interviews and the recommended readings. I feel that i learned a bunch out of the course how the VC ecosystem works and some key facts to give a new life or perspective to my business.

Excellent, snappy presentation, very relevant and engaging interviews, good assignments that signify in the real world. Very helpful explanations of the five customer funded models. pitfalls to avoid as important as success stories. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

This course is mandatory material for those wanting to start a business. I am surprised to learn of things i am currently doing without being told, and discovering other things i should be doing and did not know of.

It is an amazing course in terms of how it ca help with setting up business without getting funded. It gives a glimpse of journeys of many startups which went the customer-funded way. Must need for an entrepreneur.

This course is very helpful to all those aspiring entrepreneurs who have an idea but are not sure of sorting the financials out. Thanks a lot to University of London, London Business School and Prof. John Mullins