Course Content

By the end of the program, students will:

• Acquire practical tools and methods to identify, test, and validate sustainable business opportunities.
• Develop leadership, adaptability, and the mindset needed to navigate uncertainty and build effective teams.
• Design and lead a real entrepreneurial project or take over an existing company.
• Gain exposure to both French and international startup ecosystems through semester abroad (Berkeley, USA), learning expeditions, company visits, seminars.
   

• Quizzes, exercices
• Case studies
• Business games and role-playing games
• Action projects
• Professional immersions
• A master's thesis (research paper)

Students take part in 2 field missions with real companies and entrepreneurs:

• Mission Startup Exploration: The students take on a real strategic challenge proposed by a company or a research project, using a field exploration approach inspired by customer discovery.
• Mission Restructuring: Working alongside a judicial administrator, the students develop recovery and restructuring plan for a business in difficulty.

Complementary courses, electives and various seminars – including the  Ent’raid Welcome Seminar in the Jura mountains and a Sales Seminar in retail stores in Paris – help students build both technical and interpersonal skills.

Student teams develop their entrepreneurial project within one of the paths proposed below, depending on their objectives and project focus:

• HEC Entrepreneurship by acquisition: Enables studtents to carry out of a financial and strategic evaluation of a takeover target, to study its financing plan, to work out a negotiation strategy and to prepare a business plan for acquisition.
• Learn2Launch - UC Berkeley: A hands-on immersion at UC Berkeley combining lectures, case studies, and expert talks. Students form startup teams and use their project as a live case study to experience each stage of building a venture, from idea validation to launch.
• Singapore - National University of Singapore (NUS): An opportunity to develop projects within the vibrant Singaporean ecosystem, particularly suited for ventures targeting the Asian market or sectors such as fintech, design, gaming and media, foodtech, logistics, or urban innovation. Weekly coaching sessions support students as they advance their project.
• HEC Startup Launchpad (including a learning expedition in London, UK): An intensive 11-week accelerator guiding student teams from concept to launch. Through a structured weekly curriculum, mentoring, and expert input, participants gain the tools and methods to turn their idea into a viable startup.

This phase ends with a collective Learning Expedition.
 

Students consolidate their entrepreneurial experience and skills and prepare for the next step in their journey. Combining targeted workshops, coaching sessions, and leadership training, this phase has two main objectives:

• Defining and refining the project or career path, through individualized coaching to help students clarify their goals—whether they pursue their venture or explore opportunities within the startup ecosystem.
• Developing essential interpersonal and leadership skills, through practical sessions focused on decision-making, negotiation, conflict resolution, and team management.

The phase also features:

• The École Navale seminar, focusing on leadership, teamwork, and resilience in demanding situations.
• The Demo Day, where selected student teams present their ventures to key figures in the French entrepreneurial ecosystem, including investors, mentors, and alumni.
  
   

Students move from learning to real-world application and choose between two paths:

• Launching their own venture: students develop and grow the entrepreneurial project initiated during the Test phase. If the project has reached a sufficient level of maturity, it can serve as the basis for the mandatory internship, subject to approval from the program’s academic direction.
• Completing a “right-hand to CEO” internship (4-6 months): students join a company, ideally within a startup or entrepreneurial context, to gain direct exposure to the decision-making and operational challenges faced by executives.

All students must also complete a Master’s thesis, combining academic rigor with practical insights from their entrepreneurial or professional experience.