The world of entrepreneurship is both invigorating and challenging. It demands creativity, determination, and a constant hunger for knowledge. With the advent of the internet, aspiring entrepreneurs now have a plethora of online courses at their disposal to hone their skills and acquire the know-how to navigate the complex business landscape. This article brings forth the best online entrepreneurship courses that equip you with practical tools, real-world skills, and the inspiration required to launch your own business.
How We Ranked the Courses
We evaluated 40 online entrepreneurship courses to arrive at our top selections. Our ranking methodology focused on the following primary factors:
Basic Criteria
Time to Complete: The duration of the course should allow you to quickly apply your newfound knowledge in establishing and managing your business.
Prerequisites: We favored courses that don’t require any prerequisites, allowing you to dive straight in and start learning.
Flexible Schedule: Understanding that entrepreneurs are often juggling multiple tasks, we prioritized courses that offer flexibility in terms of schedule.
Certificate of Completion: Most of the courses we’ve selected provide a certificate upon completion, which serves as an excellent addition to your professional portfolio.
Advanced Criteria
Comprehensiveness: The course should cover a broad set of entrepreneurial skills, from idea generation to securing venture capital.
Instructor Credentials: The instructors should be experienced entrepreneurs or business leaders with a knack for effective teaching.
Proven Effectiveness: Preference was given to courses that have helped former students successfully start their own businesses.
Interactions: Courses that foster a sense of community through online interactions with peers were deemed more beneficial.
Below, we’ve listed our top picks for online entrepreneurship courses, along with their unique features, pricing, duration, and who they’re best suited for.
Intelligent Award: Top Pick
Offered by the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, this bundle of five courses covers crucial topics such as developing business opportunities, launching startups, growth strategies, and financing. Whether you choose to take all five courses or just a few, you’re automatically enrolled in the Entrepreneurship Specialization bundle.
Price: $79 per month
Time to Complete: Approximately 6 months (2 hours per week)
Prerequisites Required: No
Flexible Schedule: Yes
Certificate of Completion: Yes
Who Should Take This Course? This course is ideal for anyone interested in learning the ropes of starting a business, thanks to its comprehensive content, flexible scheduling, and top-notch instructors.
Intelligent Award: Best for Entrepreneurial Mindset
Created by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne, this specialization includes seven separate courses that focus on fostering an innovative and creative mindset for aspiring entrepreneurs.
Price: $49 per month
Time to Complete: Approximately 8 months (4 hours per week)
Prerequisites Required: No
Flexible Schedule: Yes
Certificate of Completion: Yes
Who Should Take This Course? This series is perfect for individuals looking to immerse themselves in the entrepreneurial mindset, generate innovative ideas, and learn the fundamentals of transforming these ideas into a business.
Intelligent Award: Most Flexible Schedule
This relatively short but highly comprehensive course is excellent for budding entrepreneurs with busy schedules. It covers essential aspects like understanding the entrepreneurial process, spotting business opportunities, and recognizing potential challenges.
Price: $39 per month
Time to Complete: Approximately 5 hours
Prerequisites Required: No
Flexible Schedule: Yes
Certificate of Completion: Yes
Who Should Take This Course? Suitable for beginner entrepreneurs who need the flexibility to adjust course schedules according to their availability.
Intelligent Award: Most Affordable
Udacity’s free course is an intermediate-level course taught by successful industry professionals, focusing on efficiently launching a startup and collecting customer feedback.
Price: Free
Time to Complete: Approximately 1 month
Prerequisites Required: No
Flexible Schedule: Yes
Certificate of Completion: No
Who Should Take This Course? This course is ideal for students with a clear business idea and an entrepreneurial mindset.
Intelligent Award: Best for the Tech Sector
This introductory course delves into how entrepreneurs can match tech developments with customer needs to launch successful businesses.
Price: Free (audit track); $99 (verified track)
Time to Complete: Approximately 5 weeks (2 to 4 hours per week)
Who Should Take This Course? This course is perfect for anyone interested in tech entrepreneurship and looking to bring technological advancements from the lab to the market.
Intelligent Award: Most User-Friendly Platform
This course from Harvard Business School focuses on strategies for building and financing new business ventures in any industry.
Price: $1,050
Time to Complete: 4 weeks (6 to 8 hours per week)
Prerequisites Required: No
Flexible Schedule: No
Certificate of Completion: Yes
Who Should Take This Course? This course is excellent for students seeking practical knowledge to launch a startup and foresee potential problems.
Intelligent Award: Best for Generating Ideas
Udemy’s course focuses on the systematic generation and evaluation of business ideas, perfect for anyone in the process of conceptualizing the next “big thing.
Intelligent Award: Best for Beginners
Offered in conjunction with MIT Launch, this course aims to inspire and provide the necessary information to aspiring entrepreneurs to succeed as business founders.
Price: Free (Audit Track), $69 (Verified Track)
Time to Complete: Approximately 6 weeks (1-3 hours per week)
Prerequisites Required: No
Flexible Schedule: Yes
Certificate of Completion: Yes, if you pay for the Verified Track
Who Should Take This Course? This course is perfect for beginning entrepreneurs.
Intelligent Award: Best for Launching
Offered in collaboration with Babson University, this course focuses on the practical challenges and opportunities that come with launching a new venture.
Price: Free (Audit Track), $149 (Verified Track)
Time to Complete: 4 weeks (4 to 6 hours per week)
Prerequisites Required: No
Flexible Schedule: Yes
Certificate of Completion: Yes, if you pay for the Verified Track
Who Should Take This Course? This course is excellent for students seeking practical and actionable operations knowledge in order to launch a startup and anticipate problems before they arise.
Intelligent Award: Best Advanced Course
This comprehensive online course provides an immersive experience in what it takes to build and launch a successful business.
Price: $1,950, or get $150 off with a referral; flexible payment options available
Time to Complete: 3 months (3 to 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites Required: No
Flexible Schedule: Yes and no; some recordings and discussions are live
FAQs: Online Entrepreneurship Courses Guide
Q1: Why should I consider taking online entrepreneurship courses? A: Online entrepreneurship courses offer a convenient and flexible way to acquire essential knowledge and skills needed to navigate the complex world of business. They often provide practical tools, real-world insights, and expert guidance to help you launch and manage your own business.
Q2: How were these online entrepreneurship courses ranked? A: The courses were evaluated based on several factors, including time to complete, prerequisites, schedule flexibility, certificate of completion, comprehensiveness, instructor credentials, proven effectiveness, interactions, and practical exercises. The ranking aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of the best options available.
Q3: What are the basic criteria used in the ranking process? A: The basic criteria include the time required to complete the course, whether prerequisites are needed, schedule flexibility, the availability of a certificate of completion, and the overall suitability for aspiring entrepreneurs.
Q4: What are the advanced criteria used in the ranking process? A: The advanced criteria include the comprehensiveness of the course content, the credentials of the instructors, proven effectiveness based on the success of former students, the level of interactions facilitated by the course, and the incorporation of practical, project-based exercises to turn ideas into actual businesses.
Q5: Are certificates of completion provided for these courses? A: Yes, most of the courses listed in the guide offer a certificate of completion upon finishing the course requirements. This certificate can be a valuable addition to your professional portfolio.
Q6: Do these courses have prerequisites? A: Most of the courses listed do not have prerequisites, allowing you to start learning without the need for specific qualifications or prior knowledge.
Q7: Can I adjust the schedule of these courses according to my availability? A: Yes, many of the courses offer flexibility in terms of scheduling, recognizing that entrepreneurs often have busy and varied routines.
Q8: Who should take the Entrepreneurship Specialization by Coursera? A: This specialization is ideal for anyone interested in learning the fundamentals of starting a business. Its comprehensive content, flexible scheduling, and top-notch instructors make it suitable for beginners and those looking to enhance their entrepreneurial skills.
Q9: Which course is best for individuals looking to foster an innovative and creative mindset? A: The “Innovation: From Creativity to Entrepreneurship Specialization by Coursera” is designed to foster an innovative and creative mindset. It is perfect for individuals seeking to generate innovative ideas and transform them into viable business ventures.
Q10: Which course is the most flexible in terms of schedule? A: “Essentials of Entrepreneurship: Thinking & Action by Coursera” is known for its flexibility, making it suitable for beginner entrepreneurs who need to adjust their course schedules according to their availability.
Q11: What is the most affordable online entrepreneurship course listed?
A: “How to Build a Startup by Udacity” is a free course that offers intermediate-level insights into efficiently launching a startup and collecting customer feedback.
Q12: Which course is best for those interested in tech entrepreneurship?
A: “Technology Entrepreneurship: Lab to Market by Harvard University” is an introductory course ideal for individuals interested in tech entrepreneurship, focusing on bringing technological advancements from the lab to the market.
Q13: What course is recommended for students with a clear business idea and an entrepreneurial mindset? A: “How to Build a Startup by Udacity” is recommended for students with a clear business idea and an entrepreneurial mindset. The course focuses on efficiently launching a startup and collecting valuable customer feedback.
Q14: Which course is the most user-friendly platform?
A: “Entrepreneurship Essentials by Harvard Business School” is considered the most user-friendly platform. It offers practical knowledge for launching a startup and navigating potential challenges in any industry.
Q15: What is the best course for generating and evaluating business ideas systematically? A: “How to Come up With Killer Business Ideas by Udemy” is designed to help individuals systematically generate and evaluate business ideas, making it ideal for those in the process of conceptualizing innovative ventures.
Q16: Which course is best for beginners? A: “Becoming an Entrepreneur by edX” is a course offered in conjunction with MIT Launch and is ideal for beginners seeking inspiration and essential information to succeed as business founders.
Q17: Which course is recommended for practical and actionable operations knowledge in launching a startup? A: “Entrepreneurial Operations: Launching a Startup by edX” is recommended for students seeking practical and actionable operations knowledge to launch a startup and anticipate potential challenges.
Q18: What is the best advanced course for up-and-coming entrepreneurs serious about bringing their business idea to fruition? A: The “Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program by Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania” is the best advanced course for entrepreneurs serious about bringing their business idea
Q19: What employment options do you have after finishing an online entrepreneurship course? A: Most people who take online entrepreneurship courses are looking to become their own bosses. The earning potential of entrepreneurs is unlimited, but it’s also important to note that most startups fail.
Q20: Are there free online entrepreneurship courses? A: Yes, plenty of free entrepreneurship courses are available online. However, many platforms offer an “audit” version of their courses for free, but require you to pay a one-time or monthly fee if you wish to take full advantage of the course features.
Q21: How long is the average online entrepreneurship course? A: Online entrepreneurship courses can range from a few hours to 6 or 8 months. Most courses run for approximately 1 to 2 months, with 2 to 3 hours of work per week.
Q22: Are entrepreneurship courses worth it? A: The worth of an entrepreneurship course is subjective and depends on your individual needs, time, money, and goals. The best entrepreneurship courses offer a mix of inspiration, information, networking, case studies, and actionable steps to get your business off the ground.
Q23: What are the prerequisites for these courses? A: Most of the courses covered in this guide don’t have any prerequisites. This means you can dive straight into the courses and immediately start learning.
April Isaacs is a staff writer and editor with over 10 years of experience. Bachelor's degree in Journalism. Minor in Business Administration
Former contributor to various tech and startup-focused publications. Creator of the popular "Startup Spotlight" series, featuring promising new ventures.
Intelligent Award: Best for the Tech Sector
This introductory course delves into how entrepreneurs can match tech developments with customer needs to launch successful businesses.
Intelligent Award: Best for Launching
Offered in collaboration with Babson University, this course focuses on the practical challenges and opportunities that come with launching a new venture.
