This new MOOC helps you figure out if you really need VC

In the startup space, people (including us in the media) tend to get very excited when a business gets Venture Capital funding. On one level it makes a lot of sense: comparatively few startups get VC funding and it can make serious difference to those that get it. But could all the effort that some startups expend on trying to get funding be better spent elsewhere?

According Dr John Mullins, Associate Professor at London Business School, the answer to that question is a very firm “yes”.

So fervent is Dr Mullins in this regard that he’s put together a new MOOC, called “How to Finance and Grow Your Startup — Without VC“.

The course, hosted on Coursera addresses some of the most vital questions faced by today’s aspiring entrepreneurs as well as the fears many have that they won’t be able to achieve success without Silicon Valley-style funding.

According to a press release sent to Ventureburn, Dr Mullins challenges this notion by introducing learners to five models that entrepreneurial superstars like Michael Dell, Bill Gates, and Sir Richard Branson have used, to fund their businesses.

“More than two generations ago, the venture capital community convinced the entrepreneurial world that writing business plans and then raising venture capital constituted the twin centrepieces of entrepreneurial endeavour,” said Dr Mullins on the need for the course. “Actually though, the vast majority of fast growing companies never take any venture capital. So where does their money come from? And for you, where might your money come from to start and grow your business?”

Dr Mullins will also be answering questions about VC on Quora on 9 June.