Stanford Ignite is a suite of certificate programs that teaches innovators to formulate, develop, and commercialize their ideas.
Offered on the Stanford campus and around the world, Stanford Ignite exposes participants to both the fundamentals of business, and the practical aspects of identifying and evaluating business ideas and moving them forward.
Taught by the same renowned faculty that teaches in Stanford MBA Program, instruction takes place through a combination of lectures, case evaluations, small group discussions, workshops, panels, and team projects. Guest speakers from leading companies are invited to the program and often become mentors and valuable resources for participants.
Business concepts learned in the classroom will be reinforced through practical application to the team venture projects. As part of Stanford Ignite, participants will work in teams of five or six to develop a new product or service for an existing organization or a new venture.
Venture project ideas are proposed by Stanford Ignite participants. Participants can propose new or existing ideas in any stage of development.
The venture idea submission process begins prior to the official program start, allowing time to submit and narrow the list of ideas that will eventually become the team venture projects.
Idea generators own their ideas coming into the program and also have the first right of refusal to carry ideas forward beyond the program. Idea generators do not automatically become team leaders. The leadership role is rotated among team members for each project assignment.
Participants’ progress will be tracked through weekly individual and team assignments related to the venture projects. In addition to team advising sessions with the faculty director, teams will receive guidance from mentors, investors, and industry experts.
Participants will learn how to successfully present their ideas during a daylong communications bootcamp. Midway through the program, teams will give an elevator pitch to a small panel and get feedback on their venture idea.
At the culmination of the program, each team will give a fully developed presentation to a panel of venture capitalists, angel investors, industry experts, or experienced entrepreneurs. The goal of these presentations is to receive feedback from panelists, such as the viability of the venture idea business plan, for educational purposes.
Stanford Ignite provides approximately 100 hours of instruction, including class lectures, coaching sessions, advising sessions with the faculty director, and panels. In addition, the program requires approximately 100 to 150 additional hours of preparation for class sessions and teamwork on the venture projects.
