About The framework
Origins
Startup Tactics was born out of learnings from educating students in entrepreneurship workshops and ad-hoc student advisory at the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship. Over time the learnings developed into a course at MIT Sloan. To help more students learn entrepreneurship Paul Cheek turned those learnings into the book Disciplined Entrepreneurship: Startup Tactics and this website features a collection of additional educational content.
Roots in the First Principles
The tactics are rooted in the first principles of entrepreneurship, specifically those outlined in Disciplined Entrepreneurship. The successful execution of the tactics relies on an entrepreneur’s concrete and rigorous understanding of the fundamentals.
Design & Intent
The Tactics are integrated and iterative, designed to be learned in a specific order but executed in harmony. The tactics and educational content are not designed to make every entrepreneur the most skilled recruiter, for example, but as co-instructor Nagarjuna Venna says, they are designed to help founders learn just enough about recruiting to be dangerous. This is especially true in the early days of starting a new company when the founder is responsible for wearing all of the hats across every functional area.
Audience
The educational content is shared to be used by individuals interested in learning more about entrepreneurship and leveling up their entrepreneurial skillset. It is also intended to be used by educators who want to help others develop their entrepreneurial skillsets. The companion educator materials include everything needed to provide advisory, host workshops, or even teach a full-semester course on entrepreneurship tactics.