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Teams that concluded at the end of the fall quarter that their preliminary product or service and business model suggest a path to viability, continue with the winter quarter course. In this course, the teams develop more elaborate versions of their product/service and business model , perform a series of experiments to test the key hypotheses about their product and business model, and prepare and present an investor pitch for a seed round of financing to a panel of seasoned investors and entrepreneurs.n nThe key premise for the course is that a robust venture creation process involves development and validation of a series of hypotheses about a new product or service, its value proposition, and how the business will acquire customers, make money, scale up to achieve profitability, and raise funds to achieve the key milestones to profitability. In Startup Garage: Testing and Launch, teams will learn how to precisely formulate these hypotheses and early stage milestones, and how to test them using one or more of the following low-cost approaches: a) online experiments with minimally viable products; b) interviews with partners, advisors, investors, and business experts; c) analogies from existing businesses that were successful in proving hypotheses that are analogous to what the newstartup wants to prove.n nThe course focuses on further developing entrepreneurial skills using the same pedagogical approach used in S356: short lectures, extensive in-class exercises focused on each team's specific projects, and 'get out of the building' assignments. Teams will have the opportunity to:nn- Get out of the building and interact with users, advisors, investors and partners to develop a deep understanding of the challenges they face, to field test their proposed services, products, and business models, and to gather data.nn- Interpret the data and make important startup decisions in the context of their own project: pivot, persevere, or perishnn- Develop creative go-to-market strategies and test their effectivenessnn- Develop and deliver in front of real investors an investor pitch, elevator pitch and executive summarynn- Negotiate term sheets with venture investorsnn- Develop a hiring plan for their first year of operation and consider equity and other compensation plan