Contemporary, Career and College-Ready High School Courses
Real-World: Students learn contemporary, real-world knowledge in digital marketing and entrepreneurship.
Innovative: Students develop impactful, innovative products and services.
Courses & Programs: Teachers receive 100% digital, comprehensive semester/trimester curricula.
"We help high school business teachers build tomorrow's innovators and entrepreneurs. We began with the digital marketing curriculum I created for the University of Wisconsin - MBA program and adapted it for high school students. Now we provide cutting-edge business skills to schools everywhere."
Dave Gee, Startup Guides, CEO & Founder
Learn from our Startup Guides Faculty
Dave Gee, MBA
Choton Basu, PhD
Choton Basu, PhD
Startup Guides - Founder and CEO
University of Wisconsin - MBA Faculty
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater - Faculty
Classmunity - CMO & Co-Founder
Humana - Marketing Manager
TDS - Marketing Manager
Restart - Author
The College Student Startup Guide - Author
The Corporate Refugee Starutp Guide - Author
Marquette University - MBA
University of Wisconsin - Whitewater - BBA
Choton Basu, PhD
Choton Basu, PhD
Choton Basu, PhD
Subject Matter Expert - Social Entrepreneurship
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater - MBA Faculty Tech Innovation and Project Mgt.
Enactus – Sam Walton Fellow
StriveOn – Founder
Headfake Innovation – Co-founder
University of Memphis – Ph.D.
University of Tennessee, Chattanooga – MBA St. Xavier’s College – B.Com
Chris Cain, JD
Choton Basu, PhD
Chris Cain, JD
Subject Matter Expert - Intellectual Property
Foley and Lardner - Partner
Foley and Lardner - Co-Chair Transactions Practice Group
Catapult Chicago - Founding Partner
Sonic Foundry - VP and General Counsel
Arthur Anderson - Senior Tax Manager
Certified Public Accountant
University of Minnesota - J.D.
University of Wisconsin Madison - B.S.
Tatiana Rodriguez, MS
Tatiana Rodriguez, MS
Tatiana Rodriguez, MS
Subject Matter Expert - Digital Content
Tatiana Teaches - Founder & Producer
Rutgers University - Media Comm Faculty
Rutgers University - Corporate Trainer
Rutgers University - Online Teaching Cert.Rutgers University - MS
Rutgers University - BS
Ray Kempthorne, MBA
Tatiana Rodriguez, MS
Tatiana Rodriguez, MS
Subject Matter Expert: Marketing Automation
Big Sky Amplify - CEO
Thryv - Business Consultant
DEX YP - Business Advisor
Junior Achievement - Mentor
Kansas State University - MBA
Kansas State University - BBA
Wayne Breitbarth, MBA
Tatiana Rodriguez, MS
Wayne Breitbarth, MBA
Subject Matter Expert: LinkedIn
CEO & Founder, Power Formula
National Speakers Association,Speaker
Secure Futures - Board Member
Amazon Best Selling Author
Marquette University, MBA
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, BBA
Introduction to Digital Marketing - Learning Outcomes
Module 1: Digital Marketing Strategies & Methods
Module 2: Website Development, Website Management and SEO
Module 2: Website Development, Website Management and SEO
What will students learn?
- Define digital marketing and differentiate it from traditional marketing
- Explain the benefits of digital marketing Identify the appropriate digital marketing methods for a particular business
- Connect business goals with digital marketing goals
- Establish the difference between vanity and valuable digital marketing metrics
Module 2: Website Development, Website Management and SEO
Module 2: Website Development, Website Management and SEO
Module 2: Website Development, Website Management and SEO
What will students learn?
- Determine the availability of website addresses and digital brands
- Understand the difference between content management systems and custom websites
- Differentiate between paid search, organic and local search results
- Conduct an automated website performance test
- Develop their own website
- Define Search Engine Optimization
Module 3: Paid Search Advertising
Module 2: Website Development, Website Management and SEO
Module 3: Paid Search Advertising
What will students learn?
- Define paid search advertising
- Identify the different types of paid search advertisements
- Comprehend the various paid search performance metrics
- Understand the steps in building a Google Ad
- Develop a Google Ad
Module 4: Social Media
Module 6: Marketing Automation
Module 3: Paid Search Advertising
What will students learn?
- Comprehend the core benefits of social media
- Identify the appropriate social media service based on a business need
- Define the type of copy to create based on product needs
- Determine if a Facebook group meets a company's needs
- Develop a Facebook company ad
- Develop a LinkedIn personal(profile page)
- Develop a Twitter company page
- Develop a YouTube company channel
- Comprehend the process of developing an Instagram company page
- Identify the forms and benefits of company-generated content
Module 5: Ecommerce
Module 6: Marketing Automation
Module 6: Marketing Automation
What will students learn?
- Define eCommerce
- Describe the keys to effective eCommerce
- Identify the keys to eCommerce conversions
- Describe the steps in building an Amazon store
- Observe the steps in launching a self-published Amazon book
- Develop an eCommerce store
Module 6: Marketing Automation
Module 6: Marketing Automation
Module 6: Marketing Automation
What will students learn?
- Describe elements of CRM
- Define and explain the benefits of marketing automation
- Determine if marketing automation will benefit a business
- Build a sales funnel
- Comprehend the functionality of a live marketing automation platform
Introduction to Entrepreneurship - Learning Outcomes
Module 1: Business Models
Module 2: Developing a Startup Brand
Module 2: Developing a Startup Brand
What will students learn?
- Define the various forms of entrepreneurship
- Describe the elements in a business model
- Create a business model
- Develop business model hypotheses
- Conduct discovery research
- Pivot a business model
- Aquire skills to search for available patents, trademarks, and copyrights
Module 2: Developing a Startup Brand
Module 2: Developing a Startup Brand
Module 2: Developing a Startup Brand
What will students learn?
- Define the core components of brand
- Conduct a copyright, trademark, and patent search with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
- Determine the availability of website addresses and social media brands
- Create their own logo
- Create their own promotional video
- Define website development, website management, paid search, search engine optimization, major social media platforms, eCommerce, and marketing automation.
Module 3: Marketing a Startup
Module 2: Developing a Startup Brand
Module 4: Legally Protecting a Startup
What will students learn?
- Develop their own website
- Conduct a website performance test
- Create a Google Ad
- Create a Facebook Ad
- Create company social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn
- Create an eCommerce store
- Develop engaging user content
- Develop a sales funnel
Module 4: Legally Protecting a Startup
Module 6: Launching & Pivoting a Startup
Module 4: Legally Protecting a Startup
What will students learn?
- Identify the tax implications and protection elements of proprietorships, corporations, and limited liability companies.
- Define intellectual property
- Define copyrights
- Define trademarks
- Differentiate between design and utility patents
- Explain the process of licensing
- Describe the considerations of contracts
- Define sales contracts, employment contracts, supplier contracts, non-compete and non-disclosure contracts
Module 5: Funding a Startup
Module 6: Launching & Pivoting a Startup
Module 6: Launching & Pivoting a Startup
What will students learn?
- Describe the process and benefits of each of the following funding methods: Bootstrapping, Friends and Family, Banks, Angel investors, Crowdfunding, Online lenders, Grants, Pitch Competitions, and Startup Accelerators.
- Identify the elements of market valuation
- Describe the benefits and challenges associated with equity distribution
- Select the appropriate funding method(s) for their startup
- Define the critical element of a successful pitch
- Create their pitch
- Deliver a startup pitch
Module 6: Launching & Pivoting a Startup
Module 6: Launching & Pivoting a Startup
Module 6: Launching & Pivoting a Startup
What will students learn?
- Determine the skills needed by the founding team
- Idneitfy the benefits of advisors
- Create a board of directors
- Define a beta and when to use it
- Define a pilot and when to use it
- Describe and predict possible pivots that will need to be made with their startup idea
- Create a startup project plan
- Create a business plan (Optional)