HTE402
Lean Startup Bootcamp
Faculty
Martina Guzman
Pitch Coach & Master trainer at Best3Minutes
Course length
Duration
Total hours
Credits
Language
Course type
Fee for single course
Fee for degree students
Skills you’ll learn
Overview
The entrepreneurs who build successful ventures are not those with the best ideas - they are those who learn faster than everyone else.
This course challenges students to think and act like entrepreneurs by applying Lean Startup principles and rapid experimentation to solve real-world problems. Through hands-on workshops, field research, rapid testing, networking events, and real-world validation exercises, students will learn how to think like founders, navigate uncertainty, engage directly with users, and transform ideas into actionable opportunities.
Rather than building business plans, students will learn to build evidence.
By the end of the course, students will have developed, tested, and refined a venture concept, while gaining the mindset, adaptability, and practical tools needed to operate in fast-changing environments.
Learning highlights
- Recognise opportunities by observing people, identifying unmet needs, and questioning assumptions.
- Validate ideas through customer discovery, experimentation, and evidence-based decision-making.
- Design and run experiments to test value propositions, business assumptions, and market demand.
- Build and iterate solutions using Lean Startup principles and continuous customer feedback.
- Think like entrepreneurs, making decisions under uncertainty with confidence, adaptability, and strategic thinking.
Course outline
15 classes
Think Like an Entrepreneur
- Why startups fail
- Uncertainty vs. risk
- Lean Startup mindset
- The entrepreneurial process
Discover Opportunities
- Opportunity recognition
- Observation
- Trends
- Problem discovery
- Design Thinking
Understand People
- Customer Discovery
- Empathy & Stakeholder Mapping
- Understanding Jobs to Be Done
- Designing Effective Interviews
- The Mom Test: Asking Better Questions
Barcelona as a Living Lab
- Observation Techniques
- Field Research
- Customer Interviews
- Opportunity Mapping
- Identifying Patterns & Insights
What Must Be True?
- Assumption and hypothesis testing
- Identifying what needs to be true
- Experiment design and validation
- Learning through feedback and iteration
Understanding Markets & Trends
- Primary Research
- Secondary Research
- Market Validation
- Turning Conversations into Evidence
Building Solutions People Want
- Translating Insights into Value
- Value Proposition Design
- Solution Ideation
- Concept Prioritisation
- Feedback & Iteration
Rapid Experimentation
- Experiment Design
- Rapid Testing Methods
- Early Market Validation
- Landing Pages & Outreach
- Learning from Evidence
Build What Matters
- Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
- Prioritising Features
- Rapid Prototyping
- Build–Measure–Learn
- Preparing for Market Testing
Testing in the real world
- User Testing
- Feedback
- Iteration
Learning What Works
- Measuring What Matters
- Learning Metrics vs. Vanity Metrics
- Pirate Metrics (AARRR)
- North Star Metrics
- Measuring Traction
Improve Through Learning
- Pivot
- Persevere
- Product-Market Fit
Build a Sustainable Business
- Business Models
- Growth
- Revenue
Pitching Ventures
- Audience-Centered Communication
- Pitch Clarity™ Framework
- Storytelling & Strategic Communication
- Pitch Design & Delivery
Final Venture Defense
- Venture Presentation & Defense
- Evidence & Validation Portfolio
- Lessons Learned & Reflection
- Feedback from Guest Entrepreneurs & Industry Experts
Course materials
Books
Prerequisites
Students are expected to complete the assigned readings before the corresponding sessions, as classroom discussions, fieldwork, and practical assignments will build upon these concepts.
Session 3 – Understand People. The Mom Test, Chapters 1–4. Customer Discovery, asking better questions, avoiding bias in interviews.
Session 4 – Barcelona as a Living Lab. The Mom Test, Chapters 5–7. Conducting customer interviews and gathering evidence through field research.
Session 6 – Understanding Markets & Trends. The Mom Test, Chapters 8–10. Turning customer conversations into actionable insights and validating assumptions.
Methodology
The course emphasises learning by doing, encouraging students to apply Lean Startup principles, Build–Measure–Learn cycles, and rapid experimentation techniques in real-world environments, while stepping outside their comfort zones and engaging directly with uncertainty and practical challenges.
Students will learn through a highly practical, workshop-based format that combines experimentation sessions, field research, networking events, guest speakers, validation exercises, team projects, presentations, and continuous iteration, with a strong focus on action, collaboration, feedback, and real-world testing.
The programme also includes exposure to Barcelona’s start-up ecosystem through networking events, founder meet-ups, Demo Days, and entrepreneurial community experiences.
Grading
Apply for this course
Lean Startup Bootcamp
by Martina Guzman
Total hours
45 Hours
Dates
Sep 28 - Oct 16, 2026
Fee for single course
€1500
Fee for degree students
€750
How to secure your spot
Complete the form below to kickstart your application
Schedule your Harbour.Space interview
If successful, get ready to join us on campus
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