Six Weeks of Learning, One Stronger Foundation: TiE Silicon Valley Mini MBA in EntrepreneurshipWraps Up Fall 2026 Cohort
Ten participants. Six sessions. One shared goal: building stronger, smarter businesses.
The Fall 2026 TiE Silicon Valley Mini MBA in Entrepreneurship has officially wrapped up, bringing together 10 participants for six weeks of practical learning, expert guidance, and essential lessons for the entrepreneurial journey.
Designed by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs, the six-week virtual program gave participants the opportunity to strengthen their business fundamentals, challenge their assumptions, and gain practical tools to apply to their ventures.
Led by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and educators Naeem Zafar and R. Paul Singh, the program covered critical areas of building and growing a startup — from understanding the market and acquiring customers to managing teams, building financial models, and preparing for investment.
Six Sessions Covering the Essentials of Building a Business
Throughout the program, participants explored six key topics every entrepreneur needs to understand.
1. Conducting Market Research — Naeem Zafar
The journey began with understanding the market, identifying customer needs, testing assumptions, and evaluating whether a business idea addresses a real opportunity.
2. Go-to-Market: Starting the Sales Engine — R. Paul Singh
Participants explored how to identify target customers, develop a sales strategy, and begin building a repeatable approach to customer acquisition.
3. Building a Team: Equity, Hiring, Conflict & Culture — Naeem Zafar
Founders examined important decisions around equity distribution, hiring, team dynamics, conflict management, and establishing a company culture.
4. Go-to-Market Plans: Getting the Marketing Engine Started — R. Paul Singh
This session focused on translating strategy into action, reaching the right audience, and developing a marketing approach that supports business growth.
5. Building a Financial Model — Naeem Zafar
Participants explored the importance of understanding their numbers, planning for growth, and using financial models to support informed business decisions.
6. How to Be Investor-Ready — Naeem Zafar
The program concluded with the fundamentals of investor readiness, helping participants better understand what investors look for and how to prepare for fundraising conversations.
Together, these sessions provided a practical framework for navigating the challenges founders face as they build, validate, and grow their businesses.
Learning from Silicon Valley Entrepreneurs
A key strength of the Mini MBA is the experience its instructors bring to the classroom.
Naeem Zafar is a serial entrepreneur, executive, board advisor, and entrepreneurship educator who has taught at institutions including UC Berkeley, Brown University, and Northeastern University. His expertise spans entrepreneurship, fundraising, corporate strategy, product positioning, and business growth.
R. Paul Singh is a serial entrepreneur, startup advisor, and sales and marketing leader with experience building businesses and guiding companies through growth. He teaches entrepreneurship at UC Berkeley and Northeastern University, bringing practical insights into sales, marketing, and go-to-market execution.
Their complementary expertise helped connect core business concepts with the real-world decisions entrepreneurs must make.
More Than a Business Course
Building a company requires more than a good idea. Founders must understand their customers, develop effective sales and marketing strategies, build the right teams, manage their finances, and communicate their business opportunity clearly.
The TiE Silicon Valley Mini MBA in Entrepreneurship was designed to help entrepreneurs strengthen these foundations while learning alongside others navigating similar challenges.
With 10 participants in this Fall cohort, the program also created an opportunity for peer learning, knowledge exchange, and connections among entrepreneurs.
Participants received a certificate of completion and five entrepreneurship e-books authored by Naeem Zafar. Each registration also included the opportunity to bring one additional co-founder at no extra cost, supporting shared learning among founding teams.
Investing in the Entrepreneurial Journey
At TiE Silicon Valley, we believe that supporting entrepreneurs means equipping them with the knowledge, connections, and resources to build sustainable businesses.
The completion of the Fall 2026 Mini MBA in Entrepreneurship marks the end of six weeks of structured learning — and the beginning of putting those lessons into practice.
To our 10 participants, congratulations on completing the program! We look forward to seeing how you apply what you’ve learned as you continue building your ventures.
Interested in a future TiE Silicon Valley Mini MBA in Entrepreneurship cohort?
Stay connected with TiE Silicon Valley for updates on upcoming programs, mentorship opportunities, and resources designed to support entrepreneurs at every stage of their journey.
Learn. Connect. Build. Grow.
