The Course
The average adult makes around 35,000 decisions every day. Most of these decisions carry little to no weight, like what to eat for breakfast. However, a select few of these decisions have the power to change your life, company, or even the world. When making these significant decisions, more often than not you are given inadequate information to make a clear, obvious choice. One of the most effective ways to navigate these difficult situations is to rely on your principles and values.
This program will challenge entrepreneurs to think critically about how their personal values and principles inform the difficult decisions they will face as they grow their business. You will leave the course more prepared to navigate difficult decisions that you may encounter. It is our belief that through adopting and internalizing a broad set of values and principles, you will make better decisions and have better outcomes.
Enrollment
Individual Application
Students apply individually and will form teams after the first session of class. We encourage you to look for potential teammembers early.
Any Background
We accept students with a variety of experiences. We believe that this leads to multiple points of view and stimulates engaging discussions.
Early Admission
Admission for this class is competitive. Last year there were more qualified candidates than spots. Apply early to improve your chances.
Winter 22/23 applications have not been released yet!
They will be made available on November 15th after we have had our info session. Details will be posted soon.
Fall 23 and Winter 24 applications are now closed!
Please apply next fall for the 24/25 edition of the course.
Winter 24 applications are now open!
Early Application Deadline: 11/27/23
Regular Application Deadline: 12/07/23
Some of our Guests
Michelle Zatlyn
COO @ Cloudflare
Michelle met her fellow Cloudflare co-founders during her MBA at HBS. She is now President and COO of the WSJ's "most innovative internet and network company of 2013".
Parag Agarwal
Former CEO @ Twitter
After completing his PhD in Computer Science from Stanford, Parag worked at Twitter for 11 years, serving as CTO for over 4 years and CEO for 1 year.
Anne Wojcicki
CEO @ 23andMe
After working as a healthcare investor for 7 years, Anne co-founded 23andMe to help expand access to genetic information for everyday people.
Vlad Tenev
CEO @ Robinhood
Vlad obtained his BA in Math from Stanford and later co-founded Robinhood, a financial services company. He currently acts as CEO for the company.
Vanessa Larco
Partner @ NEA
Vanessa was a Product Lead at Playdom where she shaped an industry during the heydays of social gaming. In 2016, she became a Parter at NEA, focusing on tech investments.
Hayes Barnard
CEO @ GoodLeap
After the acquisition of Paramount Equity Solar, a company he co-founded, to Solar City, where he served as the CRO, Hayes founded and is now the CEO of GoodLeap.
Bruce Cozadd
CEO @ JAZZ Pharmaceuticals
A GSB alumnus, Bruce held various exec positions with ALZA Corporation until 2001. In 2003, he co-founded and became CEO of Jazz Pharmaceuticals.
Christian Chabot
Chairman @ Tableau
Stanford and GSB alumnus, Christian started his career as a data analyst at Cornerstone Research, but ended up co-founding Tableau in 2003.
KR Sridhar
CEO @ Bloom Energy
Prior to founding Bloom Energy, KR was Director of the Space Technologies Laboratory, professor at the University of Arizona, and served as an advisor to NASA.
Hilarie Koplow-McAdams
Former SVP @ Oracle
Hilarie is a Venture Partner at New Enterprise Associates. She was SVP at Oracle, President at Salesforce, and sits on the boards of both Tableau and Duo.
Joshua Carter
CEO @ Aperia Technologies
After receiving an MS from Stanford in Mechanical Engineering (Design Methodology), Joshua co-founded Aperia Technologies, of which he is CEO.
The Teaching Team
Jack Fuchs
Lecturer MS&E
Jack has been teaching at Stanford for over 7 years. He is an Operating Partner at Blackhorn Ventures and board member and advisor of, among others, Motiv and Aperia.
Scott Sandell
Managing General Partner @ NEA
#16 on The Midas List in 2018, Scott has been with New Enterprise Associates for more than 20 years. His most notable exits include Workday, Tableau, Mulesoft, Uber, and Coursera.
Tom Byers
Entrepreneurship Professor MS&E
Tom has been teaching at Stanford for 24 years and has been a Faculty Director, since inception, of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP). He received Stanford University's Gores Award.
The Teaching Assistants
Vikram Shanker
MSCS, MBA
Nadine Fattah
MS, BS MS&E
Matt Murphy
MS Sustainability, BS MechE
Shane Blinkman
MS, BS MechE
