The metaverse is being talked about more and more, and while we wait to see what it will actually become, different applications are starting to emerge. The Barcelona startup Founderz, specialized in online training programs based on micro-lessons, has decided to apply it to its field, with the creation of a master's degree for entrepreneurs that will be studied in this new reality.
"It's a very immersive experience," says its founder and CEO, Pau Garcia-Milà. For it to work, he emphasizes, there cannot be another alternative space to meet in. Thus, students, who will not be asked for a minimum level of education, will only be able to do part of the program in the metaverse. These will be live events that must be attended to complete the training. According to its promoter, it will be the first in Spain with this approach.
The master's degree will start on September 15 and will cost 450 euros. Founderz has partnered with CaixaBank to promote training for entrepreneurs, which, among other things, will mean that its clients will pay half the price for the course. "It will help facilitate specific training on entrepreneurship through an innovative model that facilitates adaptation to diverse profiles and the reinforcement of essential competencies, such as leadership and strategic vision," says the general director of Business at the financial entity, Juan Alcaraz.
In this sense, it is aimed at both young entrepreneurs and senior professionals, who will be offered a program designed to acquire the necessary knowledge to materialize business projects, from generating the business idea and validating it to getting the first clients. One of the focuses, Garcia-Milà points out, will be to provide tools for "entrepreneurial loneliness," that moment when the founders of a project face a critical decision that will determine its future, with the aim of better preparing them and reducing the probability of failure. The course will be 100% online and will be accessible from anywhere in the world.
The startup estimates that in the first year it will have about 2,000 students who will complete the full program. Although each participant can follow their own pace, depending on their availability, Founderz estimates that its students take an average of two to four months to complete the courses it offers, with a dedication of up to five hours a week.
Students take an average of two to four months to complete Founderz courses, with a dedication of up to five hours a week.The teaching plan will be divided between knowledge pills (20%); their application to each student's business idea (40%), and interaction with other classmates (40%). This will follow the decentralized education model advocated by Garcia-Milà, in which the student plays a more active role and teachers cease to be the sole source of knowledge, complemented by the experience of the student themselves and their peers.Some of the master's professors will be the head of entrepreneurship at Col·legi Montserrat, Anna Serra; the co-founder of Founderz Anna Cejudo and Garcia-Milà himself.
In addition to the master's degree for entrepreneurs, Founderz has another in blockchain and business, co-created with the cryptocurrency exchange platform Binance. Founded in 2020, Garcia-Milà's online business school closed a 430,000 euro round last March to continue boosting its business model. It was led by Oryon Universal, an investment firm in technology-based startups based in 22@ and directed by Victor Giné. At that time, Founderz had trained more than 2,000 students from Spain, Mexico, and Chile.
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