Best Free MOOCs In Business For November

Beyond Silicon Valley: Growing Entrepreneurship in Transitioning Economies

School: Case Western Reserve University

Platform: Coursera

Registration Link: REGISTER HERE

Start Date: November 7, 2016 (6 Weeks)

Workload: 2-3 Hours per Week

Instructor: Michael Goldberg

Credentials: Before joining Case Western Reserve as a Visiting Professor of Design and Innovation, Michael Goldberg served as the Director of International Business Development for America Online, where he negotiated multi-million dollar partnerships, including a $200 million dollar joint venture with China’s largest PC manufacturer. He also co-founded a venture capital firm that invests in medical devices. Before that, he worked for the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), to conduct voter education programs before South Africa’s first democratic national election in 1994. He holds an MBA from Wharton.

Graded: Students will receive a signed Certificate of Accomplishment for completing the course.

Description: Silicon Valley is only one model for entrepreneurship. Locally and globally, there are numerous models for supporting entrepreneurial growth. And you’ll find many of them in Cleveland, Ohio, which is ground zero for this course. According to Professor Goldberg, each weekly session “will feature a different entrepreneur from Northeast Ohio and look at how government and donor organizations combined with private investment to help them grow their companies. We will examine why the various programs and organizations were put in place to support entrepreneurs, how the success of these initiatives are measured, and where there are challenges. We will also provide different perspectives from international entrepreneurs and thought leaders who will compare and contrast their experience on a particular topic with their counterparts in Northeast Ohio.” In addition, the course will examine seed acceleration, angel investing, and accessing venture capital.

Students will be evaluated using video quizzes, posts to discussion forums, surveys, and a peer-review profile of a local entrepreneur. The course will also be heavily interactive, where students will have opportunities to question entrepreneurs and guests.

Review: “This has been an excellent course which I highly recommend. The course content was really interesting with weekly videos, extra reading and short assignments. Overall it has been a great learning experience; if you are interested in entrepreneurship you should not miss this course!” For additional reviews, click here.

Additional Note: Professor Goldberg would prefer that students submit a two-minute video as part of their final project.

© Copyright 2026 Poets&Quants. All rights reserved. This article may not be republished, rewritten or otherwise distributed without written permission. To reprint or license this article or any content from Poets&Quants, please submit your request HERE.