Leadership

Startup Creation Simulation

by Gerhard Wortche | 1st Edition | Finsimco | eText ISBN FINSIMCOSCF

The Finsimco Startup Creation Simulation gives students a hands-on entrepreneurship experience, guiding them from idea generation to business model development, pitching, and early-stage funding conversations. It is part of Finsimco’s portfolio of ultra-realistic work simulations used for training and assessment, developed by former Morgan Stanley investment bankers and trusted by...

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About this book

Ideal for Courses in

Undergraduate Programs

Entrepreneurship
Business Management
Management
Marketing
Strategic Management
Innovation
Business Foundation Courses

Postgraduate Programs

MBA Programs
MSc Entrepreneurship
Innovation Management
Venture Creation
Startup Strategy

Concepts Covered

Startup Creation, Entrepreneurship, Lean Startup, Innovation Strategy
Business Model Canvas, Business Model Design, Product-Market Fit
Customer Discovery, Go-to-Market Strategy, Pitching, Venture Capital

Prerequisites

This simulation follows a “learning by doing” approach; no prior startup experience is required. Students benefit from curiosity about entrepreneurship, innovation, and business model development.

Student Roles

Students are assigned to teams; each team assumes one of 2 roles:

Startup founders
VC firms

Approximately 75% of teams act as startup founders, while approximately 25% act as VC firms evaluating startup opportunities.

Gameplay

The simulation guides students through 3 phases:

Phase 1: Startup Development
Startup teams begin by developing a business idea and are guided through the key steps of turning it into a viable concept. They create a business model canvas, refine their value proposition, and prepare a pitch.

Phase 2: Investor Preparation
VC teams learn how investors think, evaluate current startup trends, review the startup ideas, and prepare an investment strategy.

Phase 3: Pitching and Funding
Startup teams pitch to VC teams and compete to secure funding, while VC teams decide whether to invest all their capital in one startup or diversify across several opportunities.

Different teams pitch and invest in parallel, making it possible to compare outcomes across groups and support more objective grading.

Duration

The minimum duration is 5 hours, including introduction, preparation, gameplay, pitching, funding, and debrief. Educators can extend stages for deeper ideation, pitch coaching, or investor-style Q&A.

Delivery Format

Team-based, 2-5 students per team. Minimum 24 students, no maximum. The simulation can be run intensively, across several classes, as a project, or in a hybrid format combining in-class and remote work.

Facilitation

Educators simply press “play” to start the simulation, which guides students through all stages. Coaching is optional, and lecturers can monitor progress via the admin dashboard.