The Business of Tech

Technology is one of the few sectors to come out stronger after the current crisis. As our social and work lives have moved online, tech company valuations have soared.

If you’ve been thinking of making a transition into tech, this is the time.

The good news is that to benefit from the tech boom, you do not need to retrain to be a developer or a data scientist. By understanding how tech companies make and spend money, you will learn about the many opportunities available to non-technical professionals.

Whether you are working in finance, marketing or project management, you can make a successful transition into the growing tech sector. By learning how the technology companies differ from traditional businesses and the new roles within them, you will see the options available to you and prepare yourself for transition.

This course is full of practical examples and case studies to solidify your learning.

Tech for Non-Techies classes have been taught at London Business School, the University of Chicago and featured in Forbes.

Course syllabus

1) Tech business model foundations
- Industry structure
- A brief history of tech: how we got to the consumer tech boom we have today
- Introductory concepts, e.g. Moore’s Law

2) Platform business models
- Network effects (users)
- Learning effects (data)
- Platform growth
- Platform governance

3) How tech products are made
- From concept to User Experience Design, Development and Analysis
- Difference between back end and front end
- Intro to Product Management

4) Artificial Intelligence and Big Data
- What data scientists do and how to work with them
- The AI factory
- Ethics and dangers of AI and Big Data

5) How tech companies spend money
- People
- Technology Infrastructure
- Acquisitions

6) How tech companies make money
- Big Tech business models & case studies
- New and emerging business models

7) Emerging trends & how to benefit
- Tech post Covid
- Investing trends
- Job trends

8) Getting into tech
- Non-technical jobs in tech
- Advice from recruiters
- Tips from those who made the transition
- What you can do now to make a successful transition into tech

The Details

The course consists of eight modules, split over eight weeks.

The course content will consist of live and pre-recorded videos, written material, suggested reading and homework each week to solidify your learning.

The course also includes three live Office Hours sessions, which will be your chance to ask questions and get feedback.

The course content will be available to you for 6 months, so you can learn at your own pace and catch up if life gets in the way.

This course assumes no prior knowledge of technology.

This course is great for:

• Professionals wanting to transition to the fast-growing technology sector
• Professionals servicing tech company clients, e.g. bankers, recruiters, lawyers, consultants
• Business school students who want to supplement their business knowledge
• Non-technical professionals working in tech companies
• Entrepreneurs who want to build technology products but do not have technical backgrounds

All sales are final and no refunds are available. This is a self-study course and individual feedback or direction is not included, aside from live office hours sessions.

The live webinars will be Q&A sessions where students can ask clarifying questions and get feedback.