About
The Brian Hamilton Foundation offers free online entrepreneurship courses to people worldwide: Starter U and Starter High. Starter U is available to anyone and Starter High is designed for teens and high school students.
We teach you everything you need to know to start, run, and grow a business. Through instruction and entrepreneur video stories, we distill everything you need to know to start and grow your business tomorrow. At the end, you earn a certificate of completion. Join users worldwide and see why 9 out of 10 people would recommend us to a friend.
What Users Say
Turtle H. Durham, NCStarter U was a very useful tool for me even though I have been in business for years and have multiple degrees from UNC, including one in Economics. I am so pleased to say I took the classes because of the high caliber individuals involved. So happy with it so far. I know that this will be a valuable resource even in the near future.
Greg T. Raleigh, NCI took over an existing business recently. This was my second attempt at owning my own business. With my first business, I had no clue what I was doing and realized it, so I got out. This time I took my time building up my skill sets, then finding as much information I could on being an entrepreneur. A few years back, I took a mini “MBA” course in owning a business. It was ok but I felt I had many more questions. Then, I found your course. I jumped on the opportunity. It is by FAR the best course I have ever taken! I took a lot of notes and still refer back to those notes. After my first month of business, I saw a profit!
Jesús H. York, SCI’m very grateful for the foundation putting out Starter U free of charge, it contains a lot of good information that I wish I had known 10 years ago. I realized that I wasted a lot of time overthinking the legal structure of the company. I shutdown my mobile mechanic business back in 2015 but that same year I started a handmade knives business.
Adrian W. Norfolk, VAI was so impressed with the online experience that I have now started doing the groundwork to start a recruiting and consulting firm for nonprofit organizations, faith based initiatives and small businesses within my community. So grateful for this opportunity along with the tools to expand my vision for entrepreneurship.
Susan S. Los Angeles, CAI am a start-up specialist, working with new owners (many of them new businesspeople) opening new locations or purchasing existing ones. Many of them have no idea what it will take to run a business, thinking they can devote part-time effort and receive full-time compensation. I have been sharing Starter U with all my new non-business owners and it has been well-received. I found many of the cautionary stories to be very accurate, which I liked. Starting a new business is not for the faint of heart!
Ed T. Raleigh, NCI’m an unusual case. I started and ran a business in Indiana from 1994-2003. I wish I’d taken the course before I launched. It is very interesting to take the course after dealing (not always successfully) with many of the issues raised. I’d encourage not only future entrepreneurs, but ones still in their first 1-3 years to take Starter U!
Cory H. Richmond, VAI would highly recommend the Starter U course to anyone, especially formerly incarcerated people, to create better opportunities for themselves through entrepreneurship. I am grateful I took the course and it has helped change my life for the better. Thank you guys so much for Starter U.
Starter U: What’s Covered?
This course represents decades of entrepreneurship experience. When asked what information is absolutely necessary to start a business tomorrow, everyone agreed on the following.
Section 1 – Getting Your Business Off The Ground
Chapter 1 – What is Required to Be An Entrepreneur
Chapter 2 – Reasons to Start A Business
Chapter 3 – Obstacles & Roadblocks/Why Businesses Fail
Chapter 4 – How to Come Up with A Business Idea
Chapter 5 – Launch Considerations & To-Do Items
Chapter 6 – How to Get Your First Customers
Section 2 – Growing Your Business
Chapter 1 – Hiring
Chapter 2 – Financing
Chapter 3 – How to know if you should expand
Chapter 4 – Legal Infrastructure
Chapter 5 – Money Management
Chapter 6 – How do you sift through buying things?
Chapter 7 – Getting and Using Customer Feedback
Chapter 8 – Getting and Using Employee Feedback
Section 3 – Additional Things You Need To Know
Chapter 1 – Accounting & Finance
Chapter 2 – Branding Your Business
Chapter 3 – Marketing
Chapter 4 – Sales
Chapter 5 – Customer Service & Success
Chapter 6 – Legal
Chapter 7 – Human Resources/Managing People
Closing – If You Do Nothing Else, Do This
Meet Your Instructors
Brian Hamilton
Founder, The Brian Hamilton Foundation
Co-founder, Sageworks
Brian Hamilton co-founded Sageworks, the country’s first fintech and largest provider of software to U.S. banks. He sold the company to a leading private equity firm in 2018. He is also the founder of Inmates to Entrepreneurs, a national program that helps people with criminal records start their own small businesses, and the Brian Hamilton Foundation, which provides access to entrepreneurship to people who wouldn’t otherwise have it. Hamilton holds multiple patents for his work in automating financial analysis.
He is a regular guest on CNBC and Fox and is regularly quoted in and writes for all major national media publications. He is also a contributor to Inc. and Entrepreneur magazines. The first in his family to attend college, Brian holds an undergraduate degree from Sacred Heart University, where he served on the Board of Trustees, and an MBA from Duke University.
Christopher Lee
Founder, MYOB Limited
Chris co-founded MYOB Limited, a software company specializing in business accounting and payroll applications. He was the company’s executive director and lead product developer as it grew from a 5-person business in Rockaway, NJ to one of the world’s leading information technology companies with over 1,200 employees in seven countries on four continents. During that time he also served as a member of the original Apple Macintosh Software Development Team and led the development of Charles Schwab’s first online stock trading system and Dow Jones & Company’s portfolio management software. Chris was also an early investor in Sageworks, Inc. and served as an advisor and board member for many years.
Chris is a graduate of Rutgers College and the Rutgers Graduate School of Management. Today, in addition to being an advisor to a handful of technology ventures including QuadPay and Searchfunder.com, Chris is a long-time youth sports coach and a United Way certified youth mentor. He has worked for the past 15 years with underprivileged and at-risk youth. Chris lives with Judy, his wife of 40 years. They have three grown boys and serve as guardians for four additional boys.
Bobby Martin
Founder, Tilly
Bobby Martin believes that too many startup founders pivot too early, quit too early, and expect rapid takeoff. Through his experience of starting and selling First Research (a leader in sales intelligence) to Fortune 500 firm, Dun & Bradstreet, he’s learned first-hand the challenges and solutions at each stage of entrepreneurial growth. In addition to his book The Hockey Stick Principles, Bobby’s current adventure is starting Tilly, a virtual financial planning company. He is also Chairman and co-founder of Vertical IQ, a leading provider of sales research insight for banks.
Bobby is an angel investor and serves as an active board member with several innovative start-ups, including Boardroom Insiders, myLifeSite, Sageworks, Vital Plan, Zynbit, Myxx, Local Eye Site, and etailinsights. He is also in the process of starting a new company.
While he is a national speaker, he is still a hometown guy and focuses most of his investments in North Carolina where he has lived and worked. He graduated from Appalachian State University and is an avid tennis player.
Scott Ogle
Former CEO, Sageworks
Scott is an experienced business leader who has been humbled by the challenges and tests of resiliency from starting and growing businesses. Most recently, he was CEO of Sageworks where he was part of a team that grew the company from a startup to a 300-person, world-class company that was purchased by a leading private equity firm. Prior to that he had experience building and selling a startup company in Silicon Valley and spent time on Wall Street with Merrill Lynch.
Scott was raised by a father who was a NC public school math teacher and mother who was an artist. He was an Eagle Scout, attended high school at the North Carolina School of Science & Mathematics, and obtained his B.A. in Economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Most recently he has focused his attention to helping young entrepreneurs develop their businesses. His hope is to pass along to other entrepreneurs a few tips to help them miss a few of the land mines he was able to uncover through his own experiences.
Media/Partner Login
Are you from the media or represent an organization interested in offering Starter U to your participants? Contact media@brianhamilton.org to receive credentials to login and view the course.
