A researcher at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab, Michael Stonebraker has founded and led nine different big-data spin-offs, including VoltDB, Tamr and Vertica - the latter of which was bought by Hewlett Packard for $340 million.

Now he’s bringing his insights to a new online course being offered this month through edX and MIT Professional Education. Co-taught by long-time business partner Andy Palmer, “Startup Success: How to Launch a Technology Company in 6 Steps” covers topics ranging from generating ideas and recruiting top talent to pitching VCs and negotiating deals - all in the span of three weeks.