Entrepreneurship
Interdisciplinary Program Director: Paul Marsnick
The world needs creative thinkers and entrepreneurial solutions to wicked problems in climate change, health care, education, politics, and many other areas. A minor in Entrepreneurship will provide students from all disciplines with the opportunity to develop skills that foster innovation, problem-solving, and adaptability. These skills will position our students to produce breakthrough ideas and build a lifelong practice of creative problem-solving.
An entrepreneurial mindset is not only beneficial for launching a new venture. It is also critical for navigating a career in any organization. The minor will foster an entrepreneurial mindset in students, encouraging them to identify opportunities, find fresh perspectives, create novel solutions, and take calculated risks. These skills are increasingly being sought out by employers across various industries. With an entrepreneurial mindset, students can become proactive and resilient in pursuing their goals, whether as entrepreneurs or as members of for-profit or not-for-profit organizations.
A minor in Entrepreneurship will require a multidisciplinary approach. The minor will encourage students to combine elements of different fields such as science, business, arts, and humanities. Collaboration with professors and students in other disciplines will empower students to think critically and develop unique solutions to complex problems.
A minor in Entrepreneurship will be attractive to students who wish to pursue a major in an area of their passion (ie. Art, Music, Environmental Science, English, just to name a few). Equipped with the entrepreneurial mindset that they will develop in the minor, students will have opportunities to launch their own ventures or to be valuable contributors to organizations that make a difference.
A minor in Entrepreneurship will provide students with the mindset, skills, and experiences necessary to succeed in today’s rapidly evolving world. By promoting lateral thinking, opportunity recognition, and creative problem-solving, the minor can empower students to become entrepreneurial thinkers and positive change-makers.
ENTR 101A Entrepreneurship: A Film Study (2 Credits)
Explore the entrepreneurial mindset and skillset required for a successful entrepreneur through watching a series of major motion picture, TV series and/or documentary films. Class will unpack concepts of opportunity assessment, creativity and innovation, resources, risk taking, resiliency and relationship required to be an entrepreneur.
Prerequisites: None
ENTR 101B Innovation: The art of the alternative explanation (2 Credits)
"It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle than to initiate a new order of things. Niccolo Machiavelli wrote those words over 500 years ago, which is about as old as the word ‘innovation’ itself, something Adam Grant defines as introducing and advancing an idea. It’s a concept that belongs to no particular major nor career path but one that I believe is central to each of us: making our own unique contribution. But how can we do that?
In this class, we will learn the art of what Jane Hirshfield calls the hidden tangential approach, and what I call the art of wandering and wondering. We will explore the things that block our understanding so completely—blindness, biases and beliefs—that we don’t even realize they are there. We will examine what Isaiah Berlin calls the “lower depths,” those things that are too familiar and too obvious or too intimate and fleeting for us to perceive. We will discuss the concept of our default state, our way of seeing the world, and learn how we can challenge it, “not so much to see what no one has yet seen; but to think what nobody has yet thought about what everybody sees.” And we will start where innovation always starts—with an idea that challenges our most basic assumptions about things and ourselves: David Foster Wallace’s famous commencement address, This is Water.
Prerequisites: None
Restrictions: Students with the 2024-2025 Registration Cohort attribute may not enroll.
Equivalent courses: COLG 105M
ENTR 101C Improvisation (2 Credits)
Improvisation training develops your ability to think on your feet, listen and respond quickly and be able to adjust to different stimuli with confidence. The mind, body and voice work together to improve your communication skills; the pedagogy in this class is based on classic developmental exercises and improvisational games focused especially for the business oriented student. Every student will be involved during every class period. Attendance at 2 ARTE events is required.
Prerequisites: None
Attributes: Artistic Expression (AE)
ENTR 101D Social Ventures: Ideation to Impact (2 Credits)
Explore the concepts of opportunity/need assessment within the context of social change. Determine creative pathways to impact the social problem while learning the collaboration and benefit considerations for multiple stakeholders that will need to be engaged to create and sustain positive social impact.
Prerequisites: None
ENTR 101E Innovating Your Life: Defaults and Dogfish (2 Credits)
Innovation principles can be a strong guide to creating a life that leverages trends, opportunities and growth mindset as a foundation for continuous change that will be ahead both personally and professionally. Through readings, video clips and conversation, this course will continue to push your mindset on what your life path will have in store and your ability to embrace and leverage those opportunities. Course offered for S/U grading only.
Prerequisites: None
ENTR 101F Financial Concepts for Innovators and Entrepreneurs (2 Credits)
In this course, expand your understanding of financial concepts critical for successful venture launch and oversight. Topics that will be explored will include: financial statements and key financial ratios, budgets and forecasting, financial measurement and management and funding avenues for businesses from founding through venture growth. Course offered for S/U grading only.
Prerequisites: None
ENTR 101G Introduction to Product Design and Prototyping (2 Credits)
Students will be introduced to the process of designing, prototyping, and testing a potential product. The course will include learning to use computer-aided design (CAD) software and 3D-printing. Students will consider aspects of design important for a marketable and profitable product. Course offered for S/U grading only.
Prerequisites: None
ENTR 101H Storytelling for Entrepreneurs: Writing the Narrative of You and Your Venture (2 Credits)
Every venture — and every person, for that matter — has a story to tell, a narrative that differentiates them from the pack. Consistent, compelling communication of that story in an authentic voice is key to creating a strong brand or public identity. Uncover your unique story and learn how to tell it to through clear, creative, audience-focused communications — and polish those writing and video skills in the process. Course is offered for S/U grading only.
Prerequisites: None
ENTR 101I Sales Fundamentals (2 Credits)
Sales is key for the generation of revenue in all organizations – startup to large organizations, for profit to nonprofits. The success of every enterprise is highly dependent on the ability of individuals to develop and execute a sales strategy for clients to purchase the organization’s product or service. The concepts in sales are also critical for a nonprofit/social enterprise construct and communicate a compelling vision, mission and impact for individuals and entities to gain funding support or in some instances pitch your organization’s value proposition for capital investment or funding. In this course, students will be introduced to the foundational concepts of defining and understanding customer segments and their value propositions, opportunities and challenges while developing methods to develop strategies to communicate and negotiate the product/service impact to gain a win/win sales outcome. Offered for S/U grading only.
Prerequisites: None
ENTR 101J Ideas: Generation to Pitch (2 Credits)
The launch of any entrepreneurial venture begins with the seed of an “Idea”. This course will provide you foundational skills through introduction of opportunity assessment and idea generation techniques to launch a venture, solve a business or social problem or explore various other possibilities. You will also gain experience in sharing your ideas through different pitch formats considering various venture stakeholders in order to move your idea forward, secure resources and launch. Offered for S/U grading only
Prerequisites: None
ENTR 101K Small Business as an Agent for Change (2 Credits)
Small businesses account for a significant contribution to the US economy. Structured to efficiently adapt and adjust, small business founders and leaders are uniquely positioned to make positive impact on the economy, environment and communities to ensure that resources are available for future generations to thrive. The course will explore the principles and characteristics of sustainable for-profit small businesses, issues and models and the pathways for small business to make long-lasting changes to our economic, environmental and social practices. Offered for S/U grading only.
Prerequisites: None
ENTR 101L Entrepreneurship & Sports (2 Credits)
In this course, we will take a lens at how innovation and entrepreneurship has impact the wide and diverse space of sports – whether a sport as designed, products to support the sport or activities, research and technology impact in addition to resources (people, financial, infrastructure) to support the business of a particular sport industry. Students will engage in both innovation and entrepreneurial practices regarding opportunities or challenges they may see in the sport/sport entertainment industry as well as learn valuable lessons for their own entrepreneurial mindset and skillset from professionals engaged in this industry. Course offered for S/U grading only.
Prerequisites: None
ENTR 101M Multimedia Strategies For Entrepreneurs (2 Credits)
Social media gives entrepreneurs unprecedented opportunities to communicate directly with their customers and potential customers, and multimedia is key to getting and keeping their attention. Learn how to create video, audio and photo posts that deliver maximum impact on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and more. Course offered for S/U grading only.
Prerequisites: None
ENTR 101N Unintended Consequences: Tech Changes the World (2 Credits)
Many entrepreneurs hope to make the world a better place. They are visionary game changers who disrupt the status quo by identifying and implementing innovative solutions to the world's most wicked problems. Yet, frequently, innovative solutions that may solve one problem, create additional, unforeseen problems and consequences. This course focuses on a selection of case studies related to technological change to help you identify problems, design solutions, and anticipate the potential unintended consequences of innovation. Course offered for S/U grading only.
Prerequisites: None
Attributes: Human Experience (HE), Thematic Encounter1/2 - Truth
ENTR 101O Creativity and Innovation (2 Credits)
Prerequisites: None
ENTR 101P Communication Essentials for Entrepreneurs (2 Credits)
Running a company requires strong communication in a variety of formats to a variety of audiences. You’ll want to make your message clear and compelling whether you’re crafting an email, drafting a memo, posting on social media, creating a killer PowerPoint or distilling information into an executive summary. You’ll probably need a polished video presence, too. This course will tackle them all with the goal of making you a stronger, more confident communicator. Course offered for S/U grading only.
Prerequisites: None
ENTR 101Q Humane Design (2 Credits)
Prerequisites: None
ENTR 101R Indigenous Entrepreneurship (2 Credits)
Indigenous communities experience some of the greatest economic disparities in the United States. They are also some of the most innovative entrepreneurs, from the development of the $40 billion tribal casino industry and advances in FinTech to revitalizing Indigenous farming and wild rice gathering. This course will explore how Indigenous communities respond to political and economic marginalization with innovations that impact the entire U.S. economy. By studying Indigenous businesses, students will learn how entrepreneurship can be a tool for empowering marginalized communities.
Prerequisites: None
ENTR 101S Negotiation Skills for Entrepreneurs (2 Credits)
We all negotiate every single day. This course will introduce practical skills that every negotiator must have. Students will gain skill in; reading body language, active listening, goal setting, communication, and closing tactics. Students will learn how to apply these fundamental skills to basic negotiation game theory, strategy, and tactics. No math, just instruction and exercises from the real world designed to prepare you to dive into it.
Prerequisites: None
ENTR 101T The Heart and Mind of an Entrepreneur (2 Credits)
This course examines what drives entrepreneurial passion. Are entrepreneurs born or made? The course concentrates on the exploration of the characteristics and attitudes of entrepreneurs and examines what specifically makes them successful. What constitutes the “entrepreneurial mindset” – the essential component that sets top entrepreneurs apart from others? Powerful real-world case studies, industry interviews, and an elite roster of successful entrepreneur guest speakers enhance the student experience. Discover your internal entrepreneur!
Prerequisites: None
ENTR 101U Moonlighting as an Entrepreneur (2 Credits)
It’s common to hear an entrepreneur boast that they quit their job and cashed out their retirement to start their business. Truth be told – countless successful entrepreneurial ventures start as part-time side hustles. This course examines what it means to be a part-time entrepreneur. It examines powerful examples of successful businesses that can be formed while maintaining one’s current career or pursuing other personal and professional goals. And yes – while attending college! Effective goal setting, priorities management, resource allocation, and the importance of achieving balance are critical strategies we’ll examine.
Prerequisites: None
ENTR 101V Spreadsheet Analysis for Entrepreneurs (2 Credits)
This course will provide students with an overview of spreadsheet analysis & spreadsheet software. Students will learn intermediate to advanced spreadsheet functionality using Microsoft Excel. Students will be introduced to basic financial concepts such as break-even point analysis, loan payment calculation, feasibility analysis, and more. Students will complete a project using spreadsheets to determine the financial feasibility of an entrepreneurial venture.
Prerequisites: None
ENTR 101W Forethought: Why Thinking About Tomorrow is Today’s Most Important Skill (2 Credits)
In this interactive, fast-paced class, global futurist and best-selling author Jack Uldrich (a graduate of St. John's Prep) will share the skills necessary to prepare students for a predictably unpredictable future while simultaneously giving them the confidence to create a better, bolder and more beautiful future.
Topics covered will include:
• The value of meditation and contemplation
• Harnessing the power and vitality of imagination and creativity
• Developing the ability to probe the future with better questions
• Embracing uncertainty as a condition of the future
• Recognizing ambiguity and paradox
• Appreciating why humility and unlearning are critical components of navigating a rapidly changing world
• Cultivating probabilistic thinking
• Considering "unthinkable" scenarios
• The necessity of long-term thinking; and
• Exploring the wisdom in St. Benedict's advice to learn to listen with the ear of the heart.
Prerequisites: None
ENTR 201 Foundations of Entrepreneurship (4 Credits)
Interdisciplinary exploration of creativity and entrepreneurship. Students will be introduced to concepts such as curiosity, lateral thinking, idea generation, and creative problem-solving within the context of entrepreneurship. Different approaches to entrepreneurship and types of start-up firms will be examined. At the conclusion of the course, students will identify their entrepreneurial strengths and aspirations including a list of potential ideas for new ventures and preliminary steps toward launch.
Prerequisites: None
ENTR 271 Individual Learning Project (1-4 Credits)
Supervised reading or research at the lower-division level. Permission of department chair required. Consult department for applicability towards major requirements. Not available to first-year students.
Prerequisites: None
ENTR 280 Experiencing Entrepreneurship (1 Credit)
Students will be introduced to entrepreneurship, interviewing techniques as a research tool, organization operations basics, differences between nonprofit and for profit organizations, and career discovery techniques. Course is offered for S/U grading only.
Prerequisites: None
ENTR 301 Creating World Class Ventures (4 Credits)
This is the first in a three course sequence for the E-Scholars program. The course covers conceptual entrepreneurial skills needed to create a business that is globally competitive. Students will be introduced to the essential entrepreneurial tools of opportunity recognition, idea generation and feasibility for a potential world class venture. Students will prepare for and execute multiple informational interviews with entrepreneurs and people of interest to observe first hand best practices of entrepreneurial organizations. Students will also be introduced to issues of organizational integrity and ethics. Prerequisite: acceptance into the E-Scholars program and permission of instructor required.
Prerequisites: None
ENTR 302 Global Entrepreneurship (4 Credits)
This is the second course in a three course sequence. The course prepares students to refine their business ventures through framing and validating assumptions through methods of customer feedback, concept testing and prototypes. Students will also prepare for a global business trip, understand how markets and competition (economic dimension), power (political dimension), and culture (social dimension), and values (ethical dimension) influence start up decisions. The global trip includes engagement with foreign professors, business leaders and entrepreneurs as they are immersed in a foreign culture and face the challenge of transacting and collaborating with global business partners and markets. Prerequisite ENTR 301 & Acceptance to E-Scholars Program and written permission of instructor required.
Prerequisites: ENTR 301
ENTR 303 Entrepreneur Apprenticeship (4 Credits)
This is the final course in the E-Scholars program. It involves an individualized entrepreneurial experience. Students will reflect deeply on their global business travel experience. Students will be expected to complete a professional written business plan and business plan presentation. Prerequisite ENTR 302 and written permission of instructor required.
Prerequisites: ENTR 302
ENTR 304 Applied Entrepreneurship (4 Credits)
Entrepreneurs see opportunities in changes, gaps, trends, and problems. This course begins with a review of creativity concepts (curiosity, lateral thinking, idea generation, and creative problem-solving). Students are introduced to the process of opportunity recognition. Students then conduct a feasibility analysis on one or more new venture ideas. Students may consider issues in marketing, strategy, operations, human resources, and finance as they develop and present a complete feasibility analysis. Topics relating to ethics, social responsibility, technology, and personality may be investigated.
Prerequisites: None
Equivalent courses: MGMT 304
ENTR 310 Social Entrepreneurship (4 Credits)
Social Entrepreneurs identify and address social issues using entrepreneurial principles and approaches. They act as change agents at the local, national, and often global level and focus on creating value for those around them. An introduction to social entrepreneurship, this course will engage students in identifying important issues in today’s world and creating potential entrepreneurial approaches to address those issues. Students will become familiar with this new field, meet active social entrepreneurs and develop their own social venture plans. Prerequisite: instructor permission, preference to students with service learning or nonprofit volunteer experience.
Prerequisites: None
ENTR 371 Individual Learning Project (1-4 Credits)
Supervised research at the upper-division level. Permission of department chair and completion and/or concurrent registration of 12 credits within the department required. Examples of an ENTR project would be the development and testing of a prototype or creating and presenting a professional business plan for a new venture.
Prerequisites: None
ENTR 394 Entrepreneurship Practicum (4 Credits)
Supervised ENTR project at the upper-division level.. Examples of an ENTR project would be the development and testing of a prototype or minimum viable product. Students will create and present a professional business plan for a new venture.