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.

"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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.