In this course, young potential entrepreneurs will walk through the habits and mindsets every entrepreneur needs to make money from an idea. We start with how humans earn money in general and then break down the difference between being an employee and an entrepreneur, plus all the different ways entrepreneurship can look.

We dissect the nature and perspective of an entrepreneur, helping the students see the world through new eyes and understand what habits they can begin to build now that will help them as adults (e.g., critical thinking, curiosity, communication, logical risk-taking, and resilience). We explore risk and responsibility and each young person’s comfort level with each, as well as how to foster risk tolerance and embrace responsibility. It all comes down to being a curious, self-reliant, unique problem-solver.

Then we move into the students’ potential businesses. What does it take to bring a viable product or service to market? How can the students begin to unpack what kind of vision they might bring to the world? Once they’ve noodled on business ideas, they need to build the scaffolding that every business thrives on: people.

Students will learn the best networking techniques and mindset, why they should consider finding mentors, how to think about building a team, and how to listen to customers to figure out how their business can solve the right problems in the right way.

We pull apart first-principles thinking and critical thinking techniques to encourage a growth mindset. Then we explore all the problems that could hold someone back from being a (great) entrepreneur. Various case studies of both famous entrepreneurs and young people just like them will help students grasp the complex concepts, including the importance of failure and flexibility. Our students will leave with a new way of looking at the world, positive action steps to build their entre-mindset, encouragement that youth IS an asset, and a roadmap to thinking like an entrepreneur, both now and in whatever their future holds.