Another of my classes— by far the most exciting— is ENT 206, or Enterprise Launch. The class originally started as a very successful club, it was then turned into a 1-unit very-heavy-load Work Experience in Business class, and it is now a full 3.0 units Entrepreneurship class.
The program allows students to rapidly launch a simple business idea in a single semester through the help and mentorship of an instructor and other staff. Mentors volunteer their time to help students launch their product or service and start selling. Every two weeks we hold business pitch competitions in class, through which we develop our business concepts and get an opportunity to win cash awards.
Today was our first pitch, and my partner Isaac and I won $100 to invest in our product. The judges really enjoyed our idea, because they recognized its high potential in terms of utility and scalability. Legally, I am not allowed to disclose any information about our business concept or any idea pertaining to our class. But I can tell you that I am very excited about the idea and about the class, and the professor Julie Samson is amazing. An expert entrepreneur and consultant herself, she is an inspiring and invigorating teacher, whose excitement and passion will make it impossible not to LOVE this class. 
Anyone is a good fit for this class, as the development of a product or service requires much more than management and accounting skills. In fact, students enrolled in the program come from a variety of fields, so you’ll feel right at home whatever your professonal pursuit. Students in science, technology, engineering and math programs are encouraged to enroll right alongside those studying entrepreneurship, business administration, CIT, marketing, finance, drafting/CAD, and other disciplines. My opinion is that anyone who is considering a career as an entrepreneur must take this class. In fact, besides the hands-on experience and support you receive as an entrepreneur, businesses launched from the program are eligible to participate in the Scheinfeld Center’s annual New Venture Challenge, and will have access to no-cost business counseling and coaching from the Scheinfeld Center’s Small Business Development Center for continued support after the program. How cool is that?
Last week we had a great attorney come to class and teach us about patents, trademarks, copyrights, and so on. Each team has access to 3 precious hours of her time for free, which to other businessmen would amount to a cost around $1,000. This is just one of the outstanding resources offered by this course.
To those of you who want to transfer to the UC system or other schools with a similar mission, beware that the class may not transfer. This is a hands on experience, and while CSU’s have no problem with that, UC’s usually do. Now that you know this, what you should do is plan ahead in order to make sure you will be able to take this class and still not be overwhelmed with requirements on your last semester. I did it and trust me:
it is so worth it!
A presto,
- Fede
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