This year, for the first time, students in Foundations in Entrepreneurship can earn profits from their businesses once the course ends.
The class is a year-long innovation and computer science elective in which students learn how to develop a business that prioritizes social responsibility and incorporates new technologies. Students interview experts, design a business plan and use GDS resources, such as the Innovation Lab, to create their products.
“Each year in the entrepreneurship class, there’s an open-ended project to let the students define a brand or a marketing message or something they can create that produces value,” computer science and innovation teacher Andrew Heine, who teaches the class, said.
“During the two-month project, all proceeds go to GDS. After the class is over, students are welcome to spin off their businesses and keep the profits,” Heine added.
The class decides where the profits from the two-month period go. Heine proposed financial aid or prom as potential sources. “The destination of the money depends on the interest of the students and the greater good of the community,” he said.
In the past, students have created clubs for their projects; however, Heine noted that there’s already a large saturation of clubs at GDS. “Creating clubs is a simpler process from a financial and legal point of view, but it didn’t give the students much opportunity to get really motivated and care about what they were doing,” Heine said.
Junior Kyle Britton, a student in the entrepreneurship class, is in a group that is creating and selling customized wooden phone cases for the GDS community using the laser cutter in the Innovation Lab.
Britton felt motivated by the new opportunity in the class. “It gives us an opportunity to work harder and obviously make money,” Britton said.
Senior Sawyer Massey is creating a car consulting company where he serves as an agent for clients who want to buy a car. Massey plans to help search for competitive prices and provides advice about dealerships and online shopping options to clients.
“Initially, I wanted students to be able to keep the money for themselves,” Heine said. “That has a legal problem because GDS is a non-profit.”
“If students in the class are using resources, like the machine shop, the 3D printers or even me as an advisor to their business, that can appear as using tax-advantaged resources for a for-profit business,” Heine said. “A for-profit business can’t use a non-profit’s resources.”
Heine, using school-provided funds, gives each a $50 startup budget for their project from the school. In the class, students learn how to identify ideas and available resources to evaluate the practicality of their ideas. “Research shows that businesses are more likely to be successful if they experiment and learn from those experiments,” Heine said. “Being able to do it in a class context is really great because they have a bit of safety from losing money.”
According to Heine, the project aims to “pique students’ interest so they know some of the problems in entrepreneurship before they get into the more technical aspects of entrepreneurship and business.”
Some students expressed frustration about the policy prohibiting them from making money while the class was still running. “I feel like at least 50% of the money could go to the people who are making the company,” Britton said. “We’re working hard—it’s a big effort—so we should make money as well.”
Massey thinks the class is helping him grow as an entrepreneur and giving him opportunities to learn.