Immersive Entrepreneurship

The Duree Center will host over one hundred high school students on October 6, 2023 reprising an event held in April. This event is free of charge. This half-day event in Harmon Hall includes the following.

Registration (8:00am - 8:45am)

Welcome (8:45am - 9:00am)

Introduction (9:00am - 9:15am)

Panel discussion: Entrepreneurship: Beyond the Glamor (9:15am - 10:00am)

This enlightening panel discussion will be centered on the authentic essence of entrepreneurship. Today, we have the privilege of delving into the unvarnished narratives of our panelists — genuine founders who have weathered the intricate terrain of entrepreneurship. While entrepreneurship may appear alluring from a distance, our purpose here is to unravel the layers beneath the glitz and uncover the genuine challenges, pivotal moments, and sacrifices that have molded their entrepreneurial ventures. Our aim is to equip the enthusiastic high school students in our audience with unfiltered insights, fostering a comprehensive comprehension of the veritable nature of embarking on this exhilarating journey.

After a 15-minute break, students will then proceed into one of four breakout sessions (10:15am - 11:45am)

Social Entrepreneurship

Social entrepreneurship—the process of using entrepreneurship to combat social problems—allows for the application of entrepreneurship skills on alleviating social issues like poverty, inequality, climate change, racial tension, and more. Examples of social enterprises include Warby Parker; The Village Market; and Newman’s Own, among many others. In this session, we'll provide an overview of this entrepreneurial way of thinking, experience some models of this unique business approach, and understand the viability of improving society through a sustainable and/or profitable business model that does well by also "doing good."

This session will be hosted by Duree Center Associate Director, Dr. Julie Turner.

Design Dash Overview

Design thinking is a process for solving problems by prioritizing the consumer’s needs above all else. It relies on observing, with empathy, how people interact with their environments, and uses an iterative, hands-on approach to creating innovative solutions. Examples of a company and a product created utilizing design thinking include Airbnb and the Braun/Oral B Electric Toothbrush.

Design Dash is a quick introductory design thinking exercise for high school students. The exercise allows students to get a fun, immersive, fast-paced taste of design thinking.

Student takeaways include:

Experience how working quickly and making fast decisions in teams leads to surprise, creativity, fun, and quality output.

Externalizing ideas through words, drawings, sketches, and prototypes.

Learn ideas rather than defending them.

Discovering and framing a challenge around human needs.

The session will be hosted by Duree Center Entrepreneur In Residence, Jeff Nock.

Scratch Your Own Itch

An interactive workshop designed exclusively for high school students aspiring to become successful entrepreneurs. In this engaging session, we will explore the concept of "scratching your own itch" as a powerful foundation for startup success. Students will unleash creativity, identify problems worth solving, and craft innovative solutions that resonate with their own experiences.

Session Outline:

Introduction

Understanding the Power of "Scratching Your Own Itch"

Ideation: From Itch to Solution

Interactive Idea Selection and Voting

Building Your Startup Model - Lean Canvas

Wrap-up and Next Steps

The session will be hosted by Duree Center Entrepreneur In Residence, Pravina Pindoria.

Mad City Money: Financial Literacy For Young Entrepreneurs

An experiential learning program where students develop practical money-management skills by getting a taste of the real world. Students discover what it's like to budget for monthly expenses, manage debt, and save for the future while facing the constraints of real-world situations. Mad City Money offers realistic examples highlighting the connection between decisions made and the economic consequences of those decisions.

The session will be hosted by Lindenwood Professor of Economics, Dr. Grant Black.

How To Develop An Entrepreneur's Mindset

Learn how to develop your Entrepreneurial Mind in four easy steps! We break down how to generate new ideas daily and sort through them to find the diamonds in the rough. We discuss who you are individually and where you should put yourself in your entrepreneurial organization. We help you create an effective goal structure to follow on your entrepreneurial journey. Finally, we put it all in perspective to help you lead a healthy and fulfilled entrepreneurial life.

We'll cover the four steps to making millions: