About

Steele Lorenz in a field

The mission of the Carlson Ventures Enterprise (CVE) is to provide students with a unique educational experience while supporting client sponsors with strategic advice. Through a combination of coursework and real-world experience, Ventures associates learn to:

  • Understand customer needs and compelling market factors
  • Collaborate creatively to develop and test innovative solutions
  • Present well thought out recommendations and next steps

Our goal is to provide skills necessary for a career in entrepreneurship, social enterprise, business development, venture capital, or corporate strategy.

Our students come from diverse career and educational backgrounds and share a tolerance for ambiguity and a passion for creative problem-solving.

Carlson Ventures Enterprise is the right choice for students interested in learning and practicing entrepreneurial frameworks, tools, and mindsets for application in a broad set of contexts.

My time at the CVE was transformational. Through the program, I was introduced to the principles of design thinking and entrepreneurship - principles we now use every day at MyRain to better understand and serve the needs of smallholding farmers of India."
– Steele Lorenz, CEO & Founder - MyRain

Professional Director of Carlson Ventures Enterprise Describes CVE

Toby Nord, the Professional Director of Carlson Ventures Enterprise, provides an overview of CVE and his goals as the Professional Director.

Student Testimonial

"The Ventures Enterprise taught me that you can approach all kinds of business problems with an entrepreneurial mindset, and it afforded me the opportunities to do so with small start-ups and large corporations alike. I learned how to layout and develop a business plan, but more importantly, I also acquired critical skills related to testing that business plan in real-world situations."

— Kyle Kelly, MBA 2015, Strategic Partner Manager - Google, Inc.