Undergraduate Students
Experience Entrepreneurship
The Carlson Ventures Enterprise (CVE) gives students the opportunity to navigate the world of entrepreneurship and its unique challenges. Students learn to understand its uncertainties, risks and opportunities. Our projects provide our students an opportunity to apply new creative problem solving skills to create real value for our clients.
Professional Development
CVE associates work with leading companies as they develop new concepts and businesses in real life circumstances. To complement project work, our curriculum includes:
- Providing students tools for analyzing business plans, creating recommendations and presenting the results
- Exploring the tools and frameworks used in entrepreneurship, innovation and creative problem solving
- Discussing the world of venture capital and risk investing
- Bringing leading entrepreneurs, investors, and business development professionals into the classroom
- Giving students the opportunity to expand their network and learn from practitioners what makes a new venture successful.
Program Structure
Carlson Ventures Enterprise associates start the Ventures program at the start of their first spring semester and continue through the end of the following fall. Students receive eight credit hours for their work in the Ventures Enterprise, with a grade issued after each term.
Most associates spend about twelve hours per week on their enterprise work, primarily on projects. The majority of the grade is based on project work, with additional consideration for collaboration skills, class participation, presentation skills and professionalism.
The coursework is divided into three sections:
- Introduction to Entrepreneurship teaches the foundational best practices, frameworks, and mindsets of entrepreneurial thinking and doing.
- Entrepreneurship in Practice focuses on extending our understanding of and experience with opportunity assessment, business building, and assumption validation.
- Topics in Entrepreneurship provides insight into subject matter relevant to the real world application of entrepreneurial skill through guest speakers, panels, and activities.
Each section of the curriculum builds upon the previous and is designed to draw connections to the real-world project work.
Client-focused Projects
Carlson Ventures Enterprise focuses on both corporate venturing and entrepreneurial businesses. Final team selections are based on student preferences and skill sets. CVE associates conduct both secondary and primary research, utilizing data and resources from the University of Minnesota and interviewing industry stakeholders and consumers to gather data and insights. Teams meet weekly with the program’s professional director during each project to assess progress, discuss ideas, and debate solutions.
Example Project with the Mayo Clinic
Our Ventures Team worked for the Mayo Clinic and assisted with creating business strategy and identifying market opportunities for new medical products and procedures. The team utilized the lean start-up methodology to accomplish their goals. The team met throughout the semester with the Mayo project lead and presented their findings at the end of the semester.
Carlson Ventures Enterprise associates start the Ventures program at the start of their first spring semester and continue through the end of the following fall. Students receive eight credit hours for their work in the Ventures Enterprise, with a grade issued after each term.
Most associates spend about twelve hours per week on their enterprise work, primarily on projects. The majority of the grade is based on project work, with additional consideration for collaboration skills, class participation, presentation skills and professionalism.
The coursework is divided into three sections:
- Introduction to Entrepreneurship teaches the foundational best practices, frameworks, and mindsets of entrepreneurial thinking and doing.
- Entrepreneurship in Practice focuses on extending our understanding of and experience with opportunity assessment, business building, and assumption validation.
- Topics in Entrepreneurship provides insight into subject matter relevant to the real world application of entrepreneurial skill through guest speakers, panels, and activities.
Each section of the curriculum builds upon the previous and is designed to draw connections to the real-world project work.
Client-focused Projects
Carlson Ventures Enterprise focuses on both corporate venturing and entrepreneurial businesses. Final team selections are based on student preferences and skill sets. CVE associates conduct both secondary and primary research, utilizing data and resources from the University of Minnesota and interviewing industry stakeholders and consumers to gather data and insights. Teams meet weekly with the program’s professional director during each project to assess progress, discuss ideas, and debate solutions.
Example Project with the Mayo Clinic
Our Ventures Team worked for the Mayo Clinic and assisted with creating business strategy and identifying market opportunities for new medical products and procedures. The team utilized the lean start-up methodology to accomplish their goals. The team met throughout the semester with the Mayo project lead and presented their findings at the end of the semester.
Having the opportunity to solve real-world problems for various local businesses and startups throughout my MBA prepared me for my career as a Sr. Tech Product Manager at Amazon. I am currently applying the tools and frameworks I learned in CVE, specifically design thinking, to large-scale international problems faced by one of the fastest growing companies in the world.