John Brown University launches entrepreneurship minor

John Brown University announced this week its entrepreneurship minor and hosted Sarah Hartwick, “Shark Tank” survivor and founder of SURFSET Fitness Inc., at the minor’s launch party on Dec. 1.

“Millennials rate working for themselves a more important career priority than any other generation, according to Barna research in 2014,” said Clayton Anderson, instructor of business. “Our students place enormous emphasis on the disciplined, iterative process of identifying and solving a worthwhile problem, and this minor will train them to create viable solutions to problems through their own startups or innovative work in established companies.”

JBU student business teams have consistently finished in the top three in the Donald W. Reynold’s Governor’s Cup Business Plan Competition and have won the Tri-State Competition three times in the past six years. Also, JBU’s chapter of Enactus has shown excellence in entrepreneurial innovation for years, and placed third out of the 500 programs in the US Enactus network in 2015.

Students will take classes on venture financial management, building innovative teams and culture, and market discovery and validation. Students across all disciplines can enroll and start classes in fall 2016. JBU will graduate students with an entrepreneurship minor starting in 2018.

JBU enrolls more than 2,700 students from 42 states and 39 countries in its traditional undergraduate, graduate, degree completion and concurrent education programs. JBU offers more than 50 majors, with top programs including business administration, graphic design, engineering, construction management, counseling, teacher education and nursing.