Launch a start-up or pursue a degree? No need to choose. Entrepreneurship programs provide students with simultaneous opportunities to achieve their business and educational goals. Jody Hoff, Economic Education senior manager at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, explores this increasingly pervasive higher education trend in our 2014 Annual Report, Does College Matter?
“Instead of passing on college, potential entrepreneurs are learning the real-world skills needed to launch a start-up while studying subjects that may help them change the world,” Hoff explains in her essay, Balancing Passion with Practicality.
Download the essay (pdf, 667.1 kb)
Many education institutions across the country, from community colleges to Ivy League schools, are offering:
- On-campus incubators with dedicated development space
- Business plan competitions for idea validation
- Role model mentorship programs
Hoff stresses it’s a combination of innovative and engaging options that creates inspiring opportunities. “Understanding that launching a business is distinctly different from managing one, entrepreneurship educators recognized the need for a very different approach—an experience-based approach—that infuses the dynamism and risk-taking of a start-up into the learning environment.”
For a deep dive into the three levels of college and university engagement typical to entrepreneurship programs, read Hoff’s full essay. Also visit our 2014 Annual Report site for data supporting the value of a college education, demonstrating overall return on investment.
Hear from Successful Entrepreneurs
Find out more about the true value of college and how to turn your passion into a career strategy. Tune into the Does College Matter? podcast featuring interviews with a diverse group of experts, entrepreneurs, and college students, including Jordan Harbinger of The Art of Charm, Thomas Frank of College Info Geek, and Grammar Girl Mignon Fogarty.
The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the management of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco or of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.