Entrepreneurship as a Career (Innovations Case Narrative: The Launch Pad)

Abstract

people are of necessity critical players in that effort. It follows, then, that to participate fully in the mission of national renewal, higher education should make studies in entrepreneurship broadly available to its students. The Launch Pad, a novel entrepreneurship initiative developed at the University of Miami (UM), aims to address that goal. The Launch Pad has two fundamental aims: to open entrepreneurship studies to all UM undergraduates, and to encourage and enable them to start new ventures in South Florida. The Launch Pad achieves these aims by treating entrepreneurship as a mainstream career and a legitimate way to make a living, and by linking young entrepreneurs to regional commercial and community networks. Because of The Launch Pad, entrepreneurship is a fundamental component of career counseling at UM. The Launch Pad teaches undergraduates that entrepreneurship is a valid career option, and it reaches an exceptional number and range of students through its connection to MU’s Toppel Career Center. Since its establishment in August 2008, The Launch Pad has become the largest single student activity at the University of Miami. Over 2,100 students and young alumni have participated in the program, 80 percent of them from fields other than business, The Launch Pad has generated 65 new companies, which have created approximately 150 new jobs. The Launch Pad’s programs by design are experiential, cocurricular, and voluntary. Pragmatic and concrete, they provide the knowledge young entrepreneurs need to assess and develop their ideas and plans for new enterprises. The Launch Pad offers guidance, encouragement, and immediate access to a dedicated group of mentors from the local business community. The Launch Pad process is outlined in the text box on the following page. The Launch Pad sponsors regular programming—workshops, seminars, and networking events—and maintains a website that is both a clearinghouse of events