INTRO TO
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
As a VentureLab instructor, you are enabling student confidence,
self-efficacy and ingenuity, ultimately preparing students to use an
entrepreneurial mindset to pave their own path. For your own journey
as an instructor, please use the resources below to complement the
VentureLab curriculum. There, you’ll find tips on how to create an
impactful learning experience.
USER ENTREPRENEURIAL
GUIDE MINDSET & SKILLSET
INTRODUCTORY
VIDEO
© 2021 VentureLab
VentureLab is a nonprofit organization supporting entrepreneurial initiatives in science, technology, engineering, arts and math. All
intellectual property rights in the Curriculum are owned by VentureLab. AlI use of this curriculum must be done in accordance with
VentureLab’s license.
If you intend to use the VentureLab curriculum in a commercial manner, please contact VentureLab for a commercial license.
This is a summary of, not a substitute for, the full license agreement.
CONTENTS
LESSON OVERVIEW /04
LESSON PREPARATION /06
ACTIVITY 1:ENTREPRENEUR MINDSET VIDEO /10
&POSTER
Duration: 40 minutes
ACTMTV 2: DESIGN CHALLENGE:PAPER /14
TOWER - MARSHMALLOW CHALLENGE
Duration: 35 minutes
ACTMTV3:ENTREPRENEUR SONG /22
Duration: 15 minutes
GOALS
For students to:
� E><perience what it is like to be an entrepreneur.
� Better understand their own current mindsets (how they approach challenges
and problems).
� Better understand that entrepreneurs actively learn and develop both their
mindsets and their skills over time.
� Develop a deeper understanding of entrepreneurial mindset and skills.
� Learn that failure happens to everyone ... including entrepreneurs.
� Learn that entrepreneurs see failure as an opportunity to learn.
� Understand the importance of testing ideas and taking action.
� Recognize and honor the individual strengths people bring to a team.
ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSETS and SKILLS
This lesson is designed to help students experience and develop the following:
Entrepreneurial Mindsets Entrepreneurial Skills
Resourcefulness Creativity
Optimism Teamwork
(Collaboration and Communication)
Failure is 01<
(Learn through Failure) Design Thinking
Growth Mindset Prototyping
(Students may not have all the mindset
and skills to be a successful entrepreneur yet -
but overtime they can develop them!)
Adaptabi lity
Problem Solving
MATERIALS
() Idea Journals or blank paper (enough for (
__ ,') Timer/Clocl<
-- each student)
() Mind Set Cards
() Marshmallow Challenge Materials (1 set
per group) () Large sheet of paper (butcher paper,
poster board) (1 per student)
• 10 - 8 ½ x 11 pages
() Markers, colored pencils (enough for each
• 1 regular size marshmallow (not ·- student)
mini)
() Magazines/pictures, scissors, tape or glue
() Measuring Tape/Stick (optional)
DOWNLOADS
MARSHMALLOW CHALLENGE
SLIDES MINDSET CARDS TEAM OBSERVATIONS CARD
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ENTREPENEURSHIP A
ENTREPRENEUR
GROUP UP! ENTREPRENEUR SONG SONG LYRIC S
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The Entrepreneur Sono
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4) After video, give groups 3-5 minutes to discuss how something Gabriella said
matched the word, sentence, or image of the Mindset Cards. Have each group share
out to the whole group.
5) Ask students to e><plain why the mindset that Gabrielle e><hibited was important to
her success. Show video again if you think it would be helpful and if time allows.
Entrepreneur Poster (25-30 minutes)
6) Give each student a copy of all Mindset Cards to include in their Idea Journal or
notebook (or in a folder they can keep with their Idea Journal).
7) Give students their own large pieces of poster board/paper along with markers,
colored pencils, magazines, and/or any other art supplies you have available. Ask
them to first draw an image of themselves however they want to. For e><ample, it
could be a superhero or an animal they think most represents them. Encourage
them to be creative with this activity. They should also write on the posters the
mindsets they believe they have. Ask students to annotate their poster with the
top 3 entrepreneurial mindsets and skills they want to learn and develop over the
coming year. Ask them to note down why they have prioritized these mindsets and
skills. This gives an opportunity to emphasize that we can all continue to learn and
develop (growth mindset). Allow them to copy what's on the cards or come up with
their own, positive statements.
8) Give students time to complete their posters.
9) At the end of the activity, ask students to share their posters, and if there is room,
hang the dream team posters on the walls and let students do a "gallery walk" to
see each one up close. Ask students to consider how and why each dream team
poster is different.
10) If possible, keep the dream team posters up throughout the time you spend
working through the VentureLab curriculum. In the weeks to come, remind
students about the importance of teamwork and believing in their own strengths
that they bring to a team. Check in to see which mindsets students are developing
and encourage them to share the progress they've made on their goals to
becoming more and more entrepreneurial! Along the way, your students will
develop even more strengths and qualities that make them great entrepreneurs.
When time permits, have students add those new characteristics to the posters.
EXTENSION OR HOMEWORK ( Optional)
• Show Gabrielle William's TEDx video again and give groups different mindset
cards.
• Have students research an entrepreneur working in a field that is interesting to the
student. Create a dream team poster for that entrepreneur based on the qualities
the students learn about him or her. Some suggested entrepreneurs to learn about
are:
• Leah Busque, Founder of Task Rabbit
• Teen entrepreneur Avani Singh and Founder of Ummeed
• Roshni Shah and her company called Impact that connects companies wanting
to display artwork with artists from around the globe
• Moziah "Mo" Bridges, founder of Mo's Bows
• Have students research "failure" stories-stories of entrepreneurs, brands or ideas
that didn't work. Have students present the failure stories to the whole group the
ne><t time you're all together so they all get to hear about what didn't work along
different paths to success.
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ACTIVITY 2: PAPER TOWER
MARSHMALLOW CHALLENGE
INTRODUCTION
Students work in teams to complete a challenge to build the tallest free-standing
structure out of paper that can support a marshmallow. Along the way, teams will be
asked to reflect on what they've been doing and how they're feeling as they experience
what it means to have an entrepreneurial mindset. It will also help students start
building some key entrepreneurial skills including creativity, teamwork, and
prototyping.
MATERIALS and RESOURCES
..
(__) For each group
;�-
• 10 - 8 ½ >< 11 pages
• 1 regular size marshmallow (not mini)
() 1 ruler (for instructor to measure towers)
() Team Observation Card .(decide if you want one per team or one per student)
INSTRUCTIONS
Get Ready ( 10 minutes)
1) Have students get into groups of 2-4. Use Group Up! for ideas on grouping
students.
2) Now explain to students that they are going to do a design challenge that will help
them e><perience what it's like to be an entrepreneur
3) E><plain the Paper Tower-Marshmallow Challenge: Tell students that they will work
in teams to build the tallest tower possible that can hold a marshmallow on the
top. They will only be able to construct the towers with the materials provided.
4) Let students ask questions as needed. Make sure that they understand that:
• Towers must be free standing - they cannot be stuck down/taped down or
suspended.
• Teams can only use the materials they have been given, but they do not have
to use all the materials.
• They can use the materials in any way they'd like. For example, they can fold,
roll or tear the paper into smaller pieces.
• The tower must hold the marshmallow on top and still stay standing. The
marshmallow has to stay in one piece.
• The winning team is the one with the tallest tower that holds the
'1 venturelab
marshmallow on top.
S) Let students know they will have a total of 18 minutes for the challenge-including
both planning and building the tower.
• Hand out the Team Observation Card (either one per group or one per
student-you decide). Instruct students to follow along as you read the
Entrepreneur's Mindset box out loud on the observation card out loud. Have
them read it with you a second time and point out that during the lesson, they
may notice themselves using this mindset. The mindset will be discussed in
depth during the post-activity discussion. Let students know that after 9
minutes (halfway through the activity) you will pause the timer to have the
students fill out the first row of the observation card to reflect on their
progress and thinking. The timer will then resume after everyone has finished
the first row.
• Have the group take a minute before the activity starts to assign when each
person will be the recorder and have them write the names down ne><t to the
"Recorder" notes in each time b0><.
6) Give out the sets of materials to each group, make sure everyone is ready, and start
the timer for 18 minutes (remembering to pause at 9 minutes to let students
complete first line on observation card).
7) When the time is completed, have the groups complete the second row of the Team
Observation Card.
Measure the Towers (s minutes)
8} Go to each tower and determine whether it is free standing and if it is holding the
marshmallow. If it is, measure the tower's height.
9) Record the results somewhere for the whole group of students to see.
10) Announce the winner!
11) Ask students to review the notes on the Team Observation Cards before the post
activity discussion. This will help students settle down after the final countdown
e><citement and give them a chance to think about the activity.
Planning
Ask the group: About how long did it take your group to plan? Would you take more
time or less time on planning if we did this again? How useful was it to spend time
talking and planning? Why?
If they did spend a long time planning, probe why that is-it is often the case that
groups plan a lot because they are trying to get the perfect plan before they start and/
or fear getting it wrong.
@=;iii l(ey Tal<eaway: Entrepreneurs start mal<ing as soon as possible. When you
start creating earlier, you identify problems sooner rather than later!
Sometimes people plan for a long time because they are afraid of making
mistakes so they try to get the perfect plan or design. But, entrepreneurs know
that, especially in the early stages, they are bound to make a lot of mistakes,
but will learn important things from these mistakes. Detailed planning often
comes later in a project.
Prototyping (building/making the tower)
Ask students if they know what "prototypes" are - If they don't, e><plain that prototypes
are simple models entrepreneurs make/build to show what their ideas look like and
how they work. They are not the final product but are used to e><plore what works and
doesn't worl<!
Ask the group:
• When did each of the groups make their first prototype?
• How long did they spend making/building their towers?
• Did any of the groups change their design or rebuild their tower? How many times?
• Why did they change the way they were building it?
@=;iii l(ey Tal<eaway: Entrepreneurs make many prototypes and improve on them as
they gather more information. This repetitive process of making and revising
prototypes is called iteration. Entrepreneurs learn something from each new
prototype (or "iteration") in order to ultimately make something better than
their original designs.
Testing
Ask the group:
• When did the groups first try to put the marshmallow on top of the tower?
• How many times did they test using the marshmallow?
• If any of the groups waited until the end to put the marshmallow on, why did they
wait and what impact did it have?
• What were the benefits of testing early?
Discussion Theme 2:
What problems did the teams face during the challenge and
how did they deal with them?
Tell the group you want to focus on the things that didn't go so well
because understanding and dealing with failure is an important part of being
successful. That is why they noted down their problems
on the Team Observation Card.
Learning from Failure:
Ask students:
• What problems did they have during the different stages of the challenge? How did
they cope when things went wrong? Encourage them to be honest. This is an
opportunity to discuss how students feel when things are going wrong and how
those feelings affect their responses to problems.
• In what ways did getting things wrong help them in the challenge?
@=in! l<ey Takeaway 1: Entrepreneurs expect to make mistakes and get things
wrong (especially at the beginning of something new).
@=in! l<ey Takeaway 2: Entrepreneurs are resilient in the face of failure. They show
determination and grit/perseverance to overcome challenges. They stay
optimistic about their work and try to solve problems in a creative way.
@=in! l<ey Takeaway 3: Again, emphasize that these ways of thinking/mindsets can
be learned by exposing yourself to challenges-you will see the world doesn't
end if you fail and you usually find out something valuable!
@=in! l<ey Takeaway 4: Entrepreneurs see failure as an opportunity to learn. They
learn from many small failures and adapt and improve. This leads to better
products and a greater likelihood of success in the end.
Ask students what approach do they think successful people/entrepreneurs have
towards failure?
POST-ACTIVITY DISCUSSION
• Which part of the song is your favorite?
• Would you change anything about the song?
• Are you challenged by anything in the song? Do you feel like you need more
practice with the mindsets or processes?
INTRO TO
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
CONTENTS
LESSON OVERVIEW /04
LESSON PREPARATION /06
ACTIVITY 1: ANALYZING PRODUCTS IN A MARKET /12
Duration: 60 minutes
ACTMTV 2: PITCH GAME /18
Duration: 30 minutes
LESSON OVERVIEW
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INTRODUCTION
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VentureLab is a non-profit organization that is helping create the next
generation of innovators and changemakers.
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have the power to change the world. Our entrepreneurial learning
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girls, to succeed in technical, creative, and entrepreneurial fields
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