From High School Students to Entrepreneurs

December 2, 2022

Attending students at ASU Microschool get a chance to experience what entrepreneurs go through when starting up their business during this Shark Tank project arrangement. All through the month of November, students have been posed the challenge and question with “What makes an effective global entrepreneur?” – when introduced to this project, it allowed for students to be as creative as they’d like when developing their global solution. 

The Shark Tank project allowed students to meet and learn with different faculty members from the Thunderbird School of Global Management. With members such as Dr. Roy Nelson, Dr. Lena Booth, Anjelina Belakovskaia, and Olga Teran, students attending the ASU West Microschool program were given the privilege to learn more about the history, mission, and global goals the Thunderbird School of Global Management created. Not only did these faculty members help students learn more about the Thunderbird School of Global Management, but they also helped these students kickstart their entrepreneurial journey with the importance of financing/budgeting. 

Students were given a fake scenario of a small task to budget for a year, students underestimated how difficult it actually would be. This led to the challenging question at hand: “What makes an effective global entrepreneur?”, which ultimately sparked the project of a lifetime. As students work together to design a solution that will eliminate a global challenge, they also work together to compete with other students to impress the panel of Sharks. 

This Shark Tank project also allows students to further meet and work with Professor Kunkel in the Communications Lab. Professor Kunkel further informs the student on the importance of communications, but now in the entrepreneurial aspect. Professor Kunkel continues to deliver helpful presentations, lectures, and help to the students to ensure their success with the given task of finding a global solution in this Shark Tank project. With the immense help Professor Kunkel has given, students have learned a vast amount of speaking, presenting, and team building skills that will further improve communication skills as a whole.    

As time dawns in the month of November, students attending the ASU Miscroschool program will continue to tackle the problem and question of “What makes an effective global entrepreneur”, whilst leaving every day with the ever growing knowledge of learning the importance of financing, communication, and collaboration when becoming an entrepreneur.   

~ Josiah Belmontes