Imagine a class where you spend an entire semester on a team that is focused on identifying a problem, iterating a product to solve the problem, and then working through the financials and validating the product before presenting it to a group of judges at the end of the semester.

Now imagine essentially taking that class twice.

Most students seeking an Entrepreneurship co-major or minor at the Farmer School of Business will take ESP 201 and 401 on their path to graduation.

ESP 201, Introduction to Entrepreneurship and Business Models, is required for any ESP co-major or minor. “This is so important, even beyond creating a business and starting a business, which the students did learn how to do, because it creates a high-stakes learning environment for them throughout the whole semester,” visiting assistant professor Jeni Al-Bahrani said. “We want them to see that they accomplish something that, on that first day, they don't think is possible. As they stick with it, they really start to develop that courage and grit to see that transformation in themselves.”

Because it’s a lower-level course, many of the students taking the class are not just new to entrepreneurship, but college itself. Megan Flannery, a first-year Real Estate major looking to minor in Entrepreneurship, took the class during her first semester at Miami.

“I think in the beginning, I was a little bit nervous because we didn't know anyone. It was testing new waters in college in general. But then I think once we found our teams, I really made friendships through it, and I really liked this class because it pushed me out of my comfort zone. So, I had a really great experience,” she said.

“I've definitely learned what failure is. Two months ago, our final product was very different than what it is now. So it took some work to pivot and come back be ready for the finals,” first-year Marketing major Michael Chernesky said. “I’ve learned perseverance, and I've learned that I work better in a group environment than being just on my own, because I feel like I can bounce ideas off of other people.”

The class culminated late in the semester in the Business Case Road Test, with preliminary rounds of presentations in front of a panel of judges before the finalist teams pitched again before all the judges. The top three teams also take home prize money.

“I feel very accomplished. In the first week I could not imagine being here and knowing that if I wanted to, right now, I could make my product a living thing,” sophomore Marketing major Emma Koffel said.

ESP 401: New Ventures is a capstone-level class that culminates in the Redhawk Ventures Pitch Competition. On the surface, the class looks much like ESP 201. But assistant lecturer Theresa Sedlack says there’s a lot more involved in the higher-level class.

“There are elements that are the same between the two. But it is our hope that the pattern recognition, the previous shots on goal, makes the ideas more mature, makes the sensibilities more mature, makes the teamwork more in depth, and brings additional hard skills around the total understanding of the opportunity as students have that many more experiences to bring into the New Ventures ideas they create,” she said. “I was just talking to a team today that struggled, but they didn't give up. They really kept persevering. They kept focusing on the problem and they pushed through to a really, really strong finish.”

Senior Alex Manning is one of the many students who took ESP 201 and 401. “I think this time I felt more experienced, and I had a better comprehension of all the materials that I needed to apply into the final pitch. So that made the whole process more enjoyable for me, knowing that I was able to compare from where I was in 201 and see my growth in 401,” the Emerging Technology in Business and Design major said.

“This semester was definitely more intense, just because it is the capstone and we're expected to perform at a higher level with more in-depth statistics and actual research based on interviews and the assumptions which we found within those interviews,” senior Business Analytics major Boden Gall said. “You need to dig deeper and find out what will truly make a person buy a certain thing. What's the trigger or switch for them to buy it?”

Throughout the semester, students in both classes have access to mentors who provide valuable insights and experience. “The mentors play a key role, because they have a way of connecting real life applications with the theory that we teach our students,” Al-Bahrani said. “We have alumni and mentors here that have their own businesses that can really apply what their lived experience is through creating their own business so they can apply it with the students and give them that sound advice that textbooks can't do.”

“You get to help shape some of these ideas. It's more interactive than the pitch because you get to actually work with the students,” retired CVS executive and 1985 alum Adam Waltzer explained. “I think it's interesting each semester the problems that they choose to try and solve. But what I really take away is the passion and their interest and the fact that they work together, they collaborate, and they're really interested in learning and becoming good business folks.”

“You're working on projects and channeling your entrepreneurial spirit. You're not just looking at credits and debits in class, you're doing something that actually can translate into the real world,” senior Finance major Macklin Pinchot said. “We have people that work for real companies and investment firms that are watching you and pitching ideas and thoughts. I think that's probably the coolest part about it.”