Hope College | Leadership Program

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Hope's Entrepreneurship Initiative (HEI)

The Situation

"[There] is a potentially devastatingly global shortfall of about 1.8 billion good jobs....What the U.S. needs more than anything in its quest to win new good jobs in its cities is that rare talent to start companies or to create business models that work, that grow organizations...." -- J. Clifton, The Coming Jobs War, 2011

The great challenge in education is not learning concepts and frameworks, it is understanding how to apply concepts and frameworksin the real world.

A Solution

"Imagine a program that is built around students, one that helps them discover more of who they are and what they can do by customizing a "lean startup" curriculum to them, surrounding them with mentors and advisers to provide feedback and support, giving them space and time to grow, and challenging them to keep moving forward in faithfulness. That is entrepreneurship education at its best. That is the HEI." -- Steve VanderVeen

HEI helps student develop and test their ideas. Our goal is to contribute to an entrepreneurial culture toward creating meaningful work--work that honors God.

Our 'secret sauce' is an integrated mentoring process that involves both the Hope and surrounding entrepreneurial communities.

Student, Is This You?

I plan to start my own business.
I will invent something that changes the world.
My mind never stops.
I never give up.
I am not afraid to take risks even if I might fail.
I want to be my own boss.
I am currently interning with a local business.
I run my own business now.
--Jim Clifton, The Coming Jobs War, pp. 141-142.

What We Offer:

A Student-led Peer Creative, Collaborative, Educational Community: Creo
Process focused Entrepreneurship Courses
Idea Pitch and Learns
Incubator Fellowship Programs
HEI Incubator Advisers
Business Plan Pitch and Learns

Real World Experience. Turning Ideas into Reality. Achieving Passions.

"Preparation for entrepreneurial leadership does not come from books. Books sometimes give you an insight or an outline, but real preparation consists of hard work and wandering in the desert, much feedback, much forgiveness, and the yeast of failure." -- adapted from Max DePree, Leadership Jazz

Believing that entrepreneurs are born and made, HEI seeks to discover, develop, and launch entrepreneurial leaders. HEI outcomes include Hope students who better know themselves and what they will do; for-profit and not-for-profit business launches; in the long-run, a return on investment for Hope College. This will be accomplished by contributing to an entrepreneurial culture at Hope College and in the West Michigan community to create meaningful work that honors God.

Other HEI Information

HEI Advisory Board

HEI Annual Report

HEI Press Releases:

Press Release: May 2012 Hope College student-entrepreneur: 'It Just Spread Beyond My Wildest Beliefs'

Press Release: May 2012 Hope Student Gets Grant from Soical Media-based Business Incubator

Press Release: February 2012 Senior Kylen Blom Wins Prize in Entrepreneurship Competition

Press Release: February 2012 Article in Hope's Anchor

Press Release: February 2012 Hope Senior Splits Prize in GR 5x5 Competition

Press Release: January 2012 See HEIer at 5 x 5 event

Press Release: January 2012 Web project born in three-day event

Press Release: January 2012 Winter Happening Schedule