100 Entrepreneurs

Overview

The Why

Reinforced Values
Freedom
Knowledge
Opportunity
Passion
Sound Judgment

This activity allows students the opportunity to independently research an entrepreneur from history who made an impact on their community, economy or the world. The students are encouraged to use creativity to create a collage of images and words to describe their respective entrepreneurs. Finally, the students will present a short pitch about their entrepreneur.

Intro

Share the definition of an entrepreneur to students – “Someone who solves problems for profit”. Prompt them to think about someone they consider to be a successful entrepreneur who has changed the world. Tell students they will have an opportunity to research and present about one of these entrepreneurs.

Social and Emotional Skills

• In this activity, students will engage in the Social Awareness competency as students will research an entrepreneur, exploring who that person was and how that person created value for society. Within that research, students may begin to “empathize” with their entrepreneur, and participating in “perspective-taking” as they understand the decisions the entrepreneur made based on the time period, the society, the barriers, etc. The presentation will allow the students to not only report on what the entrepreneur did but also who the entrepreneur was as an individual.

Preparation

• Determine how you will share the activity with your students.
  • Upload 100 Entrepreneurs PPT to Classroom Platform if desired. Alter as needed.
• Review the 100 Entrepreneurs handout and modify as needed.
  • Update the handout to include the length of pitch you would like students to present.
• Review the 100 Entrepreneurs list and modify as needed – You may choose to not include some in the list or add others that you know. This list will be for students to select the entrepreneurs they will research.
• Decide how you would like students to respond to any of the debrief questions after they complete the activity and how they would do so.  
  • Protip: Consistently discussing their observations will heighten students’ awareness of the concepts playing out in real-life in the market. 
• Post the activity to your classroom platform for students to access and complete or set up a Zoom session to walk through the activity with students.

Directions

• Ask students to open the materials included in the Classroom Platform or share them if using virtual conferencing platform such as Zoom.
• Ask students to choose one entrepreneur on the 100 Entrepreneurs List.
  • Protip: Share the list as a collaborative spreadsheet where students can sign up for the entrepreneur they select. This will help with students choosing the same person.
• Remind them the goal of this activity is to research what makes their person an entrepreneur by YE’s definition (an entrepreneur is someone who solves problems for profit).
• Instruct them to create a collage in Word or other tool you select and follow the directions on the 100 Entrepreneurs Handout. When they complete with their collage, upload to the Classroom Platform.
• There are multiple ways to have students virtually pitch their entrepreneur for the length of time you require:
  • Students could record their entrepreneur pitch using a video recording program such as Flipgrid. Once completed, upload to the Classroom Platform or social media
  • Another option would be to have students share their pitches live with the class via Zoom or other video conferencing platforms

Debrief

Students can complete the debrief on paper by answering the following questions or be put into groups via Zoom to discuss their learnings.

• Ask your students what these entrepreneurs had in common.
  • Did these entrepreneurs “solve problems for profit”?
• What made them successful?
  • Were these entrepreneurs successful on their first try?
  • Did they ever fail in their entrepreneurial efforts?
• What if they had never decided to be entrepreneurs?
  • Would there be any companies/products/services that we would not have today?
• Ask your students if they think they have any of these characteristics?
  • If so, were they born with these traits?
  • If not, do they think they can learn them? This question can lead to a discussion about fixed mindsets.
• In what way(s) did your entrepreneur improve the lives of others? How might we know if the entrepreneur found fulfillment in their work? What does finding fulfillment in one’s life look like? what might it feel like?
• What were some ways the entrepreneurs you researched were opportunity obsessed?
• What examples did you see in the entrepreneurs of finding opportunities in the obstacles they overcame in their life?
• What evidence do you see in the entrepreneurs you researched that they created benefit to society while being good stewards of the resources they used?
• How did your entrepreneur acquire knowledge used to benefit others in their work?
• Is their evidence the entrepreneur you studied relied on the knowledge and expertise of others to create value for society?
• What connections do you see between the value your entrepreneur added in the marketplace and the well-being of society? How was society better off?
• Did your entrepreneur benefit from the freedom to compete in an open marketplace? Did society benefit?
• Do you see a connection between your entrepreneurs right to own and operate a business in the marketplace and the well-being of society? Discuss.
• What evidence is there that the entrepreneur you studied was respectful of the rights of others?