BYU
At Brigham Young University entrepreneurship flourishes throughout the student body, at both the graduate and undergraduate level, and among business and non-business majors. Major contributing factors to the entrepreneurial spirit of over half of our student-body are the experiences, growth, and maturity students acquire as they take an 18 to 24 month break in their schooling to serve as missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout the world. BYU and the Center for Entrepreneurship have excellent programs with entrepreneurial education and activities. The Center is entirely funded by donations from successful entrepreneurs who dedicate a significant amount of their time and money to further the success of our students.

Learn
The Center for Entrepreneurship enables students to acquire basic entrepreneurial skills through study and experience. Each year Student Entrepreneur of the Year competition and Business Plan Competition give students the opportunity to present their businesses in front of audiences of up to 1,000 people and receive feedback and mentoring from Entrepreneur Founders, successful business leaders, venture capitalists, and graduate students. These competitions provide over $150,000 in awards to the student finalists. Students can also build relationships and hone skills by joining the Collegiate Entrepreneur Organization (CEO Club) or enrolling in one of the six Entrepreneur Lecture Series courses, where each week students hear from successful entrepreneurs from around the world. Other entrepreneur courses include Basic Entrepreneur Skills, Managing and Creating New Ventures, Entrepreneurial Marketing, and more.

Earn
Many students begin their own businesses before completing their university courses. Entrepreneur Mentors help students act on their ideas, bring their businesses to fruition, and successfully handle any problems or challenges along the way. Some students focus on making a difference “intrapreneurially” in the corporate world by practicing what they’ve learned through the Center for Entrepreneurship. Many graduates with an entrepreneur emphasis eventually end up as their own bosses and provide employment and security for others. Some current examples of BYU student successes are 1-800CONTACTS, DearElder.com, Omniture, J-Dawgs, and Calle.

Return
Dedicated Entrepreneur Founders donate their time, talents, and funds to benefit students through scholarships, class enrichment, and mentoring. Founders of the Center for Entrepreneurship, from all around the world and all types of businesses, find satisfaction in “giving back” in a way that really matters. They meet several times a year on campus and at remote locations during the Entrepreneur Founders’ Conference and Founders’ Retreat to network with each other, teach and mentor students, and form lasting relationships.

Entrepreneurship in Today’s Economy
In today’s world, a real change is happening. The Fortune 500 companies have reduced the number of their employees. Smaller, more dynamic companies have provided most of the new jobs in the U.S. economy over the last 20 years.

• Several years ago, 1 in 4 graduates of business schools went to work for a Fortune 500 company. Recently, however, only 1 in 11 graduates went to work for a large corporation.
  


• Nine out of ten graduates express the desire to want to work from themselves – to run their own company within ten years of graduation.
  


• There are over 26 million small firms in America today and employ about half of U.S. workers, though over the past decade these small businesses have generated 60 to 80 percent of the net new jobs http://www.sba.gov/advo/stats/sbfaq.pdf

The key word in this trend is “intrapreneurship.” Entrepreneurs can be found in companies of all sizes. Entrepreneurs are the leaders of change. They develop and market new products and invent new processes for production. Whether in small, fast growing companies or large companies that must evolve to meet the competition, entrepreneurs are influential. The goal of the Center for Entrepreneurship is to help our students become leaders in fostering this spirit of entrepreneurship as they influence businesses throughout the world.