What I Learned When I Took an Entrepreneurship Class at Age 14

When I was 14 years old, I faced a choice that would change my life: enroll in French, classic culture, or a new class called "Entrepreneurship." I didn‘t fully understand what entrepreneurship entailed, but something about it intrigued me. Little did I know, it would become one of the most pivotal decisions and influential experiences of my teenage years.

Walking into that classroom for the first time, my expectations were modest. I figured we‘d learn a bit about business, but I wasn‘t prepared for the spark it would ignite. Our mission was ambitious: identify a problem in society and build a project or service to address it. Ideas ranged from apps to help students manage stress and anxiety to programs that connected hungry families with extra food from restaurants. Week after week, we dove into fundamental concepts like crafting value propositions, analyzing costs and revenue streams, and designing business model canvases. But while this core knowledge provided an invaluable foundation, it paled in comparison to the fire it lit inside me.

Hungry to learn more, I became a sponge outside the classroom. I scoured Google and YouTube for any morsel of entrepreneurial wisdom I could find. It quickly became clear to me that entrepreneurship wasn‘t just a subject – it was a way of thinking, a lens through which to view the world and a vehicle for creating change. I couldn‘t get enough.

Looking back, I‘m convinced every student should have the opportunity to discover a passion for entrepreneurship, just as they can for writing, engineering, art, or sports. When nurtured early, it‘s a potent force for empowerment, creative problem-solving, and positive impact. Yet few schools offer it as part of the standard curriculum. As a society, we stand to benefit enormously by cultivating the next generation of entrepreneurial leaders.

The numbers paint a clear picture: entrepreneurship education is on the rise, but still far from the norm. According to the World Economic Forum, the number of students taking entrepreneurship courses has increased by 20% annually over the past two decades. However, only 38% of high school students currently have access to entrepreneurship education programs or classes.

Research confirms the powerful outcomes of early exposure. A study by the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship found that high school students who participated in entrepreneurship programs had a graduation rate of 99%, compared to the national average of 85%. They were also 50% more likely to start their own businesses.

So what exactly did those early entrepreneurship lessons, both inside and outside the classroom, teach me? Here are a few of the most transformative:

1. Entrepreneurship enhances creativity and boosts innovation

Creativity and innovation are muscles – you have to consistently flex them to build strength over time. Entrepreneurship provides a perfect training ground. With every problem to solve and new idea to pursue, I learned to question assumptions, connect disparate concepts, and embrace novel approaches.

One memorable project challenged us to design eco-friendly packaging solutions. My team came up with the idea to use mycelium, the root structure of mushrooms, as a biodegradable alternative to styrofoam. We grew samples in a lab, ran tests on compressive strength and thermal insulation, and pitched the concept to a panel of teachers and parents. The process of molding this raw idea into a viable prototype stretched my creative limits and proved that innovation is within reach, even at age 14.

Studies have shown that youth who participate in entrepreneurship programs show increased creativity, critical thinking, and goal-setting abilities compared to peers. A Gallup study found that students who participated in entrepreneurship programs were 50% more likely to start their own companies than the national average.

2. You learn to listen to others and value diverse ideas

Entrepreneurship is a team sport. Success hinges on harnessing a diversity of strengths, insights, and points of view in pursuit of a common goal. Early on, I realized that the best solutions emerged when everyone had a voice. I learned to quiet my own ideas and create space for others to share theirs.

This lesson translates seamlessly into my work now as a full-stack developer. Building complex web applications requires close collaboration with designers, product managers, data scientists, and other specialists. The strongest products emerge when we leverage our unique talents and challenge each other to think bigger.

Research has found that startups with diverse founding teams generate 30% higher multiples on invested capital than more homogenous teams. Diversity isn‘t just nice to have; it‘s a strategic advantage.

3. You grapple with real-world problems facing society

Entrepreneurship forced me to lift my gaze and survey the challenges we face as a society with fresh eyes. Identifying a meaningful problem to solve required zooming out and considering the struggles, injustices, and unmet needs all around us. I began to look at the world differently, with an eye toward how things could work better.

This impulse still guides me today. As I architect software systems, I‘m not just aiming to build elegant code; I‘m driven to create tools that solve real user pain points and make people‘s lives easier. Learning to look at the world through the lens of problems and potential has been one of the most impactful shifts of my career.

A 2019 survey found that 65% of Gen Z want to make a positive impact on the world through their work, and entrepreneurship offers a direct path. If we want to empower more young people to take on our biggest challenges, we need to start training their entrepreneurial muscles early.

4. Your team rallies around a shared mission

With a problem to solve and creative ideas in tow, our team soon oriented around a clear, shared goal. Having a north star to guide us was galvanizing. Any disagreements or challenges along the way became surmountable when held up against the bigger picture of what we were trying to accomplish together.

I‘ve seen this dynamic play out powerfully time and again in my work as a developer. When teams have a compelling, common objective, it‘s amazing how quickly they can move mountains. People bring more of their passion and perseverance when they believe deeply in the mission.

Studies show that mission-driven companies have 30% higher levels of innovation and 40% higher levels of retention. Having a shared ‘why‘ is rocket fuel for productivity and problem-solving.

5. Entrepreneurship is ultimately about uplifting others and yourself in the process

Perhaps the most profound lesson that 14-year-old me absorbed is that entrepreneurship, at its core, is about making people‘s lives better, solving problems, and expanding possibilities – for others and for yourself. It‘s a vehicle for positive change and personal growth.

This ethos is what drew me to software engineering. Every application I build is, in its own way, a micro act of entrepreneurship – identifying a user need and crafting a solution. The creative challenges along the way stretch me to expand my own capabilities. It‘s a virtuous cycle of growth and impact.

Two thirds of entrepreneurs say their businesses are providing important unmet needs in their communities. The innovations and value we create enrich the world around us.

Beyond the discrete lessons, that early entrepreneurship class fundamentally shaped my worldview. It instilled in me a bias toward action, a resilient optimism, and a deep sense of agency. Now, over 15 years into my entrepreneurial journey, I can draw a direct line between that classroom and the purpose-driven company I lead today.

Knowing the transformative power of entrepreneurship, I believe we have an opportunity and obligation to bring it into more schools and learning environments. Giving students an early window into entrepreneurship does so much more than plant seeds for future business leaders and startup founders. It fosters the very skills and mindsets this next generation needs to navigate an uncertain future and drive progress on the defining challenges of their time.

Of course, there are obstacles to making entrepreneurship education accessible to every student. Funding gaps, varying priorities, and limited teacher training all pose challenges to implementation. But many organizations are paving the way with innovative programs and partnerships.

The National Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education provides training and resources to help schools integrate entrepreneurship into core subjects. Youth Entrepreneurs opens doors for students in underserved communities through hands-on, project-based learning experiences and pitch competitions. And major companies like EY and Google are investing in entrepreneurship programs to cultivate more diverse talent pipelines.

We‘re still in the early innings, but momentum is building. More schools are recognizing entrepreneurship as a core 21st century skill and prioritizing it alongside traditional subjects. State and federal policies are shifting to support entrepreneurship education, like the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, which provides over $1 billion annually to integrate entrepreneurship training into curriculum.

So whether you‘re an educator, parent, policymaker, or concerned citizen, I urge you to advocate for entrepreneurship programs and curricula in your schools and communities. The ripple effects and returns on investment could be limitless.

I‘d love to hear your thoughts and ideas. Do you believe entrepreneurship should be taught more widely in schools? How can we scale access and bring it into more classrooms around the world?

Looking back, I‘m eternally grateful that 14-year-old me raised her hand for entrepreneurship. That class was so much more than an elective; it illuminated my path forward and ignited a lifelong passion. My hope is that every student has the chance to discover that flame for themselves.

Because when we teach youth to think and act like entrepreneurs, we equip them to be the changemakers our world needs. We empower them to author their own futures and write a story of positive impact – for their communities and for themselves. What could be more important than that?