Entrepreneurship Program

At BWL, our goal is to provide all Upper School students with a varied range of experiences, helping them develop the skills and resilience they will need to meet the challenges of today's fast-paced world. 

The Entrepreneurship Program will launch in the Fall of 2023 for students entering 9th and 10th grade, and will continue through 12th grade. This exciting program allows students to develop a business plan, and build a product or create a service that is uniquely their own, after working with faculty and demonstrating a need in the marketplace--and real-world relevance beyond the walls of BWL.

As this will be a three or four-year program, depending on which grade your child joins, Years 1 and 2 will focus on students learning various business disciplines, including Finance and Accounting, Sales and Marketing, Management, Operations and Economics in order to prepare them for becoming an entrepreneur and to create awareness of what to expect in their young adult lives. After students have a basic understanding of these introductory disciplines, they will roll up their sleeves in Years 3 and 4 and prepare for an in-depth study of business plan writing and product development. The Program will effectively turn into an incubator where the students will have the opportunity to utilize the vast resources of BWL and its network, including the possibility of securing funding for their company.

Who is eligible for the Entrepreneurship Program? 

All students in the rising Ninth Grade and Tenth Grade are eligible to participate in the Entrepreneurship Program in the Fall 2023.  

When will the Entrepreneurship Program begin?  

Students who apply and are accepted to the Program will begin their coursework in either 9th or 10th grade in the Fall of 2023. Each subsequent year will feature different content, where students will develop a unique skill set and knowledge base. In 11th and 12th grade, the students will work in teams to develop a practical business plan that meets a known or unknown need in the marketplace, culminating with a final presentation of the business to a panel of entrepreneurs.   

Who will teach the Entrepreneurship Program?The first cohort of students entering the Entrepreneurship Program will be taught by our Head of School, Bill Kuhn, who has an MBA from Columbia Business School. We also have three experienced advisors to this Program: Maggie Sprenger, NYU Stern Adjunct Professor and Partner at Audere Capital LLC; Brian Lancaster, a Columbia Business School Professor of Finance and Economics, as well as the Founder and President of The Minot Group LLC; and Jayesh Punater, Founder and CEO of Nucleus DNA, and Founder and CEO of Gravitas.

How to Apply:

Requirements:

Please note you must be entering either 9th or 10th grade to apply for this program. You must have achieved a B average across all of your classes from last year in order to be eligible.

If you do not have a B average: You may still apply for the program. However, in addition to the required interest statement below, you must also obtain two teacher recommendations and write a separate statement as to why you think you should be admitted to the program and how you will manage the increased workload to maintain a healthy GPA.

Program Application:

Please click here for the Entrepreneurship Program Application.  

Statement of Interest:

Please write a one-page Statement of Interest for your desire to join the Program. Include responses to the following questions:

• Why do you want to become an entrepreneur or what about entrepreneurship interests you?
• What are your interests and how do you envision turning them into a company, non-profit or product?
• How do you think you can manage the workload of an additional class on top of your regular schedule?
• Is there a business topic you are very interested in learning more about?

Please submit all applications by June 20th.