South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC) has launched an exciting new program for students who will be taking an idea and turning it into investment-worthy, entrepreneurial enterprises. The Entrepreneur Academy is a tuition-free, add-on program designed for eligible, second-year SPSCC students seeking to learn what it takes to transform an idea into a viable startup business.
Funded through the support of the SPSCC Foundation and other partner nonprofits, the program helps students identify real-world business challenges, create marketing strategies, and work directly with potential customers and investors, as they build an actual full-fledged startup company and land it here in the South Sound. Along the way they develop agility, resilience, problem-solving, strategic thinking, and collaborative skills as they experience a real-world journey into entrepreneurship.
The Vision Behind Entrepreneur Academy
Entrepreneur and SPSCC Foundation Board member Omey Nandyal, explored many different entrepreneurial programs nationwide before launching the program at SPSCC. Backed by an impressive think tank of notable entrepreneurs, Omey helps students refine all aspects of their startup, from product development to company culture.
As Lead Facilitator for the program, Omey also brings valuable insights gained from the ups and downs of founding many startup companies of his own.
“If you study successful entrepreneurs, you discover that entrepreneurship is a state of mind,” Omey shared. “Embracing both success and failure is key to the journey. When I share my experiences as a serial entrepreneur, I emphasize both.”
In addition to actively advancing the Entrepreneur Academy program, Omey supports student success in his new role on the SPSCC Foundation Board of Directors. He shared why he was initially drawn to SPSCC: “As a Board member, I have had opportunities to review scholarship applications, and I see how young people sometimes struggle to fit themselves into the world. I want to support programs like these to help move the needle in students’ lives towards meaningful change and more opportunities for both economic and personal growth.
“SPSCC is a great environment for this sort of thing because it allows for innovation. I was also impressed by the fact that they have once again been chosen to be among the top 10 colleges to be considered for the Aspen Prize. That recognition says a lot about their educational and student first approach.”
A Hands-On Approach to Business Creation
The Entrepreneur Academy is a year-long program featuring monthly, full-day weekend classes at SPSCC’s Lacey Campus, complemented by many impromptu meetings throughout. The curriculum is flexible, allowing for the pivots and adjustments that naturally occur as the cohort brings their ideas to life.
“AI and other cutting-edge technologies are being incorporated into the products they’re working on,” said Omey. “They’re learning to listen to customer needs – just because we think it’s a good idea doesn’t mean everyone else does.”
Beyond technology, the program emphasizes the diverse skill sets essential for building and sustaining a successful company.
SPSCC Dean for Corporate & Continuing Education Noel Rubadue explained: “These programs are not just for tech companies. We work from an actual business model where all kinds of skills and perspectives are vital to the foundation and growth of the company. That is why diversity within the cohort makeup is essential to incorporating a variety of skills sets.”
Interactive Experience with High-Stakes Accountability Sets SPSCC’s Entrepreneur Academy Apart
Five unique elements distinguish SPSCC’s Entrepreneur Academy:
- Students are co-founding a real startup business and are immersed in every aspect of business development of a viable, vetted business model.
- Mentors share field-tested entrepreneurial expertise with students from all phases of startup development.
- Students take on ownership with an emphasis on diverse leadership roles essential to making their product and their startup successful.
- High-stakes accountability is part of the process of taking an idea from theory to reality. As co-founders of a real business, students can carry the startup beyond the first year into a viable business that will continue to grow.
- For one year, the cohort collaborates as a team on a singular idea from start to finish. When they have completed the program, they will have worked on all aspects of the business model.
Working with a diverse network of carefully vetted business leaders, Omey has built an impressive panel of instructors and mentors. Many of those involved are CTOs, COOs, and CEOs who can focus on specific areas of business and entrepreneurship.
“I am bringing in mentors who are experts in finance, operations, human resources, and more, so students can understand the whole picture,” Omey emphasized. “Graduates of the program will have the opportunity to become mentors themselves and assist future cohorts.”
Big Dreams with Far-Reaching Community Impact
The phrase “Dream Big!” captures the spirit of the Entrepreneur Academy. The results of this year-long entrepreneurial training will have a far-reaching positive impact on the community. Benefits include a resilient workforce of highly motivated, startup-savvy employees, promising new businesses to help boost the local economy, and the potential to create generational wealth for co-foundering students.
“Entrepreneur Academy is a community effort,” Omey also pointed out. “The companies formed through this program will help create opportunities for all the people in the community.”
“Students who complete the program will be assets to any company because they will understand business structures and how everything fits from beginning to end,” Noel added.
Learn how you can support this exciting new program. Contact the SPSCC Foundation at foundation@spscc.edu or call 360.596.5430 to learn how you can get involved.
