Entrepreneurial spirit means you could, you can, you are!
As a high school student, Entrepreneurship (Eship) can be a powerful vehicle for not just your learning, but for helping you become all that you want to be. Entrepreneurial Culture & Spirit are at the heart of our program. Throughout TPZ’s hands-on Entrepreneurship–or Eship–program, you’ll build a strong entrepreneurial spirit. You’ll earn design thinking and you’ll implement universal design principles to create low-fidelity prototypes connected to a product or service you’d like to develop, as a project or as a real business. Here, you’ll test business models, and over the course of three terms, network with professional entrepreneurs. And if you take part in our work-based learning activities, you’ll have the opportunity to experience on-the-job skill-building through internships and relationships with local businesses.
Along your journey at TPZ, you will have the opportunity to explore STEAM-focused electives—learning about robotics and AI, graphic design, 3D printing, laser cutting, coding, and more. And throughout your time with us, you will receive support to promote your well-being—from daily stipends and meals, to enrichment experiences and resources for you or your family.
Additionally, as a TPZ high school student, you’ll have the chance to work with young adult entrepreneurs in our Ventures program. There, you can explore a complementary pathway to higher education, learn product management, digital marketing, and e-commerce.
- Afterschool Eship classes are offered twice each week, from 4:00-6:30 at the Innovation Center.
- School-day classes are scheduled with participating BPS schools, usually two days/week.
- Courses are generally ten weeks long.
EShip Programs
Discover
Students in Discover explore their entrepreneurial mindsets and skills by learning about the factors that contribute to building a strong entrepreneurial spirit. They actively seek problems that may not yet be addressed and learn from other entrepreneurs. Gaining a deeper understanding of what it means to do this work, students implement universal design principles. At the conclusion of Discover, students present their top two problems and two business ideas in the form of a Gallery Walk, welcoming feedback from an external audience.
Ideate
During Ideate, students engage in solution-finding for the top two problems identified during the Discover course. Students learn more about design thinking and utilize various design principles and design elements to create low fidelity prototypes connected to their identified problems. They develop and conduct prototype tests to better understand their product/service’s functionality and how their users experience their product/service. At the conclusion of Ideate, students create and present their physical, digital, or service-related low fidelity prototypes to an external audience. They explain how prototype/s solves their identified problem, how they used data and feedback to iterate on their design, and select one prototype/solution they would like to continue to explore in future modules.
Incubate
During Incubate, students continue to use design thinking to develop a high fidelity prototype of their product/service previously explored during earlier Eship courses. Additionally, they build on their lean canvas business model—a strategic business planning brief— to assess the feasibility, viability, and desirability of their business idea. Using their experience in Discover and Ideate, students also have the opportunity to develop and share a pitch that highlights their business and idea development over the course of the three semesters. At the conclusion of Incubate, students create and share a pitch using their lean canvas model as a guide that showcases their business idea. They explain how they identified their problem space, share how they made informed decisions around their solution—the product or service design. Students also describe how their entrepreneurial spirit has evolved during their experience in entrepreneurship.