E3: Emerson’s Entrepreneurial Experience
Instructed by Professor Lu Ann Reeb at Emerson College
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Instructed by Ricky Crano at Tufts University
Emerson College is renowned for offering robust, creative programs for those pursuing careers in cinematography, writing, performing arts, and…. entrepreneurship?
It may surprise some to know that the Boston-based arts college has offered a minor in Entrepreneurship since 2005, long before other universities around the nation began providing it as a pathway within their business programs. But as Lu Ann Reeb –– Senior Executive-in-Residence and head of Emerson’s E3 program –– believes, the combination of arts and entrepreneurship makes for an immersive, truly innovative experience.
E3: Emerson’ Entrepreneurial Experience
School: Emerson College
Course: Emerson’s Entrepreneurial Experience
Instructor: Lu Ann Reeb, Senior Executive-in-Residence
Course Description:
The Emerson Experience in Entrepreneurship, known as E3, is a yearlong immersive program in the study of entrepreneurship teaching students how to build and launch a new business venture. Throughout their year in the program, students will test for market sustainability, craft business plans, present a business pitch, and engage with mentors.
Students learn what it means to be an entrepreneur in a journey from the classroom into the world of entrepreneurship to understand the role of the entrepreneur in a for-profit venture, a non-profit organization, or as a social entrepreneur bringing innovation to a large corporate environment. Students in the Entrepreneurial Studies program develop critical thinking and problem solving skills, craft business plans, calculate startup costs, develop pitch presentations and engage partners and resources for their ventures.
Emerson’s Entrepreneurship Program is on the Forbes Magazine List of Top 20 Most Entrepreneurial Colleges in America.
Ask the Instructor: Lu Ann Reeb
Can you tell me a little bit about the E3 program?
I teach a year-long course called E3, short for Emerson’s Entrepreneurial Experience, and the program is just that — experiential.
I’ll tell you what I tell my students: you’ve spent years learning to listen to your professors, take notes, and perform on tests and quizzes. Well, this isn’t that kind of course. I’m going to try to unteach your knowledge of being a student, because I want you to learn by doing.
The first assignment in the class is to take an hour to go for a walk, which I call the ‘Walk of Opportunity’. I want the students to look for the little problems that blow past them every day — maybe it’s somebody pushing a stroller along our lovely Boston streets, and their wheels are getting stuck in the bricks. I want them to think about what the people they pass are going through, because this assignment is about identifying problems in order to find solutions.
In the fall, we learn about — and from — a lot of different entrepreneurs. The focus is all on entrepreneurial thinking; what do you need to shift in your mind to think about problem solving, the end user, or the customer experience. And then I put them in the driver’s seat, where they have to think through this process, and do the research, and consider all of the stakeholders.
I’m somewhat of a kinesthetic learner myself, so I can see the value in having your students learn through failures and pivots.
It is valuable, and it’s fun, too! We do all kinds of impromptu exercises — we have a comedy major at Emerson, so I’ve brought other instructors in to do improvisation. So that’s the fall semester, learning about the entrepreneurial process and strengthening those speaking, pitching, and performing muscles that students may not exercise on a regular basis. Throughout the term each student comes up with an idea to launch as a new business, which they bring into spring semester.
In the spring semester we work on a much more individualized basis, as well as in cohorts, to develop that idea into a value proposition and monetization model. I have the students figure out who their target customers and competitors are, what the market looks like, all of that. They do expert interviews, external interviews with people who work in the market that they’re entering.
At the end of the spring, we have a pitch competition wherein they present the work they’ve done throughout the year. We have a panel of external judges, all of whom are local entrepreneurs, who judge their pitches and select the winners. The top three finalists all win cash awards, and we also offer a scholarship award. So that’s a really great motivator for the students to give it their all.
How many students typically participate in E3?
We offer E3 as a minor, and we typically have about 20 to 25 students in each year’s cohort. I love it. Because we spend a whole year together, they get to know each other really well and I get really attached to them. I can tell you, there are definite benefits to having the richness of that cohort. We have a LinkedIn group called ‘E3 Mafia’, and it’s members are made up of all of the cohorts from past years. Sometimes I’ll login to LinkedIn and see students from my current section networking with my previous, now-graduated students.
With the pandemic and resulting school closures, there’s been such a loss of the on-campus community feeling. I can see how something like a LinkedIn group for these students would offer a virtual replacement for that in-class interpersonal interaction.
Exactly right. Last spring campus was closed. Boom, we had to go online. And that was kind of scary, especially because we were at that point of the spring when the students were doing pitches. To all of a sudden transform from in-class meetings to video pitches, and then moving the pitch competition to be online, was like, oh God….
But, I love to tell this story: as I’d mentioned, E3 is offered as a minor. I end up teaching students from all areas of Emerson’s academic community, all the majors — film, performing arts, communications, business of creative enterprises, so on. There are always a number of film majors in the class who, of course, could practically produce videos in their sleep.
When classes went online, suddenly all of these students had to make their pitches and plans into video pitches and plans, and a lot of students who weren’t adept at video editing were freaking out. You know, how can they compete in this pitching competition when they can’t produce a winning video? And despite the fact there was a cash prize on the line, every single one of my film students volunteered to help.
So there they were — separated by the pandemic, supposed to be competitors, and talking to each other on Zoom, like, “walk me through your idea, and I’ll show you how to edit”. It was heartwarming.
What sorts of companies have your students launched in the past?
I have two students this year who are working on a brunch-focused food truck. None of the restaurants in Boston are allowed to have indoor seating, so food trucks have been doing particularly well. There have been a lot of foodies in past years.
I had a student named Jade a few years ago who launched a company called ‘Entertainment for Change’, which was really ahead of its time. It focuses on having young adults teach younger teens about real-world issues. Now she’s running online courses for middle schoolers, educating them on arts, entertainment, health, and wellness. She was a theatre major, so it makes perfect sense for her.
I just spoke to another one of my alums, who launched an advertising agency which places ads in parking garages. There’s a ton of empty wall space there, and if you’re driving around the lot trying to find a space for twenty minutes, then that’s great exposure. One of my other students wanted to create an app for Spanish-speaking children, so that they could see kids who look like them reflected in a mobile app game. I have one student now who is trying to create a platform for international students to share their stories, because a lot of international students can’t return to the US and their schooling is suffering for it. And last year’s winner, Chris Rodriguez, created a line of canned mimosas.
What is the one lesson that you want your students to leave E3 having learned?
I want my students to know how to look for opportunities in the world around them, to pay attention to the problems other people are experiencing and be curious, and active, in trying to fix them. And in my classroom, I want my students to feel as if they are in a safe place to fail. I believe in the power of Plan Bs, in pivoting and transforming. That’s my philosophy. •
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