It’s one thing to develop a promising business idea. It’s a much bigger — and more challenging — step to actually get the venture up and running. 

Poole College undergraduates and others will have a new opportunity soon to apply their entrepreneurial passion to open and grow their own business with a pilot program, Founder Bootcamp @ The Garage. The pre-launch-to-launch initiative, open to all NC State students, starts this fall. 

NC State Entrepreneurship Clinic director Haley Huie, who will oversee the program, has received a Poole College High-Impact Experience Mini Grant, allocated to initiatives that supplement classroom learning with real-world, hands-on skill-building and mentorship. 

“The transition from the post-idea stage into launch is what’s the scariest phase for people. A program that guides students through having a pop-up … is a whole other level we’re excited to kick-start,” Huie says.      

At the pop-up events on and off campus, students will interact with their target market and NC State alumni entrepreneurs to promote their products or services.

“Students get a world-class education in our classrooms at NC State,” Huie says. “But it’s different when they get involved in something that’s not for course credit, but that brings them together with people who want to create something in the real world, and that gives them one-on-one support like mentors.”

“[The program] brings students together with people who want to create something in the real world, and gives them one-on-one support.”

Poole graduate Cherith Roberson will design and facilitate the Founder Bootcamp program. She founded and owns Flourish In Growth, an Apex-based business-planner company that works with organizations and others. The program will be based on The Guided Small Business Planner workbook she wrote, of which students will receive a copy. 

With the program sessions that Roberson will facilitate, alongside additional mentor guidance, students will strengthen comprehensive entrepreneurial skills. That will include validating their product or service, financial modeling, performing basic business operations, marketing and talking with customers for authentic feedback. Each student or venture team will make a final presentation at a showcase event.

Roberson remembers how it is to be a student with an ambitious business plan.  

“When I think about some of the skills that I needed as a student, they were based on real-life experiences, and I needed a lot of practice to feel confident. We want to give students the space to practice talking about themselves and their ventures, and ultimately to feel like they can take on a big project or idea and have the framework for how to get it done,” she says. 

Students will apply to be in the Founder Bootcamp program, and Huie will recruit for the fall cohort of about 10 undergraduates. Future cohorts may include more undergraduates, with a goal of about 15 students and the aim of long-term sustainability.

“We want to give students the space to practice talking about themselves and their ventures, and ultimately to feel like they can take on a big project or idea and have the framework for how to get it done”

The initiative will help Huie’s clinic, too, by providing a broader understanding of aspiring entrepreneurs at NC State and a way to spread more awareness about resources for students.

And as a high-impact experience, the program will build on the foundation students gain in the classroom.

“I really value the opportunity to go above and beyond, to supplement that with practical learning,” Huie says. “This is a unique way to build more of a sense of community and add to their skills while they’re still students.”