The U’s entrepreneurship program has been ranked in the top 25 entrepreneurship programs in the nation for the fourth year in a row.
The Princeton Review surveyed more than 2,000 schools in the United States.
Troy D’Ambrosio, executive director of the School of Business and creator of the entrepreneurship program, said the survey asked detailed questions about the program, scholarships offered, the amount of student start-up businesses and the number of classes the program offers.
D’Ambrosio said the variety of resources offered for students — such as the grants for student start-up companies and competitions — are what set the program apart.
The U’s entrepreneur program will be housed in Lassonde Studios, a $45 million project currently under construction, planned to open in fall of 2016. The slogan of the institutue is “Live. Create. Launch.”
The “student garage,” or as D’Ambrosio put it, the “library or Union for the entrepreneur” will be a place for students to create prototypes and connect with other like-minded students.
D’Ambrosio said that Lassonde Studios will be open to every student with a creative mind and that major does not matter. He invites all students to be a part of the business community and said the key to its success is in bringing different kinds of people together.
Parker Finlinson, a senior in marketing and director of the Utah Entrepreneur Series, said he believes everybody can be an entrepreneur. He also said entrepreneurs are people who make ideas happen and that developing an entrepreneurial mindset can make people successful.
Finlinson decided to pursue marketing during his sophomore year in part because his father owns an advertising agency. He found that marketing comes naturally to him and he enjoys the innovative environment.
He said other business degrees, such as accounting, do not interest him because there is already a set path within the major. Marketing, he believes, offers more flexibility.
“[In marketing], every situation is different and requires creativity,” Finlinson said.
Finlinson said the students who are earning degrees within the school of business need people in other fields to collaborate with. For example, he said a medical student can ask the engineer about his product idea, or a music major can discuss finance with a finance major.
Finlinson has mixed feelings about the Lassonde Studios. He is excited for future students who will be able to use it but disappointed that he will graduate before the institute opens.
Ryan Snow, a junior in accounting, works with Finlinson in UES as the director of innovation tournaments, a program which hosts events on campus at the College of Business, College of Engineering and U Medical School.
Snow began his education as a pre-med student but said he wanted to be involved in more innovative projects.
“Entrepreneurship is intriguing because of the ability to create, innovate, improve and shape your own career,” Snow said, “[It] inspires me — the ability to create an innovation that helps people’s lives while generating revenue.”
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