Summer Springboard
Business & Entrepreneurship
ON THE CAMPUS OF GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
LAUNCH YOUR OWN STARTUP AND EXPERIENCE THE WORLD OF BUSINESS FROM IDEA TO PITCH.
THIS IS A TWO-WEEK PROGRAM WHERE YOU’LL FOCUS ON ONE COURSE FOR THE ENTIRE DURATION.
Business & Entrepreneurship @ Georgetown
- Explore how operations, marketing, sales, and finance work together to drive business success.
- Learn to analyze financial statements to assess a company’s performance.
- Create a sales and marketing plan and pitch a business venture to real investors and mentors.
- Gain firsthand insights from entrepreneurial founders on the challenges of launching and growing a startup.
- Develop a complete business plan throughout the program and present it to experienced investors.
- Participate in immersive excursions, such as visiting a maker space, to see startup operations and innovation in action.
Summer Springboard
Business & Entrepreneurship
About This Course
A business program for teens on a university campus in Washington, D.C.
From day one, students break into teams to brainstorm and develop an original business idea, which they will build into a full venture throughout the program. Using an experiential learning approach, students tackle real-world challenges such as creating marketing strategies, building financial projections, and understanding core business functions like operations, sales, and finance. As they work through these elements, instructors introduce key concepts and theories that help deepen their understanding. The program culminates in a final pitch, where teams present their ventures to a panel of expert investors and receive insightful feedback.
In addition to classroom learning, students gain exposure to real startup environments through immersive excursions. For example, past participants have visited a cutting-edge maker space, where they explored how innovative startups operate and witnessed product creation firsthand. They also hear directly from entrepreneurial founders and industry veterans, learning about the challenges and successes of launching and running a business. Through these hands-on experiences and direct mentorship, students leave the program with a well-rounded understanding of what it takes to turn an idea into a viable business.
TOPICS YOU'LL EXPLORE
Hands-on Learning
Students will examine best practices in Research and Development (R&D), Operations, Marketing, and Finance. Understand the mechanics of scaling a business while maintaining quality. Students become part of a new company and configure themselves into teams working on various aspects of a business. The program culminates in a shark tank environment with professional investors.
Career Exploration
Meet with range of business people, from small business owners, mid-level managers and execs from Goldman Sachs, McKinsey consultant, and CEO. From creative marketers to hard-nosed financial analysts, there are myriad careers you may not have heard of. Together we will discuss the career options and the academic paths to get there.
RESOURCES
Course Infosheet
Click here to view or download the printable infosheet for this course.
Program Catalog
Click here to request our catalog to learn more about our summer programs and courses.
Campus Page
Click here to view the website page for this campus and learn more.
“I really enjoyed this program. I have had an interest in business, but I haven’t been sure about which path in business I would like to pursue. In this class, it showed all the different aspects. I especially enjoyed the simulation and the coming together with a group to make the pitch.”
-Kendall S. | Alumni Student
Summer Springboard
Business & Entrepreneurship
Meet Your Instructor
Dr. Carleen Brown, Ed.D., is a dynamic educator, entrepreneur, and experiential learning designer with more than 15 years of experience teaching and mentoring students in K–12 and higher education. She earned her doctorate in Innovation and Leadership from Arizona State University, where her research explored how hands-on, student-driven learning experiences build engagement, confidence, and entrepreneurial thinking. Her work focuses on helping young people move from passive learners to creative problem-solvers who can turn big ideas into real-world opportunities.
Dr. Brown has taught and designed experiential learning opportunities at Clark Atlanta University, where she created hands-on projects and signature events that allowed students to apply business, communication, and leadership skills in real-world settings. She has also worked as a creative strategist and consultant, helping organizations bring innovative ideas and partnerships to life.
Currently, Dr. Brown designs innovative programs that blend storytelling, design thinking, and entrepreneurship to help students develop the confidence, creativity, and leadership skills needed to succeed in today’s rapidly changing world. She is also a Fellow at Moonshot Innovation Space in Denver, Colorado, where she is developing an internship program focused on entrepreneurship and 21st-century skills.
DR. CARLEEN BROWN
“I thought the business and entrepreneurship course was absolutely outstanding, the professor was extremely knowledgeable and had valuable information to give at all times.”
-Hayden I. | Alumni Student
Summer Springboard
Business & Entrepreneurship
Dates & Tuition
| 2026 Dates |
|---|
| Session 1: June 21 – July 3, 2026 |
Click here to enroll in this course using our online enrollment form.
| Tuition |
|---|
| Residential Tuition: $5,798 |
| Commuter Tuition: $2,998 |
Tuition Protection Plan: Allows for cancellation for any reason up until the day of the program.
| Location |
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| City: Georgetown Neighborhood |
| State: Washington, D.C. |
| Campus: Georgetown University |
Summer Springboard programs are not run by our campus partners (with the exception of Cal Poly, UW Foster, and NYSID which are run in partnership with SSB). Universities and their affiliated departments and partners do not control and are not responsible or liable in any manner for any part of the Summer Springboard program.