Major Minor
Major in Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Become an entrepreneur • Learn to innovate • Impact the world
John Brown University
2000 W. University St.,
Siloam Springs, AR 72761
479-524-9500
jbuinfo@jbu.edu
What are you looking for?
In the entrepreneurship and innovation major, you will learn to ideate, build out profitable business models, and design and test prototypes of your solution. You will gain hands-on experience researching customer problems, partnering with a board of advisors and pitching to bankers, investors and industry experts. You’ll graduate with the skills and grit to create meaningful change in the world, whether in a small startup or a Fortune 500 company.
Start your applicationEntrepreneurs and innovators constantly build and test their ideas with prospective customers. JBU’s entrepreneurship program is designed to get students out of the building and into the real world to see how their ideas hold up.
As part of their coursework, students can become design thinking certified through IBM or IDEO, a certification recognized by companies worldwide that equips participants to solve complex problems in uncertain environments.
JBU entrepreneurship and innovation students consistently place in the top categories at various business plan and business model competitions in and out of the state.
The entrepreneurship and innovation program equips students with an entrepreneurial mindset that prepares them for success in a rapidly changing world.
Five of the six major classes were designed from scratch to fit the new paradigm of entrepreneurship, focusing on methods to experiment and capture feedback before investing (and potentially wasting) money in a rapidly changing world.
Entrepreneurs wear many hats, and they must learn to collaborate with engineers, web designers, lawyers and more. Entrepreneurs may be in the trenches one day and in a boardroom the next.
Through a Christ-centered curriculum, students explore how entrepreneurial pursuits affect culture and promote or harm human flourishing. Students learn how business can be a vehicle for redemption and glorifying God.
"The Entrepreneurship and Innovation allowed me to explore a business idea and see what happened. As I continue to pitch and pursue my business idea, a common point of feedback I have received from people is: ‘The reason we chose to work with you is because of your confidence to make your idea happen.’ The confidence people see when I pitch my idea today started at JBU."
Dimitri Clark '23
Entrepreneurship and Innovation Major
The TCI is designed as a hub for business students working on ideas. Equipped with movable whiteboards, a focus group room and big open surfaces, it provides the space students need to brainstorm, conduct interviews with potential customers and demo their product ideas.
A foundational course introducing key concepts driving entrepreneurship as well as the methods and tools within the field of entrepreneurship including business model innovation, design thinking, customer development, prototyping, experimenting, branding, and organizational dynamics of innovation.
A course in which students explore, experience and practice the attributes of high performing, innovative teams. It includes a study of innovation processes, methodologies and practices as well as personal assessment and content focused on a people/culture strategy for entrepreneurs and innovation leaders.
A finance and accounting course which provides instruction concerning forecasting for a new venture, effectively managing cash flow in an emerging business, sources of financing (VC, bootstrapping, crowdfunding, etc.), company valuation, and exit planning.
A capstone course in which students take business ideas, develop prototypes, and design experiments for the next phase of validation.
As a JBU alum, Dr. Sam Heinrich returned to JBU in 2014 to accept a position as Associate Professor of Business and Department Head for Online Undergraduate business programs. He now focuses solely on teaching traditional and graduate courses in the areas of Finance, Economics and Marketing. Along with a B.S. from JBU, Dr. Heinrich has an M.B.A. in Finance from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and a D.B.A. in Marketing from George Fox University.
Prior to coming to JBU, Dr. Heinrich spent 20 years in management and the financial services industry. He worked in commercial lending, as a banker, during the first half of his industry related career and then transitioned into the role of President for a medium-sized electric utility contracting firm. His industry experiences include leading and supporting small, mid and large business enterprises in private and public forums both as a banker/lender/consultant and in a management role.
In 2001, Dr. Heinrich left industry to pursue his passion for teaching. Initially, he taught in a private Christian high school and then moved into Christian higher education in 2007 where he’s able to bring his real-life experience in the business world into the classroom.
Professor of Finance & Economics
Equip yourself for a successful career and a life of purpose.
JBU does not unlawfully discriminate based on race, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, military status, or age in the administration of its educational policies, admissions, financial aid, employment, educational programs, or activities.
John Brown University is a leading private Christian university, training students to honor God and serve others since 1919. Arkansas’ top-ranked university (The Wall Street Journal) and top-ranked regional university (U.S. News), JBU enrolls more than 2,200 students from 37 states and 42 countries in its traditional undergraduate, graduate, online and concurrent education programs. JBU offers more than 50 undergraduate majors, with top programs including nursing, psychology, construction management, graphic design, family and human services, and engineering. Eighteen graduate degrees are available in business, counseling, cybersecurity, and education.