"No other university offers a similar program to help shape your life and future. Your resume will be packed with creative experience BEFORE you even graduate!”
– Kevin Harrington, The Original Shark From The TV Show Shark Tank
You will work with and be guided by world class successful business entrepreneurs, not graduate students like at most other universities. You will have numerous Shark-Tank-like investor pitching experiences, and develop the knowledge, training and skills to either get your venture started or to stand out from the crowd and land a great job.
You can choose between the CTMI Certificate (4 courses) or the full BA in Creative Entrepreneurship.
Proven training, tools, and skills to:
- Identify a viable product or business concept
- Research and evaluate your market’s potential
- Develop and test marketing plans
- Create an original business plan for your own business
- Design advertising for social media, print, radio and TV
- Develop and pitch your product or concept to mentors and real world investors
- Start marketing and selling to your customers
- Focus on regenerative and sustainable products, businesses and services
The Concept To Market Institute (CTMI) Certificate in Creative Entrepreneurship
The CTMI Certificate in Creative Entrepreneurship is awarded for completing the one semester module consisting of four courses: Concept to Market 1, Marketing Management, Economics for Entrepreneurs and Concept to Market 2. In this certificate program each participant’s original concept matures and develops until the final course where they tie together all they have learned to write a business plan, design an advertising campaign and pitch to investors in a Shark Tank like setting.
The CTMI certificate can be taken by students in any major, and is it is the core of the BA degree in Creative Entrepreneurship.
For a full list of courses in the BA see Courses and Degree Requirements.
Guidance from mentors with multi-million dollar businesses
Creating a business is an involved and practical process. A traditional hands-off business education alone simply can’t prepare you for the experience.
In addition to studying with our experienced entrepreneur and business faculty, some of whom have directed multi-million dollar marketing and advertising campaigns around the world, you’ll connect with successful mentors who specialize in your chosen area of interest and who have also created very successful multi-million dollar corporations. This is a very unique experience to have in a university setting.
Students who have taken the CTMI semester module will have the opportunity for paid internships.
In a recent article, Think Tank ranks Fairfield among top cities for young firms.
Daily creative boardroom sessions
During the CTMI semester module courses, every day you will experience “creative boardroom” sessions where you participate in other students’ new products or business development meetings and they all participate in yours. A very special and stimulating experience to have before you graduate.
Pitch to real investors in a Shark-Tank-like experience
Throughout the CTMI semester module courses, you’ll have the opportunity to pitch your ideas to successful potential investors in a Shark-Tank-like experience (hosted annually by the CTMI). including Kevin Harrington, the original shark from Shark Tank.
You’ll have the opportunity to receive start-up capital for your venture while learning how to pitch your product or business to potential investors and improving your skill at selling your product or service. This is a priceless experience to have before graduating. Like on the real Shark Tank TV show, you only get funding if your venture is of interest to one of the investors present.
Hands-on learning in a one-course-per-month system
We’ve reinvented the way entrepreneurship and business is taught. Instead of listening to hours of lectures, you will participate in creative and interactive workshops that sequentially build your knowledge-base from your direct experience.
These direct experiences are structured in an overall course system that is nothing like a traditional university course schedule. Instead of taking 4-5 courses at once and dealing with various assignments and tests, you’ll focus entirely on only one subject each month.
The TM ® technique as a tool for better mind performance
The “secret sauce” of the program is Transcendental Meditation ® — a meditation technique that people like Ray Dalio, founder of the largest hedge fund in the world, and Tim Ferriss, author of The Four Hour Work Week, use to keep their mind sharp and their emotions in better perspective.
This evidence-based technique has been proven to lower stress, enhance mental clarity, and support overall health. Its kind of like a “brain laser beam”. After meditating regularly, our students often say that they feel more creative, peaceful, and better able to tackle their studies without the stress typical of a college education.
