Entrepreneur Interview Project (EIP)

Instructor Introduction

Entrepreneur Interview Project (EIP) - Instructor Introduction

Please see this 2-minute video introduction.

The Entrepreneur Interview Project (EIP) is freely available and provides students the opportunity to interact with small business owners. They ask questions that span competitive practices, start-up, information sources, technology, training, financing, challenges, and advice. Students gain invaluable insight.

The EIP provides the following advantages:

• Easy infusion as FREE project (classroom and/or on-line)
• Canvas Module, Pages, Grading Rubric and Video
• Secure login and web-based infrastructure
• Students learn to network & identify mentors
• Incrementally adds to an archive of over 1,200 interviews (anonymous and publicly accessible)

Student Development

Students learn directly from entrepreneurs:

• The EIP trains them to identify and secure business mentors. These relationships can last a lifetime.
• Students learn the importance and nuances of appropriate business communications protocol.
• Direct communications help students to learn and explore, firsthand, the concept of informational interviews.
• The project affords students the opportunity to develop and practice their networking skills.

Stand-Alone Class Project

• EIP is a stand-alone activity that faculty may easily infuse into their courses.
• This project is appropriate for any academic discipline. For example, interviewing a CPA about her/his firm can provide valuable insight to accounting students.
• Talking with a business owner can help clarify student expectations about entrepreneurship.
• Interviews may be conducted using a variety of methods, such as face-to-face meetings, phone, email, or social media.

Instructor Resources

• An introductory video for class that will introduce students to the project.
• PowerPoint presentation that will take students through the process of identifying an entrepreneur, interviewing them, writing their document, and posting it to the web.
• Detailed student instructions and grading rubric in Canvas
• Detailed faculty instructions and resources, that include hand-out materials.
• Canvas Module for seamless integration into an existing course.

Web Based

• Complete web infrastructure includes log in, posting, editing, deleting, and browsing
• Password-protected and secure log-in process
• Students log in to their class to post their work
• Instructors log in to browse their specific courses
• Canvas Module and grading rubric provides easy grading and integration into any existing course

Student Feedback

Here is a sampling of student feedback:

• "I learned that making a business work is no simple task"
• "... having the chance to get with an actual entrepreneur and talking to them"
• "This interview has helped me in ways I would never expect"
• "I got to sit down with an entrepreneur and really discuss what it takes to be a successful businessman"
• "... really useful and helpful for me to find a job or to set up my own business in the future"
• "I had a ton of questions and I got the detailed answers step by step"
• "I learned that getting into business isn't easy, but if you put your mind to it you can do it"

Entrepreneur Interview Archive

• Over 1,200 interviews currently in archive
• Student posts initially are not visible to the public, and later join the web archive anonymously
• Researching the archive stimulates great class group discussions. It helps students to identify business trends
• Filter posts by industry, sales, interview question and/or business type. Can obtain specific insight by combining filters (e.g., industry and sales revenue)
• Keyword search allows for targeted information and specific firm insight
• Class posts are not visible to the public
• Archive stimulates great classroom group discussions
• Ability to merge posts into the collective archive

The Interview Questions

Eight questions that span the topics of competitive practices, start-up, information sources, technology, training, financing, challenges, and advice: