Butler University’s Lacy School of Business (LSB) has been honored with the Model Re-Emerging Program Award by the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE), recognizing Butler Entrepreneurship as the nation’s leading re-emerging entrepreneurship program. USASBE’s Excellence in Entrepreneurship Education Awards recognize outstanding, innovative, and impactful programs, educators, and accelerators that advance entrepreneurship education. This distinction highlights LSB’s national leadership in experiential and innovation-driven entrepreneurship education.
The award acknowledges programs that demonstrate exceptional impact, innovation, and measurable outcomes—qualities that define Butler’s re-emerging entrepreneurship ecosystem. While anchored in more than a decade of strong experiential coursework, the program has undergone a significant revitalization over the past two years, marked by curricular enhancements, strengthened infrastructure, expanded staffing, substantial growth in student-led and student-run ventures, and community engagement.
Butler’s entrepreneurship program has transformed rapidly, evolving into a multi-stage ecosystem that empowers students to ideate, launch, and scale real ventures from their first semester through graduation.
The academic core of Butler Entrepreneurship has expanded substantially. The curriculum emphasizes foundational business competencies—including team collaboration, ideation, critical thinking, opportunity recognition, and problem solving—which are introduced in the First-Year Business Experience (FBE) and reinforced throughout the academic pathway. Coursework across the Entrepreneurship and Innovation major integrates design thinking, entrepreneurial finance, product development, social entrepreneurship, innovation strategy, and venture acceleration, providing students with structured academic depth alongside experiential application.
The academic model is further strengthened by cross-disciplinary integration. Students engage in coursework with Marketing, Supply Chain, Risk Management, Law, and Communication, ensuring that venture development is informed by rigorous, discipline-specific instruction. Courses such as Insurance for Student Ventures, Market Research, and Social Entrepreneurship provide research-based, applied academic learning that directly supports student enterprises.
Program Highlights
- A Four-Year Experiential Learning Pipeline
All business students begin with FBE and progress to the Real Business Experience (RBE), where they launch and operate real companies. Nearly 50 student-run ventures now function across campus under Bulldog Enterprises. The continued development and modernization of FBE and RBE have been significantly advanced through the leadership of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Lecturers Kristi Mitchell and Brenda Geib-Swanson, whose work has enhanced both academic rigor and applied relevance of these cornerstone courses. Recent curricular updates have incorporated e-commerce strategy, data analytics, and AI-driven tools into both courses, strengthening alignment with contemporary entrepreneurial practice.
- Bulldog Enterprises and Startup Lab
A central component of the program’s growth is its commitment to student-run enterprises. Bulldog Enterprises oversees a portfolio of student-operated businesses in which students manage finance, operations, staffing, vendor relationships, and customer engagement. The Startup Lab serves as the program’s accelerator, providing mentorship, non-dilutive funding, and structured guidance to students developing scalable ventures. Together, these entities form an integrated continuum of entrepreneurial experience. Both Bulldog Enterprises and Startup Lab engage students from all six of Butler’s colleges, reflecting the program’s commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration and ensuring that venture teams benefit from diverse perspectives, skills, and academic backgrounds.
- A Strong Network of Mentors and Partners
More than 100 alumni mentors, statewide corporate partners, and community organizations actively support students as they validate ideas, refine business models, and pursue investment pathways.
- Private Venture Association (PVA)
The Private Venture Association, Butler’s student entrepreneurship organization, has been successfully re-launched and now includes more than 100 active members. This revitalization was a collaboration effort led by Tom Hanson, Associate Professor of Finance, whose partnership has strengthened the organization’s structure, programming, and long-term sustainability. PVA hosts multiple pitch competitions each year and facilitates ongoing consulting-style “micro-internships” with local startups and venture-focused organizations, strengthening year-round student involvement.
- Community Engagement and Cross-Institutional Leadership
Butler Entrepreneurship has expanded its regional impact by hosting major initiatives such as Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) Conference and the Intercollegiate Entrepreneurship Conference. These events bring together hundreds of students, practitioners, and partners, positioning Butler as a convening force within Indiana’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
- A Culture That Champions Innovation
Signature programs—including Elevate Sprint Week, Bark Tank, and Startup Lab showcase events—provide structured opportunities for rapid idea testing, peer mentor feedback, and public presentation. Participation continues to increase, demonstrating strong student interest and institutional support for entrepreneurial activity.
“This national recognition is a powerful validation of the bold work happening across our entrepreneurship ecosystem,” Lacy School of Business Dean Craig Caldwell said. “Our students don’t just learn about innovation – they practice it every day by building real companies, solving real problems, and engaging with leaders. The USASBE honor affirms that our faculty, students, and partners are shaping one of the most dynamic and forward-thinking entrepreneurship programs in the country.”