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Develop a team venture and pitch it to judges in this two-week business and entrepreneurship academy for high school students on UC San Diego’s campus.
Instructor:
Course Description
A strong pitch begins long before the judges hear it. Start with a problem someone actually has, then find out whether your idea offers a useful answer.
In this course you will use design thinking to spot opportunities and question your first assumptions. Through customer discovery—talking with people who might use your idea—you’ll investigate what they need and where your proposal could change. Use a Business Model Canvas to map who the venture serves, the value it offers, and how marketing, sales, operations, and finance fit together.
Work with a team to develop a venture concept and a sales and marketing plan. Explore how startups raise funding, how founders protect their ideas, and how purpose and leadership shape a new organization. The course builds toward a pitch to a panel of judges, where you explain how your idea responds to a real need.
San Diego’s startup community brings this journey into sharper focus, especially through its biotechnology and clean-technology ventures. Potential guest speakers include design-thinking and AI expert Kevin Popović, intellectual-property counsel Jeff Sheriff, and early-stage investors Dr. Silvia Mah and Neal Bloom. Their perspectives could help you see how founders develop ideas, protect inventions, and weigh the challenges of investment. Speakers and judges are subject to confirmation.
Possible visits, also subject to change, include UC San Diego’s Spat Lab for immersive sound, the SunCAVE virtual-reality room, and design spaces such as the Makerspace and EnVision Maker Studio. Local-company visits under consideration include Sony, wireless-technology company Qualcomm, solar-vehicle developer Aptera, and communications company Viasat. These are examples of proposed stops, not confirmed destinations, that reflect the range of innovation in and around San Diego.
This two-week full-day Summer Discovery business and entrepreneurship academy for high school students takes place on UC San Diego’s campus in La Jolla, California. Students focus on one academy for the full program.
Instructor Bios
Greg Horowitt is founding partner of T2 Venture Creation and coauthor of The Rainforest: The Secret to Building the Next Silicon Valley. He serves as Director of Innovation Design at UC San Diego and has consulted for organizations including the World Bank, OECD, and USAID. He has also worked as a founder, investor, and board member.
Jacques Chirazi is a sustainability specialist whose work focuses on biomimicry and the circular economy. As Senior Director of Programs at the Office of Innovation and Commercialization, he oversees venture creation and entrepreneurship programs. He has advised early-stage ventures, particularly in clean technology and biomimicry.
What You Will Do
• Spot a real-world problem using design thinking
• Talk with potential customers to test assumptions
• Map your venture on a Business Model Canvas
• Build a team sales and marketing plan
• Explore funding, intellectual property, and founding-team decisions
• Pitch your venture concept to a panel of judges
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• Use design thinking and customer feedback to evaluate a business opportunity
• Explain how business models connect customers, operations, marketing, and finance
• Develop and defend a team venture pitch with supporting research and a practical plan
You’ll leave with your team’s venture concept, sales and marketing plan, final pitch presentation, and a certificate of completion.
Why Entrepreneurship and Design Skills Matter
A promising idea is not the same as a workable business. Entrepreneurs have to find out who faces a problem, listen to potential customers, and adjust their assumptions when evidence points in a new direction. Design thinking and customer discovery give students a way to make those choices thoughtfully.
Developing a venture also connects creative thinking with practical decisions about people, operations, funding, and marketing. Explaining a plan to judges helps students practice communicating an idea and defending their reasoning. Those habits are useful in leadership roles, collaborative projects, and further study in business, design, or innovation—even if students never start a company.
Who Should Attend?
For students who have completed 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grade.
If you notice problems you wish someone would solve, enjoy inventing new ideas, or wonder how a startup gets off the ground, this academy lets you try the founder’s process. You’ll ask potential customers what they need, work with a team to shape a venture, and explain your decisions in a final pitch.
No prior business background is needed. Be ready to share ideas, listen to feedback, and help your team revise its plan.
Your Summer at UCSD
UC San Diego’s coastal campus in La Jolla brings together ocean views, landscaped grounds, and an active research university. The Pacific Ocean is nearby, and the setting connects academic exploration with Southern California’s beaches, culture, and creative energy.
Outside class, students can make new friends, take part in campus activities, and experience a different daily routine from home. Shared summer experiences offer room for fun, growing independence, and discovering what it feels like to spend time in a university community.
After successfully finishing this course, you will be awarded a certification completion for your accomplishment.
*This is a preview, not what you will receive