ECON238: Intro to Entrepreneurship Course

What Problem is Worth Solving? The Core Philosophy of Our Introduction to Entrepreneurship Course

Fall 2025 students explored problems from interview preparation to laundry systems in the dorms, working with experts and prototyping solutions throughout the semester.

By Allan Martinez Venegas ’14, Director of Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Entrepreneurship at Macalester doesn’t begin with business plans or startup buzzwords. In our ECON238 Intro to Entrepreneurship course, it begins with a deeper question: What problem is worth solving? Students learn to anchor ideas in curiosity, research, and real human needs. They combine desk research, interviews, and observation. Then, they generate possibilities, build quick prototypes to test assumptions, and iterate based on feedback. 

As Nick Kent ’26 puts it, “Identifying a problem over simply starting by creating a product is vital because it ensures that you are addressing something that people need.” That hands-on approach is intentional, as it trains students to navigate ambiguity with rigor, using the core lenses of desirability, feasibility, and viability.

What makes this work distinctly Macalester is that entrepreneurship is framed not simply as venture creation, but as preparation for thoughtful action in an uncertain world. This connects to the wider ecosystem of opportunities in our E&I Department. As Amy Damon, Chair of the Economics Department, notes: “While the Economics major supports learning about the theory and accounting aspects of entrepreneurial activities, the opportunities offered by the Department of Entrepreneurship and Innovation allow our students to put their ideas into action. The Introduction to Entrepreneurship class provides a rigorous and effective launching pad for them to incubate their ideas.” 

For alumni, we hope this feels familiar: the course builds the same capacities you draw on every day, such as problem selection, research, experimentation, persuasive storytelling, and the confidence to move from insight to action when the path forward isn’t fully clear. That’s the Macalester student we aim to build, and the Intro to Entrepreneurship is a cornerstone of our strategy to accomplish that goal.