Program Overview

Program Overview

The Bridging Entrepreneurs to Students (BETS) program is designed for junior co-op students to gain hands-on experience working with the founding members of a startup team. Students make real contributions to early business objectives and the startup trajectory.

Program Structure

The program consists of two main components:

• An intensive 40-hour training program in the first week, covering topics such as:
  • The Entrepreneurial Mindset
  • Innovation Processes
  • Networking Processes
  • Sales and Marketing
  • Introductory technical sessions (e.g., HTML & CSS, Javascript)
  • User experience and design thinking
  • Goal setting and dashboards for professional development
• A project-based placement for weeks 2 to 14, where student teams of two are assigned to work for a company, matched by the BETS Coordinator based on student skill set and identified learning goals.

Placement Tasks

Potential placement tasks for students include:

• Assisting with web or mobile app development
• Improving and iterating an existing user interface
• Market research, data analysis/reporting, and customer discovery
• Marketing strategy and content creation
• Prototype development and testing (e.g., breadboarding, working with hardware, 3D printing)
• Support for all areas of accounting, financial, and performance management
• General accounting and office administrative work
• Managerial and financial reporting, business/financial modelling to support budgeting and project decision-making
• Projects related to internal control and performance management metrics
• Market/client research and sales support activities

Application Tips

For students applying to the BETS program, consider the following to strengthen your application:

1. Learn about the Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business and the programs offered by the school
2. Share work or projects completed outside of class time (e.g., visual art portfolio, GitHub link, personal website, samples of creative or journalistic writing)
3. List extracurricular events you have attended (or organized) and professional development activities (e.g., conferences, hackathons, business plan competitions, leadership training)
4. Learn about the local entrepreneurial ecosystem and think about why you would like to gain experience working in a startup

Testimonial

The BETS program has provided students with invaluable hands-on experience, sparking interest in entrepreneurship and shaping professional journeys. It encourages students to step outside their comfort zones, foster strong friendships in the startup community, and pursue new opportunities.

Acknowledgement

The Conrad School is grateful to The Esch Foundation for its generous support of the BETS program.