Our Mission
To create the next generation of innovators and changemakers by making world-class entrepreneurship education accessible to kids all around the world and empowering anyone to be a champion for entrepreneurial learning.
Our Story
Our mission is to make entrepreneurial learning accessible.
VentureLab was founded in 2013 to teach kids, and girls in particular, to dare boldly and grow their innate creativity in order to identify and anticipate diverse societal needs, and think entrepreneurially in whichever field they pursue.
We began by teaching girls simple entrepreneurial steps: we encouraged them to come up with their own problem to solve, create a product, test its market, refine it, price it and produce it. As we took dozens of girls through our program, we watched their confidence expand as they grew entrepreneurship and STEM skills. Now, we’re democratizing entrepreneurial education for all youth by offering open-access curriculum that can be used by anyone passionate about preparing the next generation of creative leaders.
We’re devoted to empowering educators, youth leaders, and parents with the tools needed to unlock student potential and prepare youth, especially girls, to thrive in our changing world. But we can’t do this work alone. You can help prepare our kids to create tomorrow’s opportunities and approach life with an entrepreneurial spirit. Passion mandatory. No previous experience necessary.
Our Passion
At VentureLab, we believe in the importance of entrepreneurship education for all kids.
According to the World Economic Forum, roughly 65% of children entering primary schools today will likely work in jobs that don’t currently exist. The fact is that we can’t predict the “hard skills” and jobs of the future and our education system is not preparing students for a rapidly-changing world. In order to be successful, we believe that all kids must develop an entrepreneurial mindset and be able to seek out and create their own opportunities with empathy and creativity.
Furthermore, we believe that many fields (STEM, politics, media) are leaving girls behind and dissuading girls from leadership roles. Through entrepreneurial education, we are dedicated to reducing the gender gap and empowering girls (and all kids) to follow their passions and become leaders in whatever career path they choose.
Built With Girls in Mind
To create a world where girls and boys are actively building the future.
We believe all kids should reap the benefits of entrepreneurial learning and a creative, resilient outlook that they can use for a lifetime. Yet because girls are often dissuaded from pursuing careers in fields deemed more appropriate for men, we’ve designed our programs around best practices for growing a visionary, innovative, resourceful, and persistent mindset and ‘heartset’ that they already possess.
Our curriculum inspires collaboration, skill-building, communication, and creativity by:
- Providing opportunities for group work, prototyping, and hands-on learning.
- Demonstrating examples of real-world challenges and inspiring female role models tackling them.
- Encouraging problem-solving for a cause to make STEM and entrepreneurship (ESTEAM) applicable to the world around them.
- Creating opportunities for risk-taking and confidence-building.
- Helping instructors establish a safe (and brave) space for creativity and exploration.
Entrepreneurship education boosts students’ and especially girls’, interest in STEM by building their confidence and helping them develop problem-solving skills. This way, we use the teaching power of entrepreneurship to build girls’ confidence and encourage our youth to create something new and explore futures in STEM, entrepreneurship, and other subjects they’re passionate about.
Our Values
At VentureLab, we operate on a bold set of beliefs.
No matter a student’s age, background, or experiences, we believe
they have the power to impact the world.
Entrepreneurship is for everyone.
Everyone has the entrepreneurial spirit and we’re committed to helping our community uncover its innate ability. We’re especially passionate about about creating confident girl leaders.
Potential is universal.
Great ideas come from people of all backgrounds, ages, and walks of life. That’s why we’re committed to sparking student potential regardless of their life circumstances.
Failure creates opportunity.
Setbacks are part of the learning process, they are small signals that help you iterate and refine your approach. If you don’t persevere through failures you won’t have the opportunity to achieve success.
Empathy powers innovation.
Understanding others’ needs expands our worldview and drives us to find solutions that improve people’s lives.
Diversity fuels innovation.
Collaboration between people with different experiences, perspectives and backgrounds leads to unique ideas and norm-shattering solutions.
Impractical is not impossible.
What’s impossible today can be possible tomorrow. So dream big and believe that your ideas can become reality.
Learning is limitless.
Your skills and abilities aren’t fixed; you have the power to stretch your brain and constantly learn new things. There is no limit to what you can achieve.