Introduction to Agribusiness Entrepreneurship
Fall 2025
Course Description
This course introduces students to the fundamentals of entrepreneurship. It is designed for students interested in developing problem-solving skills, business acumen, and–most notably–an entrepreneurial mindset. The course emphasizes how individuals identify opportunities, develop business models, and create ventures that address challenges in agriculture and food systems.
Why This Course Matters
In this course, we’re not just studying entrepreneurship—we’re practicing it.
You don’t need to be a startup founder to have an entrepreneurial mindset. Whether you launch your own venture or work within an existing organization, entrepreneurship is about solving problems, creating value, and navigating uncertainty with creativity and resourcefulness.
We’ll explore both entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship—what it looks like to lead innovation from inside a company, nonprofit, or public agency. These skills are relevant no matter where your career takes you.
Our Learning Culture
I want you to imagine we’re all part of the same organization—one where everyone’s success depends on how well we collaborate, share ideas, and support each other’s growth. That means:
- We take initiative and hold ourselves accountable.
- We celebrate experimentation and embrace failure as part of the process.
- We give and receive feedback with curiosity and respect.
- We build a culture that reflects the kind of teams we’d want to work on in the real world.
My goal is to help you connect what you’re learning to real decisions and real contexts. By the end of the course, you’ll have experience identifying problems, framing solutions, testing ideas, and communicating your value—skills you can carry into any industry or role.
Let’s build something meaningful together.
Although this quote is often attributed to Peter Drucker—and occasionally to Abraham Lincoln—there is no reliable evidence linking it to either. The earliest known use is from Dennis Gabor’s 1963 book Inventing the Future, and it was later popularized by Alan Kay.
Quote Investigator
Reuse of material
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Acknowledgements
This course redesign would not have been possible without the generous support and insight of many collaborators:
- Jessica Hartung, for her mentorship and guidance in shaping the vision and structure of this course
- CSU TILT, for awarding the 2025 Faculty Research Fellowship and supporting innovative teaching
- Our mentor cohort, for generously offering their time, experience, and encouragement to our students
- Dr. Aryn Baxter and Dr. Jenny Bennett, for their thoughtful feedback and contributions to the course’s design and integrity
How to help
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