Announcing a MAJOR summer opportunity! - The Venture Studio Summer Sprint
No running required, just curiosity and a day in August.
The Venture Studio wants to give students a preview of the entrepreneurial journey through offering a sprint (a.k.a. a hackathon) this August before school starts.
At the sprint, we’ll guide you through the founder experience:
- identifying problems
- generating ideas to address said problems
- testing your ideas with potential customers
- developing a solution
- pitching what you’ve come up with
The Venture Studio Summer Sprint is a great way to exercise your creativity and get to know some new people before the start of the fall semester! It kicks off with an optional networking event the evening before to meet your fellow sprinters.
The sprint will be offered once in Tucson and once in Scottsdale in early August. We’ll provide dates and details soon.
Ideas Forged
The Venture Studio at Franke Honors is focused on developing an entrepreneurial ecosystem geared toward our highly diverse, knowledgeable and creative Franke Honors students. Offering a broad set of activities that are designed to develop the critical mindset and toolset of an entrepreneur, the Venture Studios are open to any Franke student at any point in their entrepreneurial journey.
What if your boldest ideas weren’t left for “someday”? What if college wasn’t just about preparing for a future someone else defined but becoming the kind of person who defines it yourself?
That’s the spirit behind the The Venture Studio at Franke Honors — an initiative designed for students who want to explore, build, and lead. Whether you’re intrigued by entrepreneurship, passionate about applying this mindset broadly, or simply wired to think differently, this is your launch point.
The Venture Studio is more than a program. It’s a mindset. A community. A creative space where students from across academic disciplines come together to take risks, test ideas, and build ventures that matter. Some students come with a startup dream, others with just a curiosity. All are welcome and all will leave with something more.
And learn more about our upcoming hosting of the U.S. West Coast National Competition of the prestigious Hult Prize at https://hult-at-arizona.org/
The Launch Pad is the heart of the Venture Studio experience — a flexible, tiered ecosystem designed to meet students wherever they are in their entrepreneurial development. Whether you’re sampling your first workshop or building a full startup foundation, the three Studios offer both structure and choice.
Studio 1.0: The Foundational Mindset
Before you can build something new, you must think differently. Studio 1.0 cultivates the inner architecture of entrepreneurship — resilience, adaptability, and clarity of perspective. Through interactive sessions and reflective prompts, students learn how to navigate ambiguity, embrace feedback, and reframe failure as fuel.
Studio 2.0: The Founder's Toolbox
Every venture starts with an idea, but it grows with skills. Studio 2.0 helps students build confidence and communication savvy to turn concepts into compelling narratives. From pitching and ideation to networking and customer discovery, this studio equips students with the essential tools of startup navigation.
Studio 3.0: The Startup Canvas
This is where ideas take shape. Studio 3.0 guides students through the strategic mechanics of defining a value proposition, mapping markets, analyzing competitors, and developing a clear plan to move from vision to execution. Students can also opt into independent study credit and receive formal mentoring.
Begin Your Entrepreneurial Journey Today
