Entrepreneurship & Innovation Major
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About the Major
Entrepreneurship and innovation majors want careers that are dynamic and purposeful and they are willing to work hard to get there. This program teaches students the tenets, tactics and technology of business and helps them recognize opportunities, large and small, and put them into practice.
Jobs in Entrepreneurship & Innovation
- Business development
- Business or financial analyst
- Sales representative
- Business consultant
- Production/operations manager
Past Elon Entrepreneurship & Innovation Internships
- PKK Wealth Management
- Howe Real Estate
- Bank of America
- Dell Technologies
- Chase Sports Complex
Related Majors
Hands-on learning, high-intensity coursework prepared graduate for future as an entrepreneur
A few years before Maddy Burgess was born, her parents founded their own print fulfillment business, Elevate97, in their Green Bay, Wisconsin, garage. Her mom and dad are “serial entrepreneurs,” she said, and Burgess knew from an early age that she, too, wanted to run her own company one day.
When she entered Elon University, she immediately declared a major in entrepreneurship and innovation. In just four years, she accumulated so much hands-on experience, and sat in so many valuable classes, even her entrepreneurial parents were blown away by how much their daughter took away from her college experience.
“They were so impressed with the attention to detail that the professors have for their students and also the time and energy that Elon was willing to put into their students,” said Burgess, who graduated in 2024 with degrees in entrepreneurship and innovation and music in liberal arts.
“My dad said, ‘If I got to learn all this stuff you are learning in your entrepreneurship classes when I was young, I can’t even imagine what I would be doing now. The amount you’re learning and at the high-intensity level that you’re learning it is just so invaluable.’”
While at Elon, Burgess took advantage of the university’s study abroad program; worked at Elon’s Doherty Center for Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship; took classes that had her working with local businesses and nonprofits; and participated in competitions that allowed her to see the many sides of the startup world.
During her junior year, Burgess applied for a spot on a university team that would compete in the Venture Capital Investment Competition, which challenges participants to step into the shoes of venture capitalists, evaluating real startups and making informed investment decisions. She was one of six students who ultimately won a spot on Elon’s 2023 team.
The team went on to place third in the undergraduate Mid-Atlantic Regional Finals at James Madison University. While there, Burgess was impressed with the entrepreneurs from RecRe — an automated rental platform for universities — and reached out after the competition. A summer internship at the company in 2023 led to an internship her senior year, which led to a full-time job after graduation. Today, Burgess works there as an account executive.
“The Venture Capital Investment Competition was definitely one of the most influential things I did at Elon,” she said. “It’s pretty much unheard of to get in touch with the venture capital world as a young college graduate right out of college. So that was a really impactful experience being able to just dip our toes into that.”
Burgess, who was also a member of Elon’s 2024 team that placed second in the undergraduate East Regional Finals at the University of Florida, said the competition taught her many skills — from the social and emotional intelligence of interacting with business owners to nitty-gritty financial topics.
“I worked with other students who were finance majors, and I learned so much on the finance end of things, like how to calculate TAM, SAM, SOM,” she said, referencing total addressable market, serviceable addressable market and serviceable obtainable market — key components to a business plan. “We had worked on these topics in my entrepreneurship classes, but this was taking it to the next level in the competition.”
Burgess also competed in the annual Elon Innovation Challenge, which encourages groups of students to come up with a unique solution to a problem. In 2023, the challenge was focused on reducing waste and promoting sustainability on campus. Burgess and her three teammates submitted a small business they created for one of their entrepreneurship classes: College Wicks, which upcycles used seltzer and beer cans into candles. The idea won second place in the challenge.
Shortly before graduating, Burgess was honored with the Student Achievement in Entrepreneurship and Innovation Award. She credits her mentors at Elon, specifically Entrepreneurship Professor Sean McMahon, for pushing her out of her comfort zone toward success.
Something that really stood out to me about Elon is being able to get that one-on-one time and attention from professors and your advisers. You do not see that as typical at other colleges and universities.
Burgess’s long-term goal remains to launch her own startup. For now, though, she’s happy to absorb the many lessons she’s learning on the job.
She encourages students interested in pursuing the entrepreneurship and innovation major to “just go for it.” The endless opportunities and unique experiences at Elon for hands-on learning is invaluable, she said, and because there’s no one clear career path for an entrepreneur, it’s important to walk into any opportunity with an open mind.
“You’re not just learning from a textbook,” she said. “You’re actually out in the community working with a small business, or you’re making candles inside your house with your three best friends in your entrepreneurship class. You’ve got to actually go out and do stuff, and that was definitely the motto of our entrepreneurship department: Become a doer–maker.”
Did You Know?
- Majors are required to complete at least one internship for academic credit. Students have found internships in a variety of distinct fields, including finance, credit analysis, business development, marketing, sales and logistics, in large corporations, small businesses and apprenticeships.
- Elon students have the opportunity to design, research and explore their own business models, product development and creative initiatives. They learn how to apply pattern recognition, system dynamics and design thinking to develop innovations that solve everyday problems. One example of a past student project was “FoodDrive,” an app where student-driving schools offer a purposeful driving experience transporting donations, food and other goods to food banks and other nonprofits.
- The Doherty Center for Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship focuses on experiential education, providing opportunities for students to further develop their entrepreneurial mindset and skillset. Throughout the year, it sponsors entrepreneurship-themed co-curricular activities open to all majors.
- Elon’s Accelerated 3+1 program gives entrepreneurship and innovation majors the opportunity to earn a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration as well as a Master of Science in Business Analytics in just four years. The majority of undergraduate coursework is completed in the first three years, with graduate coursework in the fourth year.