“THEY’RE THE PEOPLE THAT MOVE MORE, THAT GET PROMOTED
MORE, THAT DO MORE CROSS-FUNCTIONAL TYPES OF ACTIVITIES.
THEY TEND TO BE THE PEOPLE WHO LEAD CHANGE AND
INNOVATION IN THE CORPORATE ENVIRONMENT.”
-Laura Good, co-founder, Startup Sac
and “Shark Tank” segments are giving busi-
ness-minded youth a leg up years before they even
get a learner’s permit. In the Capital Region, newer
initiatives like Sacramento State’s Summer Acad-
emies Entrepreneurship and Innovation program
for high school students, introduced this year, and
Sac Makers, a hands-on program with a range of
daytime, summer and after-school classes that has
more than tripled its participation in recent years,
have joined long-established organizations such
as Junior Achievement in trying to fill what cre-
ators say is a growing appetite for such trainings.
“Over the past few years the numbers have
grown and grown,” Claire says of programs like
hers aiming to fill the previous gap. “The demand
never goes away.”
The shift isn’t just fueled by business-savvy
kids drawing inspiration from startup founders
who attract rock-star-level fan bases and their
fellow mini moguls generating cash (and fame)
on TV and online. Learning entrepreneurial skill
sets — and mindsets — from a young age is in-
creasingly seen as an essential component of a
comprehensive education. The goal isn’t just to
inspire (and train) the next Mark Zuckerberg or
Kylie Jenner. It’s to ensure the future success of
a generation.
MUST-HAVE SKILLS FOR MINI MOGULS
The American workforce has changed, and it’s nev-
er going back. The traditional trajectory of decades
spent climbing the ladder at the same company
no longer exists. Self-employment, whether that’s
starting a company or working as a freelancer, is
booming. The number of self-employed individ-
uals in the U.S. hit 8.7 million in early 2017 — up
150,000 from 2014 and representing about 7 per-
cent of the total workforce. When freelancers and
contractors are added to the mix, the figure edges
closer to one third. Some estimates project that 40
percent of the workforce will be self-employed or
working as an independent contractor by 2020.
Given those trends, providing students tools to
navigate the world of business creation and owner-
ship is crucial. Entrepreneurs need creative-think-
ing capabilities, financial acumen and resilience
in the face of failure. And such lessons aren’t just
helpful for future founders, experts say. Whether
students aim to join Silicon Valley’s club of $10 bil-
lion startups, work as a consultant or sole propri-
etor, or climb the corporate ladder, skills that make
for a successful entrepreneur also make someone a
good employee (not to mention person).
Laura Good, co-founder of StartupSac, says
the same instincts that drive an entrepreneur to
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