Apply to be a TIA Entrepreneur

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Thought Into Action supports entrepreneurs who impact the world. Apply here to launch your venture or join an existing venture.

Do you have an idea you want to make happen? The entrepreneurial passion and drive to make your idea “go live”? The time, commitment, passion, and discipline to do the hard work of turning “thought” into “action”? Thought Into Action seeks eager entrepreneurs from all class years and is also open to alumni, faculty, staff, and local community members.

Application Process

Applications for the 2020-2021 TIA program will open in the spring semester. The application process includes a written application and in-person interview. To receive notifications when applications open and announcements about information sessions and brown bags, join our mailing list and indicate that you are an "interested non-TIA student."

If you are joining the team of a current venture, you can apply to join an existing team here.

Application Requirements

Thought Into Action applicants are expected to:

  • Have a business/non-profit idea, a sense of the problem you are trying to solve and your target customer/audience
  • Have a founding team of at least 2+ members
  • Be able to able to actively participate in all aspects of the program curriculum, including in-person attendance at seven monthly workshops (more information below)

Program Commitment

Being an entrepreneur requires hard work, dedication, perseverance, and overcoming failure. TIA entrepreneurs are expected to:

  • Complete summer research before the first workshop
  • Attend seven monthly workshops from September to March, typically held the first Saturday of the month from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. (workshops are not optional; in-person attendance is required by each venture)
  • Participate in a mid-month conference call each month
  • Work on three deliverables between each workshop

Frequently Asked Questions

We accept a broad range of ideas in business, non-profit, and campus-focused areas. Whether your idea is a consumer businesses, food startup, non-profit organization, B2B business, technology app, or campus venture, you can find a place in TIA.

When you apply to TIA, you should have a business/non-profit idea, a sense of the problem you are trying to solve, and an idea of who your target customer/audience is.

If you're not certain about your idea, check out our current and past TIA ventures for inspiration. We also encourage you to do some research online about how to develop a startup idea and check out our resources page.

Having a founding team instead of just a single founder has benefits for many reasons: you will have a wider variety of viewpoints, each member brings a unique skill set, you may make faster progress with more hands on deck, collaborating with others will help keep you motivated during tough times, and much more.

If you have an idea but don't have any teammates, we encourage you to think of creative ways to find collaborators. A classmate? Someone who lives on your floor? Fellow club member or teammate? You can also attend a TIA brown bag or information session and see if you meet a teammate there.

If you still believe that your venture would be better suited as a single-person team, please reach out to us, we're happy to discuss with you and consider your participation.

You can still participate in TIA if you will be abroad for a semester, as long as other members of your venture will be on campus during that semester.

In general, entrepreneurs are expected to be at each monthly venture. However, we understand that conflicts arise. Part of the benefit of having a team is that if one team member cannot make it to the workshop, the venture is still represented.

If your entire venture team is not able to make it to one of the workshops, you should notify the TIA director and alumni executive director prior to that workshop. Teams are allowed one absence when giving prior notification.

If the entire team misses more than one workshop or does not provide advance notice of an absence, it generally results in the team leaving the program.

Learn More about Entrepreneurship

To help spark your ideas and introduce you to the world of entrepreneurship, we recommend you check out the Entrepreneurship Resources section of our resources page.

Contact us to learn more about TIA and talk to us about your idea:

cstrobel
Carolyn Strobel-Larsen
Director of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programs
117E Benton Hall