VentureLab

10/16/2026

A complaint can be the beginning of an entrepreneurial idea.

Try this 10-minute activity:

1. Ask students to write one small frustration from their day.
2. Ask, “Who else has this problem?”
3. List three possible solutions, including one impractical idea.
4. Circle the idea that would create the most value for the user.
5. Share what the student would need to learn next.

This simple exercise practices empathy, opportunity recognition, divergent thinking, and initiative. It also shows students that entrepreneurship begins with paying attention.

What everyday frustration would your students redesign?

10/15/2026

As Hispanic Heritage Month comes to a close, the commitment to culturally and linguistically accessible learning must continue all year.

VentureLab offers a caregiver entrepreneurship workbook in both English and Spanish for families with students in grades 1-5. The activities help young learners practice creativity, problem-solving, and entrepreneurial thinking at home with the adults who know them best.

Access is more than making a resource available. It means helping more families see themselves, their language, and their lived experience as part of innovation.

Explore free VentureLab curriculum and family resources.
https://hubs.ly/Q04ydNJh0

VentureLab's offerings include curriculum & programs and resources to bring youth entrepreneurship to your students.

10/13/2026

Entrepreneurial learning should be engaging. It should also produce measurable growth.

VentureLab’s curriculum meets ESSA Level III “Promising Evidence” standards. Across evaluated programs:

• 87% of students reported high engagement
• 80% demonstrated measurable growth in critical thinking, leadership, and problem-solving
• 93% of instructors recommend VentureLab programs and professional development

These outcomes matter because confidence and creativity are not side benefits. They help young people participate, lead, and adapt in school, work, and life.

Explore the evidence behind VentureLab’s approach.
https://hubs.ly/Q04ydMsK0

10/11/2026

Girls are already leaders, creators, and changemakers. Opportunity must meet their potential.

Today, ask a girl in your life: “What problem do you want to solve?” Then listen closely to her answer.

Happy International Day of the Girl.
https://hubs.ly/Q04ydFMf0

Raising girls to Build Companies. That's what Cristal Glangchai and Frank & Eileen founder Audrey McLoghlin discussed in a personal fireside chat at the 2026 SXSW Edu conference.

10/09/2026

Need an entrepreneurship activity students can open quickly and use in one class period?

VentureLab has four free, browser-based tools that require no student accounts or software downloads:

• Business Builder for planning and financial thinking
• Wacky Inventions for creativity and pitching
• Pitch Game for persuasive communication
• Mindset Matching Game for reflection

Each tool asks students to make a decision, build an idea, calculate an outcome, or explain their thinking. That is the difference between screen time and active learning.

See the tools and a simple 45-minute classroom sequence.
https://hubs.ly/Q04ydFnZ0

Four free browser-based business tools for youth that teach budgeting, idea generation, pitching, and entrepreneurial skills.

10/07/2026

World Space Week is a perfect reason to turn imagination into a design challenge.

Try this with students: “A team will live on Mars for one year. What everyday problem will they face, and what could you invent to solve it?”

Then ask students to:
1. Choose one user and one specific need.
2. Sketch three very different solutions.
3. Build a quick prototype from materials on hand.
4. Pitch the idea in 20 seconds.
5. Name one thing they would improve after feedback.

The goal is not a perfect space product. The goal is to practice empathy, divergent thinking, communication, and iteration.

Save this for your next class or afterschool session.

10/05/2026

Today is World Teachers’ Day, and the 2026 theme is “Standing with teachers: 60 years of protecting the profession, advancing its status and shaping our futures.”

At VentureLab, we see teachers shape the future every time they make room for a student’s unfinished idea.

They ask one more question instead of giving the answer. They turn mistakes into evidence. They help a quiet student find a voice and a bold student learn to listen. They build the safe, brave spaces where young people begin to see themselves as innovators.

To every educator doing that work: thank you.

Tag a teacher who helped you become more curious, confident, or courageous.

10/02/2026

The jobs of 2030 will change. The human skills beneath them will still matter.

The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 says creative thinking, resilience, flexibility, agility, and curiosity are all rising in importance alongside AI and technological literacy.

Those skills do not develop through worksheets alone. Young people build them when they identify a real need, work with a team, test an idea, hear feedback, and try again.

That is why entrepreneurship education belongs in every learning environment, even for students who never plan to start a company. It gives them a place to practice becoming adaptable creators and problem-solvers.

09/29/2026

AI can generate answers in seconds but it can’t decide if those answers actually matter to real people.

As artificial intelligence becomes a daily tool in classrooms and homes, human-centered skills aren't becoming obsolete they’re becoming our students' greatest superpower.

While AI can process data and draft responses, it takes human insight to question results, understand context, and build meaningful solutions for real-world communities.

In VentureLab’s latest blog post, "Future Ready Skills for Students in the Age of AI," we explore how combining AI literacy with an entrepreneurial mindset prepares students to think, not just what to use, and empowers them to be critical innovators, not just technology consumers.

👉 Read the full article: https://hubs.ly/Q04yf9fg0 (https://hubs.ly/Q04yf9gm0)


https://hubs.ly/Q04yf9fg0

Discover five future ready skills students need in the age of AI and practical ways educators can build them through entrepreneurial learning.

09/28/2026

San Antonio Startup + Tech Week is here and young entrepreneurs belong in the conversation.

This Thursday, VentureLab will host a full day of IGNITE programming that brings together students, educators, mentors, founders, and community supporters.

Come for an inspirational talk.
Join the mentor conversation. Explore student projects. Cheer on the IGNITE finalists or experience the entire day with us.

When young people see themselves reflected in their city’s entrepreneurial community, they begin to understand that they do not have to wait to become innovators.

Thank you to San Antonio Startup Week, Geekdom, and Launch San Antonio for creating spaces where San Antonio’s builders can connect.

Register for the entire week here: https://hubs.ly/Q04yq0H40
Join us October 1: https://hubs.ly/Q04yq0Mg0

See young founders learn, build, showcase, and pitch during VentureLab’s featured day at San Antonio Startup + Tech Week.