Jenn Marsh, a recent graduate from the University of Denver, gives a first-person breakdown of some of DU’s most popular courses
WAKE UP. THINK. ACT. (A Sprint broken down into three words.)
First off, let’s answer this question: What is a Sprint?
A Sprint is a one-credit class that focuses on one idea, subject or skill. Entrepreneurship@DU Sprints focus on the knowledge needed to become an entrepreneur and start your own business. It essentially distills several weeks of content down to one day of in-person learning, with some online pre- and post-class work. That is why a Sprint can be quite intense, but fun at the same time!
To give you an inside scoop, I thought I would share my personal experience taking a Sprint, as well as some other students’ perspectives.
Sprints (usually) start on a Saturday—a day when your friends might be sleeping in and wasting precious daylight. But you wake up, grab the pre-class assignments you have completed and make your way to the assigned classroom before class starts at 8:30 a.m. You have your water bottle with you, maybe a couple snacks and are ready to throw out all the ideas you have for the next five—yes, five!—hours. But—hold up—don’t freak out! I promise you, the day flies by. Professors take their subjects and present them in fun and engaging ways, and you walk away with a whole new skillset. For budding entrepreneurs, a Sprint can be that next step that helps you make progress on a potential new business venture. So, while your roommate is sleeping in, you could be brainstorming a new business and learning the skills that may make you a millionaire someday.
Now, let’s get into the nitty gritty of a Sprint. DU has more than 30 Sprints to choose from, including creative design, online presence, techniques for a perfect pitch, accounting, finance and project management. The options are endless!
In a couple words I would say, it was fun, exhausting, highly creative, entertaining, eye-opening and inspiring! I did not really know what to expect going in to my first class, The Innovative Amphitheater. I was intimidated and not too thrilled that it was all day on a Saturday. However, halfway through the day, I was finding my rhythm and having a blast.
Our first assignment seemed like a tall task. Each group was given one of the seven deadly sins: envy, gluttony, pride, greed, lust, wrath and sloth, and we instructed to come up with 100 ideas for products that would either enhance that sin and make people commit it, foster a desire for someone to commit it, or prevent people from committing it.
Man, I can tell you it was hard. But it was fun because we had to work and brainstorm as a team, which led to much more creativity and thoughtfulness than any of us would have provided on our own.
Then, we had to take the best of our 100 ideas and create a business plan with action steps to sell the product to the target audience and theme we were assigned. My brain hurt by the end of the day. But I also learned so many skills that I applied to not only my other classes, but other ideas I had going forward as an entrepreneur.
For Arthur Ashworth, a recent graduate with a minor in Entrepreneurship, Sprints were an insightful experience. “You can really get a lot out of them if you go into them with the attitude of trying to learn the most. I would definitely leave a Sprint feeling inspired,” he said. “It just shows you how much opportunity there is in the world, like you can do whatever you want and you can still be successful. You just have to be creative and find a path and business model that works!”
All in all, my advice to you is, first, take a Sprint that catches your eye and gets you excited. Then, take a challenging one that is not necessarily in your comfort zone. When it comes to being an entrepreneur and starting your own business, you not only have to put yourself out there, but you also have to take on every role and understand every position. You have to know it all, and with these 30+ grinds to choose from, you can do just that!