The Bridging Entrepreneurs to Students (BETS) program allows junior co-op students to experience working with the founding members of a startup team. BETS students make real contributions to early business objectives and to the startup trajectory.
Week 1
The first week of the placement term is an exclusive and intensive 40-hour training program. Students are expected to participate actively, contribute to group activities and discussion, and develop learning goals for the term. Training topics include:
- The Entrepreneurial Mindset
- Innovation Processes
- Networking Processes
- Sales and Marketing
- Introductory technical sessions such as HTML & CSS, or Javascript
- User experience and design thinking
- Goal setting and dashboards for professional development
Weeks 2 to 14 (Placements)
Student teams of two (2) will be assigned to work for a company for a project-based placement, matched by the BETS Coordinator on the basis of student skillset and identified learning goals.
Potential placement tasks for Engineering and Math students include:
- Assisting with web or mobile app development
- Improving and iterating an existing user interface
- Market research, data analysis/reporting and customer discovery
- Marketing strategy and content creation
- Prototype development and testing (breadboarding, working with hardware, 3D printing)
Potential placement tasks for AFM, Math/CPA, and BioTech/CPA students include:
- Support for all areas of accounting, financial, and performance management
- General accounting and office administrative work
- Managerial and financial reporting, business/financial modelling to support budgeting and project decision-making
- Projects related to internal control and performance management metrics
- Market/client research and sales support activities
Four tips for students applying to the BETS Entrepreneur in Training role
If you are applying (or interviewing) for the BETS program, consider the following to strengthen your application:
- Learn about the Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business and the programs offered by the school
- Share work or projects completed outside of class time (visual art portfolio, GitHub link, personal website, samples of creative or journalistic writing)
- List extracurricular events you have attended (or organized) and professional development activities such as conferences, hackathons, business plan competitions, or leadership training
- Learn about the local entrepreneurial ecosystem and think about why you would like to gain experience working in a startup
The Conrad School is grateful to The Esch Foundation for its generous support of the BETS program.
“BETS provided me with invaluable hands-on experience that sparked my interest in entrepreneurship and played a crucial role in shaping my professional journey. It encouraged me to step outside of my comfort zone, foster strong friendships in the startup community, and pursue new opportunities! This transformative experience prompted me to become an ambassador, where I now share the profound impact BETS had on my growth and actively support others in breaking into the entrepreneurship ecosystem as well.”
-Ishani Munasinghe, BETS Student 2023
