What do you picture when you hear the word entrepreneur? Maybe a tech founder in a hoodie, or someone pitching their idea on a TV show. At NorthStar Academy, we’d like to offer you a different image — a student who sees a problem, rises to meet it, and uses their gifts to be a blessing to the world around them.

That’s the heart of our Entrepreneurship Program, and it starts in Entrepreneurship 1.

This Course Is for Every Student

Here’s the first thing you should know: this program isn’t just for students who dream of launching a startup. It’s for every student.

Our goal isn’t simply to produce business owners. It’s to transform how students think and to equip them with a mindset that serves them in every area of life, no matter what path they take. We anchor this in Jordan Raynor’s definition of an entrepreneur: someone who takes a risk to create something new for the benefit of others. Under that definition, we believe every student has what it takes, and every student has something to offer.

“This course taught me that a successful business isn’t just about making money. It’s about knowing why your business exists.”- Entrepreneurship 1 student

First Semester: Building the Foundation

The first half of Entrepreneurship 1 is devoted to developing four core pillars of an entrepreneurial mindset. These aren’t abstract concepts. They’re convictions students carry with them long after the course ends.

Redefining Failure

Ask our students what the most impactful lesson of the year was, and this one comes up again and again. We teach that failure isn’t falling short of a standard. Failure is never trying in the first place.

Every setback becomes a learning opportunity. Every stumble is an invitation to grow and try again. When students internalize this, their relationship with risk changes entirely, and so does their willingness to step out in faith.

Growth Mindset

Before students can learn from their mistakes, they have to believe they can. That’s where the growth mindset comes in. It’s the foundation everything else is built on. A student who believes their abilities are fixed will protect themselves from challenges. A student who believes they can grow will run toward them.

Grit & the Art of Selling

Drawing on Angela Duckworth’s research, we define grit as passion and perseverance toward a long-term goal. Building something meaningful isn’t a sprint — it’s a sustained effort, and students learn what it looks like to stay the course.

Alongside grit, students discover the art of selling: how to identify the value of something and communicate it in a way that genuinely connects with the real needs of others. This isn’t manipulation. It’s listening well and serving thoughtfully.

Opportunity Seeking

Every real opportunity is rooted in a real problem. Students are trained to pay attention, to notice the friction and frustrations around them, and to develop solutions with the customer’s problem at the center, not their own ideas. This customer-first approach is one of the most practically transformative things students take away from the course.

Faith in Action

North Star Academy’s Entrepreneurship Program is missionally minded and God-focused from the ground up. Servant leadership isn’t a lesson in a textbook. It’s the lens through which every pillar is applied.

Students are challenged to put their faith into action. The entrepreneurial mindset becomes a vehicle for living out the call to love and serve others, and students leave the first semester with a vision not just for what they could build, but for why it matters.

“This course helped me see that entrepreneurship is about serving people, not just selling products.”- Phillipe, Entrepreneurship 1 Student

Second Semester: The Real Thing

If the first semester is the classroom, the second semester is the laboratory.

Students take everything they’ve learned and apply it in real time. They can launch their own individual business idea or step into one of NorthStar’s student-led, student-run school businesses. Business-minded instruction continues throughout the semester to support students as they navigate the actual challenges of building something.

But the ultimate goal isn’t a certain number of sales or a growing customer list. The goal is for students to live out the entrepreneurial mindset in a real, meaningful, and lasting way — to experience what it looks like to take a risk, create something, and do it for the benefit of others.

That’s the North Star difference.

Basics that You Need to Know

Entrepreneurship 1 is offered as an NSALive course only. This means that there is a weekly live session on Mondays at 11 am Central Time that students are required to attend and firm due dates for assignments.

There are several ways to learn more. Explore the resources below or reach out directly—we’d be happy to answer your questions.

Hear directly from our Entrepreneurship team about what makes this program unique.