CAN ENTREPRENEURS BE MADE OR ARE THEY BORN? Warren Natives Scott Grossnickle and Shaan Gurnani Find Out as They Take Part in Weeklong Entrepreneurial Immersion

Early-stage entrepreneurship is at its highest level of popularity since Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) began tracking it in 1999—and programs like LehighSiliconValley are helping students interested in embarking on an entrepreneurial endeavor. The weeklong summit through Lehigh University’s Baker Institute for Entrepreneurship, Creativity and Innovation (ranked one of the country’s Top 25 Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Programs by Entrepreneur magazine) brings 60 Lehigh University students—including Warren’s own Scott Grossnickle and Shaan Gurnani—together with entrepreneurs, inventors, CEOs, venture capitalists and others who play key roles in the building of new enterprises from seed to startup to expansion and exit stage.

“Prior to Lehigh I hadn’t known much about the idea of entrepreneurship, but upon becoming acquainted with it I have become fascinated with the idea of creating a business that will not only create new jobs but also potentially change an industry or product for the better,” said Grossnickle. “Some of the other business courses teach us how to think in a very linear manner, which can be constraining. Through my little exposure in entrepreneurship already I have been able to break free from that mold and think of all different perspectives, thus broadening my mind and knowledge of operating a business. This alone is invaluable.”

The question remains: Can entrepreneurship actually be taught? Two of last year’s participants, Jake Huber and Greg Horn, think so. Since attending LSV last year, Huber and Horn moved to Silicon Valley and created Gigawatt, an online crowdfunding platform for colleges that engages young alumni. Only time will tell if they end up as the next Mark Zuckerberg and Sean Parker. But stories like theirs are inspirational to Scott and Shaan, and we will be keeping an eye on these to see where their entrepreneurial dreams take them.