Q&A: Creating an entrepreneurial mind-set

National Entrepreneurship Week and Phoenix Startup Week both kicked off Monday.

At ASU, entrepreneurship is a core value. The university’s Entrepreneurship + Innovation team is ready to work with faculty, staff, students and community members with mentorship opportunities, seed funding, office space, training and opportunities for collaboration at all stages from ideation to ready for market.

Ji Mi Choi is ASU’s associate vice president of Entrepreneurship + Innovation.

Question: What is an entrepreneurial mind-set, and how does ASU help foster that mind-set?

Answer: At ASU, our goal is to be of service to students, faculty and our community. We aim to nurture an entrepreneurial mind-set, which means supporting the growth of curiosity, helping people build connections, and working to create value from ideas. ASU provides a wealth of opportunities to learn about entrepreneurship and innovation geared toward nearly any interest, idea or audience.

Q: If a faculty or staff member, student or member of the community has an idea, what ASU resources are available to them?  

A: A broad outline of programs and services can be found on our website at https://entrepreneurship.asu.edu/. In addition, ASU offers a number of undergraduate and graduate entrepreneurial degree programs. A few examples of resources and programs include:

ASU Venture Devils, which supports student entrepreneurs who are launching ventures in a range of developmental stages.

The ASU Mentor Network is available to anyone at ASU or in the community with an idea interested in learning more about finance, marketing, legal operations and scaling, business development and sales, manufacturing and more.

We also offer programs like Prepped, for early-stage and emerging food businesses, and SparXX, for women beginning to explore entrepreneurship and business ownership.

Additional information about our various funding opportunities, programs and technology commercialization resources can be found online.

Q: Are regional resources available for entrepreneurs who live outside of Tempe?

A: Absolutely. Finding the right space to build ideas and get creative is important to aspiring entrepreneurs. Some of our spaces include the ASU Chandler Innovation Center, 1951@SkySong in Scottsdale, Changemaker Central, the Inno-NATIONS tribal business collision community, and mkrservices at Hayden Library in Tempe.

ASU Startup School, a self-paced online course, is another resource available for anyone interested in learning more about how to develop a successful venture.