Gilmour Academy fosters an entrepreneurial mindset and provides a host of opportunities for students to learn about and engage in entrepreneurship.

List of 6 items.

  • Academics

    • Finance, Economics and Ethics - provides business foundation needed to launch a company 
    • Entrepreneurial Mindset- utilizing the Ice House Entrepreneurship Program, develops in students an understanding of the mindsets and skills needed for success in owning your own business or succeeding in another organization, the principles of entrepreneurship and the skills needed to bring a concept to market. Class also includes hearing from four to six entrepreneurs each semester. 
    • VENTURE - provides hands-on learning experience as students manage the school-owned, student-run business — Sip O’ SOM and The Armory — and develop other student-run businesses as appropriate
    • Applied Economics  - provides students an understanding of the principles, issues and theory behind economics, a must for anyone starting a business
    • Understanding Capitalism -  examines the history of capitalism 
    • Rebuilding Cleveland - experiential-learning based course that immerses students in the importance of history, local politics, community organizing, sustainability and entrepreneurship as key factors in determining a city’s success
    • Econ Sim - course that engages students in thought-provoking and interactive explorations of topics closely tied to entrepreneurship — the economic dimensions of technological development and cultural transformation
    • Theology 11 - features the Praxis project, which embodies the notion of social entrepreneurship, as students research a social justice issue, seek to uncover the causes and effects of the issue and Church teaching on it, and create an action response 
    • Lower School - students plant potatoes as part of study of life cycle and use harvest in part for interdisciplinary Potato Olympics project, with the remainder used for a social entrepreneurship initiative as they donate potatoes to local food banks
  • Student-Run Businesses

    Sip o' som- a student-run coffee shop that sells hot and iced coffee, tea, lemonade, hot chocolate and cake pops. Founded in 2022 and operates each Wednesday during Community Block.
    The store has partnered with Daisy Pops and Fig Leaf Coffee Company for their inventory. Sip O' Som Instagram
    The Armory - Lancer spirit wear-  a student-run spirit store offering on-demand quality spirit wear

    We will continue to look for ways to start and support additional student-run businesses as we continue to grow the Entrepreneurship program.
  • Student-Owned Businesses

    • At Gilmour we encourage and support students who start their own businesses. We mentor students interested in starting their own businesses and, in some cases, are able to provide seed money for them to start, grow or sustain their businesses thanks to the Veale Foundation’s generous grant.
  • Experiential Learning

    • VECTOR program
      - participants choose one of five strands, with Business & Entrepreneurship being one of the options, and participate in a concentrated set of classes and experiences focused on their chosen strand.
    • Speakers
      • Entrepreneurial Mindset course - hosts four-six entrepreneurs each semester to speak to class members
      • VECTOR program - brings a variety of speakers to campus throughout the school year, many of whom have launched a business or are active in social entrepreneurship
    • ThinkFest Ideation Workshop - an annual day-long entrepreneurship event sponsored by John Carroll University and the Veale Foundation to inspire high school students to develop an entrepreneurial mindset and to recognize, develop and pitch business ideas.
    • ThinkBig Challenge and Summit - An online business plan competition open to all high school students in Northeast Ohio, offering $9,000 in prizes. Finalists are invited to attend executive coaching sessions and receive guidance from entrepreneurial professionals in the Cleveland business community. Intro to Web Design course - After learning the principles of building interactive websites, students utilize their skills as they offer free web design services to local start-ups.
  • Extracurricular Opportunities

    • Junior Achievement Stock Market Challenge
    • Investment Club - Club members invest capital donated by a community member to learn firsthand the nuances of investing.
  • Summer Opportunities

    • Lancer Business Academy - 11 weekly sessions of entrepreneurship camps (separated by age level) run each summer on campus for kids ages 5-17.
    • Learning About Business (LAB) - Since 1980, Learning About Business has provided high school sophomores, juniors and seniors with a weeklong mini-MBA experience, providing an interactive business simulation while fostering creative problem solving.
These programs are made possible in part due to generous grants from the Veale Youth Entrepreneurship Forum.