Entrepreneur Institute
Institutes at Perkiomen: Entrepreneur Institute
The Entrepreneur Institute at Perkiomen School empowers students to become bold thinkers, creative problem-solvers, and resilient innovators. Our mission is to make a liberal arts education deeply relevant through real-world application, design thinking, and entrepreneurial action.
Students in the institute don’t just study entrepreneurship—they live it. Whether launching for-profit ventures, building socially-driven nonprofits, or leading community initiatives, our students learn to think like entrepreneurs: with curiosity, creativity, and a growth mindset.
In addition to meeting Perkiomen’s graduation requirements, students earning the Certificate in Entrepreneurship complete:
- The Foundations of Entrepreneurship course
- At least two cross-listed supporting electives
- A Capstone Project, demonstrating significant effort and impact to solve a problem and create value
Through a unique collaboration with the University of Delaware, students also have the opportunity to enroll in EntreX, a dual enrollment course worth 3 college credits. This advanced class challenges students to apply entrepreneurial principles in a rigorous, real-world context, engage with college-level expectations, and gain valuable experience that strengthens their college readiness.
Through this journey, students develop and demonstrate:
- Resilience in the face of failure
- Collaboration and emotional intelligence
- Effective communication and storytelling
- Calculated risk-taking and opportunity recognition
- Innovative thinking that challenges the status quo
- Confidence to pursue ideas and take initiative
Above all, we cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset—preparing students not just to start businesses, but to lead, adapt, and create change in any field they pursue.
Eric Frey
Director of Entrepreneur Institute
At Perkiomen School since 2021
The Entrepreneur Institute gives our students the opportunity not just to develop new businesses but to pitch them to seasoned business persons and alumni. The interaction is very engaging and the experience provided to these young people to think on their feet goes along way towards their development. In terms of experience, I think this is priceless and not one they would otherwise have until later in their college experience. It is also great to see so many of the ideas and businesses are focused less on profits and more on their desire to make our world a better place. I'm very proud of the students and the future that they present.
-- James Finnegan P ’16, ’18,
Vice President, Intellectual Property Strategy for Comcast Corporation, Chairman, Board of Trustees
Community Partners
