The NFTE Experience
Our model imagines a future in which everyone has the mindset and skills to think like an entrepreneur and to find life-changing solutions to real problems that can transform communities. Our purpose is to lead the global movement for equitable access to entrepreneurship education.
Our work focuses on middle and high school students and primarily serves school districts with free and reduced lunch eligibility rates of 50% or more. Most partner schools have rates of 70-80%.
The entrepreneurial mindset drives NFTE’s model and is fueled by a highly trained teacher corps; experiential, project-based learning; flexible, blended learning; a unique learning cycle; skills-based volunteer corps; lean startup tools and methods; and inspiring competitions and challenges.
Award-winning Curriculum
Enriching NFTE experiences and our award-winning curriculum primarily reach ages 11 to 24 and occur online, in-person or through hybrid instruction in middle and high schools, community-based organizations, summer camps, workforce development programs, and postsecondary institutions in the United States and globally.
Experiences include NFTE’s introductory World Series of Innovation, the Start it Up! postsecondary program, and a preparation course for the Entrepreneurship and Small Business (ESB) Certification. NFTE Entrepreneurship Pathway courses include: Entrepreneurship Essentials, Startup Tech, Entrepreneurship 1, Entrepreneurship 2, Startup Summer, and BizCamp.
Industry-Recognized Certification
NFTE’s programs include Design for Delight (D4D) design thinking tools from our partner Intuit. Students practice customer empathy, brainstorm, and test ideas through prototyping to prepare for the Certiport Design for Delight Innovator certification. The NFTE curriculum is Certiport-recommended. NFTE students can also prepare to take Adobe certification exams, demonstrating mastery of Photoshop, InDesign, and more.
NFTE’s integrated lessons also help students with business financials, which prepares them for Intuit’s QuickBooks certification. All NFTE programs prepare students to acquire the Entrepreneurship and Small Business (ESB) credential through Certiport, a Pearson VUE division. We also offer an ESB Prep course for grades 6-12 as an experience targeted at helping students master all ESB content.
Visit the NFTE Entrepreneurial Teacher Corps page to learn how educators can earn NFTE U and Start It Up! training badges.
