A group of twenty-nine students competed the Lassonde+X program during the past year. Lassonde+X is a three-course program that allows any undergraduate student at the University of Utah to “entrepreneur your major” – the “X” is their major. The program is offered by the Department of Entrepreneurship & Strategy, in partnership with the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute, at the David Eccles School of Business.
Each of these students will receive a Lassonde+X designation on their academic transcript. More importantly, they learned entrepreneurial skills and how to apply them to their majors and life goals.
“The Lassonde+X program challenges students to explore the entrepreneurial mindset and add it to their major, and that is exactly what all of these students did,” said Kathy Hajeb, a director at the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute and associate professor at the Eccles School. “Each of the students completing the program this year reflected on how their entrepreneurial experience and academic major align as they create value.”
Find a complete listing of all the students who finished the program this year below.
The Lassonde+X program is one of the latest additions to the top-10 ranked entrepreneurship program at the Eccles School. The Lassonde+X program was announced in summer 2019 as the Eccles School expanded its academic opportunities to study entrepreneurship.
Lassonde+X students learn the entrepreneurial mindset to help them become innovators, problem-solvers and change-makers. All students benefit from learning entrepreneurial skills, such as working on interdisciplinary teams, identifying opportunities, starting a company, developing a product, marketing and more.
To complete the Lassonde+X program, students complete three courses. First, they take ENTP 1010 (or BCOR 2040 for business majors). Second, they take ENTP 1020. Third, they complete the program by taking a one-credit portfolio course (ENTP 2050), where they create a website to demonstrate how they have applied an entrepreneurial mindset.
“The Lassonde+X program helps guide students to experience a top-10 program for entrepreneurship, provided in partnership between the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute and the Eccles School,” Hajeb said. “Students should consider this program if they are looking to use entrepreneurial skills in their major or if they want to apply their academic major to create value and have a foundation to build from.”
Sasha Singh is one of the students who completed the Lassonde+X program this year. She is a computer science major with minors in psychology and entrepreneurship. For her Lassonde+X portfolio project, she developed an idea for a healthy living app that is tailored to every user’s specific needs.
“This was such an enriching program, one that has taught me many skills,” Singh said. “It really all started with the simple question of why would anyone be interested in what you create? I learned about creating value in the society we live in, analyzing audiences’ needs, developing a portfolio, and also networking and connecting with other brilliant entrepreneurs.”
Daisy Hall also completed the Lassonde+X program this year. She is majoring in design. For her Lassonde+X portfolio project, she developed her clothing brand, Dayzy Customs.
“I decided to enroll in the Lassonde+X program to help launch and elevate my business,” Hall said. “I participated in the Lassonde Founders program for student entrepreneurs and the Lassonde+X program was a part of it. Completing the coursework felt like the next step to improving my business.”
Isaac Bruce is another student who completed the Lassonde+X program. He is an environmental and sustainability studies major with a minor in entrepreneurship. His Lassonde+X portfolio focused on secondhand clothing.
“My biggest takeaway from the course was to promote myself and tell my entrepreneurial story through the website I created,” he said.
Learn more about the Lassonde+X program at eccles.utah.edu/lassondex. All undergraduate students at the University of Utah are welcome to enroll in the program. Start by taking ENTP 1010 (or BCOR 2040 for business students).
Lassonde+X Students 2021-22
Here are the students who completed the Lassonde+X program in summer 2021, fall 2021 or spring 2022 and their major (in alphabetical order). The completion for some of these students are pending final grades for the spring 2022 semester:
- Allen, Brock (International Studies)
- Bachorowski, Ella (Undeclared, Strategic Communications)
- Birch, Austin (Information Systems)
- Booth, Braxton (Computer Science)
- Brown, Collin (Computer Science)
- Bruce, Issac (Environmental & Sustainability Studies)
- Burum, Nicholas (Games)
- Che, Derek (Computer Science)
- Citterman, Abby (Biomedical Engineering)
- Edelman, Joshua (Applied Design Entrepreneurship, Undergraduate Studies)
- Fackrell, McGuire (Environmental & Sustainability Studies)
- Hall, Daisy (Art)
- Hall, Quentin (Design)
- Helling, Robert (Film & Media Arts)
- Kaihatu, Cameron (Entrepreneurship)
- Kale, David (Entrepreneurship)
- Lee, Aiden (Entrepreneurship)
- Lee, Andrew (Computer Science)
- Liabenow, Braydon (Business Administration)
- Musick, Cole (Sports Management)
- Newton, Derek (Entrepreneurship)
- Oliver, Hunter (Accounting)
- Orman, Taylor (Sociology)
- Palmquist, Eric (Entrepreneurship)
- Riley, Keyvan (Fine Arts)
- Singh, Sasha (Computer Science)
- Tidwell, Grace (Business Marketing)
- Warnberg-Lemm, Kaeden (Finance)
- White, Isaac (Games)
About the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute
The Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute is a nationally ranked hub for student entrepreneurship and innovation at the University of Utah and an interdisciplinary division of the David Eccles School of Business. The first programs were offered in 2001, through the vision and support of Pierre Lassonde, an alumnus of the Eccles School and successful mining entrepreneur. The institute now provides opportunities for thousands of students to learn about entrepreneurship and innovation. Programs include workshops, networking events, business-plan competitions, startup support, innovation programs, graduate seminars, scholarships, community outreach and more. All programs are open to students from any academic major or background. The Lassonde Institute also manages Lassonde Studios, a five-story innovation space and housing facility for all students. Learn more at lassonde.utah.edu.
