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Guided by Research. Powered by Experience.

Entrepreneurship isn’t just the luck of starting a business — it is a robust academic field with decades of rigorous research behind it. Landmark work by scholars S. Shane and S. Venkataraman in their seminal piece “The Promise of Entrepreneurship as a Field of Research” (2000) frames entrepreneurship as a process that unfolds in three essential phases:

  1. Discovery
    Recognizing opportunities that others have not yet seen.

  2. Exploration
    Investigating, testing, validating, and refining ideas.

  3. Exploitation
    Transforming validated opportunities into sustainable ventures that create value

Our roadmap is built on these principles — helping you understand where you are in the entrepreneurial process and what resources can support you at each stage.

Resources by Phase

Discovery Phase

Every entrepreneur starts by noticing something that could be better. The Discovery stage builds the mindset to spot those opportunities through intro courses, campus competitions, and builder communities—no business plan required. Explore discovery experiences

Exploration Phase

Good ideas need pressure-testing. The Exploration stage is where you go deeper: learning how to evaluate a market, develop a business model, write a compelling proposal, and understand what it actually takes to turn a concept into a venture. Find exploration resources

Exploitation Phase

Once you've validated your idea, it's time to move. The Exploitation stage connects you to the real-world infrastructure for launching a venture, from the S&T Startup Challenge and Miner Tank competition to the Early-Stage Accelerator or I-Corps. Find exploitation resources

Not Sure Where to Begin?

No matter where you begin, Missouri S&T's entrepreneurial ecosystem provides opportunities to help you discover ideas, explore possibilities, and create impact.

If you want to learn about entrepreneurship...

Start with discovery opportunities.

If you want to build entrepreneurial skills and knowledge...

Explore the Entrepreneurship Minor, Graduate Certificate, and entrepreneurship-related coursework in the exploration stage

If you already have an idea or startup concept...

Move directly into exploitation experiences.