Intrapreneurs Using Entrepreneurial Skills

Entrepreneurship is about sparking your creative confidence – to know you can do stuff. And while most people think entrepreneurship is synonymous with business, it’s far from the only career choice for majors in the field.

In fact, many St. Thomas graduates have taken an “intrapreneurial” route in their career. In other words, they bring in their own unique entrepreneurial skills to an established company. Companies rely on their tools and skills to spot, evaluate and pursue new opportunities in the marketplace.

The entrepreneurial mindset and skills are becoming more common as a requirement across functions in a company. “Leaders want people who can deal with unstructured problems. People who know how to – despite uncertainty – search opportunities and figure out how to pursue them,” said Laura Dunham, PhD, associate dean of the Schulze School of Entrepreneurship. 

A consultant for Optum, Dylan Condé-Brooks ’17 uses his expert problem-solving skills to tackle issues in the health care industry. Instead of just putting a Band-Aid on the complex problems, it’s up to him to find creative solutions.

“I’d go to job interviews and they'd ask why I majored in entrepreneurship if I didn’t want to start my own business,” Condé-Brooks said. But he knew from his time at St. Thomas that entrepreneurship is a lot more than a start-up.

Dunham often gets questions from students who don't want to start a business but love being entrepreneurial. She types in ‘entrepreneur’ into a job search engine and 600 local opportunities show up from entry level positions to chief operating officers.

“The opportunities for these students in the Twin Cities are bigger than ever.”