Andreas Widmer is an Associate Professor of Practice in Entrepreneurship at The Catholic University of America's Busch School of Business. His most recent book is The Art of Principled Entrepreneurship: Creating Enduring Value. In this episode, Professor Widmer shares his perspectives on entrepreneurship and offers advice for education entrepreneurs.

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Lindsey Vose is a former public school teacher who launched Wild Wonders out of her garage in Belgrade, Montana in 2022. She opened with four students, including her two children. Today, Wild Wonders is located on a five-acre farmstead property near Vose's home. It has 22 K-6 students who attend the mixed-age, drop-off program Monday through Thursday, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. She has 35 students registered for fall and says she can't keep up with demand. She also plans to open a middle school program soon.

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Priscilla Yuill is the founder and educational director of Casa Ranch Montessori , an eco-conscious Montessori homeschool cooperative program that is educating for sustainability and cultivating environmentally-conscious global citizens. Priscilla has been a passionate Montessori educator for more than 10 years, with early childhood and elementary Montessori credentials and a Master's degree in Curriculum & Instruction. During Covid, Priscilla began homeschooling her two young boys and that started her on her path toward education entrepreneurship.

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Dale Ahlquist is the cofounder of Chesterton Academy in Hopkins, Minnesota. What started in 2008 as a microschool with 10 students, including some of his own children, has grown into a flagship location with over 150 high schoolers, as well as a global network of over 70 Classical Catholic Chesterton Schools educating more than 2,000 students.

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Amanda Lucas, founder of Lucas Literacy Lab, a middle school microschool in Middlesex County, New Jersey opening this fall. She taught in charter and private schools across New York City for nearly a decade before becoming an education entrepreneur and joining the KaiPod Catalyst microschool startup accelerator program.

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Elmarie Hyman is the founder of Learn Beyond the Book, a California-based secular homeschool resource center for students in pre-K through high school. Young people can attend Learn Beyond the Book's in-person classes in three locations in the greater Los Angeles area, or take advantage of additional live virtual classes. Students who attend are either homeschoolers who pay out-of-pocket or public charter school students who attend tuition-free, or nearly so, through one of California's homeschool charter schools.

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Benita Gordon was a longtime public school teacher who is now the founder of Miami MicroLearn Hub, a microschool focusing on rising 6th to rising 12th graders in South Florida opening this August. Benita also founded the educational consulting company, Global Education Concierge.

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John Mackey is an author, entrepreneur, and co-founder of Whole Foods Market. In 2022, he stepped down from his 44 years as CEO of the natural and organic grocer. He is now launching a new startup, Love.Life.

Mackey is the author of several books including the just-released The Whole Story: Adventures in Love, Life, and Capitalism.

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In Stillwater, Minnesota, Amy Marotz launched Awakening Spirit microschool to serve the distinct needs of gifted and neurodiverse learners. After earning an education degree and teaching at a Minneapolis charter school early in her career, Amy began homeschooling her own children and saw a need for a dedicated program to address neurodiversity within a holistic, nurturing environment. She now runs the program from her home and is helping other aspiring founders to create their own innovative schools and spaces.

The Rise of Education Entrepreneurs in Minnesota (Forbes.com)

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Jessica Slayback and Victoria Forsman launched the REALM, Redesigning Education And Living Meaningfully, in 2010 as a microschool with one student and since then they have served 3,000 students with both full-time and part-time learning options. Located in Santa Monica, California, REALM currently enrolls 134 students ages 4 to 14 each semester, with a new high school program opening soon.

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