W. P. Carey’s Founders Lab supports student entrepreneurs

The 'thesis incubator' helps Barrett, The Honors College students complete their thesis projects while becoming small business owners.

Isabella Meadows (BS Accountancy/Marketing/Finance '24) had just begun dabbling in entrepreneurship when she discovered the Founders Lab, a Barrett, The Honors College "thesis incubator" within W. P. Carey's Center for Entrepreneurship and New Business Design at the end of her sophomore year.

"For so long, I thought being a successful business owner or entrepreneur was hard," says Meadows. "The Founders Lab showed me I could do it. Entrepreneurship isn't reserved for a select few people — anyone can be an entrepreneur."

Meadows is one of the hundreds of honors students who have completed their thesis project through the Founders Lab, providing students with the guidance and resources they need to launch their businesses. With the lab's support, students identify, test, and create a business idea and marketing plan as their Barrett thesis project. In place of a traditional thesis defense, the experience culminates in a marketplace where students showcase their startups to hundreds of people, including W. P. Carey deans, faculty, and their friends and families.

Several students interested in entrepreneurship but didn't know where to start approached Center for Entrepreneurship Director Jared Byrne, leading to the establishment of the Founders Lab in 2019. After learning that Barrett needed student thesis ideas, Byrne collaborated with Amy Hillman, professor of management and entrepreneurship and Rusty Lyon Chair in Strategy, and late Dean of Research Michael Goul, to create the lab and partner with the honors college.

When the lab was first established, the team didn't know if it would be successful. They were stunned when over 35 students answered the first call for applications.

"It blew our minds," says Byrne. Today, the lab works with 120 to 150 students each year and is now expanding entrepreneurship accessibility by enrolling ASU students outside the honors college.

As a Barrett pathway, the lab includes two three-credit courses spanning two semesters. Initially, the lab provided all student participants with thesis ideas, but students began developing their own business concepts as the program evolved. Students can work in groups of up to five, and teams spend the fall semester creating a business idea and plan before working toward business traction for their product or service in the spring.

"We want to push students toward traction, or an exchange of value," says Byrne. Traction looks different for each team, with some students making a product sale and others securing partnership agreements. "More and more students are becoming more successful at generating traction each year."

From student to business owner

For their thesis project, Meadows and her team created an app to connect entrepreneurs with life coaches, and the experience inspired Meadows to establish a business outside the lab. Having been passionate about life coaching since high school, she founded The Hearts We Touch to help others become their best selves. Meadows also returned to the Founders Lab, contracted as a director of the Personal Development Program, which takes a holistic approach to student growth by offering various personal and professional development opportunities.

"A business is only as successful as the individual or people behind it. It has a lot to do with breaking through limiting beliefs. A business will reflect where you're at in your personal development and growth journey," says Meadows.

The Personal Development Program includes a speaker series, group workshops, an Enneagram assessment, hiking excursions, and business discussions to encourage students to get to know each other. Meadows creates workbooks to help lab participants reflect on time management, goal setting, and accountability and coaches students on personal and professional challenges.

"We want to make the program as accessible to students as possible," she says.

Saloni Biyani (BS Computer Science '24) applied to the Founders Lab after hearing about a friend's positive experience. Alongside her team, Biyani used the lab to create and launch an investment platform called Simple Stocks. This app simplifies stock trading through a user-friendly design and machine-learning capabilities.

"This experience has been an absolute stand-out when I look at my college experience as a whole," says Biyani. "Participating is such a transformative event. Taking an idea and building a business from the ground up is a remarkable and unique way to learn about concepts I otherwise would never have been exposed to."

The lab allowed Biyani to marry her software development, investing, and entrepreneurship passions. She says the experience changed her perspective on how engineering and business skills intertwine.

"You can be an amazing engineer and entrepreneur. Having this innovating, entrepreneurial drive sets certain engineers apart from others," she says.

Some students, like Biyani, continue to pursue their business independently after the lab concludes. Others use it as a pathway to the New Venture Challenge, an eight-week course designed to empower student entrepreneurs to grow already established businesses, culminating in a competition for investments. Last year, three student businesses received funding, including Proper Pack, a sustainable paper beverage packaging product that received a $30,000 investment.

"The Founders Lab is a great opportunity to try entrepreneurship with a safety net — it's a rich ecosystem of support and resources that you can't replicate on your own," says Meadows. "When else will you have this opportunity? The lab is an incredible gem that W. P. Carey has to offer. I can't wait to see how it grows."

Photo one: Snack Hax, which creates healthier, more affordable snack options for students on campus, presented its products during the spring 2024 Founders Lab marketplace. From left to right: Jonathan Szczesniak (BS Aerospace Management Technology '25), Colin Brannan (BS Financial Planning '25), twin brothers Miguel Chacon (BS Engineering '24, MS Technology '26) and Carlos Chacon (BS Engineering '24, MS Technology '26), Wyatte Ricks (BS Engineering '24), and Ryan Bastuba (BS Technology Entrepreneurship Management '24).

Photo two: Elizabeth Bejarano (BS Architectural Studies '24, MS Architecture '26), the founder of Bunny Beadz, presented her products during the spring 2024 Founders Lab marketplace. For every bracelet she sells, $1 goes to plant a tree in the Amazon. So far, she has sold 187 bracelets and planted 187 trees.

Photo three: Braille Retail, which brings awareness to the blind and visually impaired, presented its products during the spring 2024 Founders Lab marketplace. From left to right: Morgan Pearson (BS Finance, Supply Chain Management/BA Global Politics, Business Health Care '24), Kennedy Shereck (BS Marketing '24), Hannah O'Shea (BS Marketing '24), and Tatum Soto (BA Business Law '24).