SPEND A SEMESTER in The entREPRENUER lab
Fall 2026 | Business Model Design
Earn 6 college credits and a Badge in Business Model Design
Enroll under:
Marketing 470 ST - Hildegard College Certificate 1: Principles of Entrepreneurship (3 units)
Management 470 ST - Hildegard Certificate 2: Entrepreneurial Practice (3 units)
The Hildegard Lab Experience
More than a class.
Each semester, you join a tight-knit cohort of students and creators who are asking big questions and turning ideas into action. Through fast-paced sprints, hands-on workshops, and direct mentoring from entrepreneurs and builders, you’ll learn how culture is shaped, and how to shape it yourself.
This is where you test ideas, take risks, and design real-world projects in any industry you’re curious about. You won’t just study entrepreneurship, you’ll practice it alongside people who want to create work that actually matters.
8 CORE THEMES
Students who complete a semester course earn 6 units from their university and a Badge in the term’s area of focus, credentialed by Hildegard College.
01
Business MOdel Design
02
AI, Technology, & the Future of Work
03
Culture, Impact, & Storytelling
04
Strategy & Systems
05
Marketing, Growth, & Influence
06
Product and Program Design
07
Financial Intelligence
08
Teams & Organizational Design
Program features
Anyone can list skills on a résumé. Few can show the work.
Stand out in job and graduate school applications with real artifacts: a business plan, financial strategy, org chart, value proposition narrative, team culture guide, prototype, market insight dashboard, brand book, and other demonstrations of your practical knowledge.
This is evidence of how you think, design, and lead—
the kind of work employers and graduate programs are actively looking for.
1. Immerse yourself in Industry
At Hildegard, students work alongside early stage founders, businesses, and ministries. They hear stories about how world-changing organizations were created—from the founders themselves. Students get out of their comfort zones and gain exposure to the real world of innovative work.
3. Discover your Core Purpose
You will explore where your talents and passions align with real problems that need solving. In the Entrepreneur Lab, you will learn about different industries from the perspective of a creator, a founder, a designer. You will identify the unique value that you can bring to society.
2. Practice designing your own venture
At the Entrepreneur Lab, students learn to do things by learning to build things. Entrepreneurship is a mindset, and in a world of rapidly advancing technologies, we need college grads who understand the entirety of how products, programs, and services are built.
4. Expand your career horizon
Few college grads end up with the careers they expect. And most change career paths several times before they reach the age of 30. Get a head start on life after graduation by growing your repertoire of skills—from business model generation, to nonprofit organizational leadership, to value proposition design, to AI and future technologies. Learn about new career paths you didn’t know existed.
This lab is for you if…
You’re a Business Major
And you want to translate your learning to real-world application. Add an entrepreneurial dimension to your business education. Get your hands dirty designing solutions and learning startup practices from real founders. Network with leaders of industry. Students in the Entrepreneur Lab regularly land internships with organizations in the Hildegard ecosystem.
You’re NOT a Business Major.
Maybe you’re studying Education, Psychology, English, Theology, or Music. The world is full of challenges that need someone with your unique education and passion to solve. Learn how to translate your discipline into career opportunities you didn’t know existed. Apply your passion for books, health, society, theology, or the arts to real-world innovation and design.
Life in the entreprenEUr Lab
The Hildegard College campus is at FLDWRK, a creative shared workspace in Costa Mesa, California. Visiting Vanguard students join the Hildegard College cohort for one semester at time in this unique space. Unlike traditional college classes, Entrepreneur Lab courses meet with the rhythm of real startup businesses:
Weekend intensive sprints on the semester’s core theme applied to students’ chosen portfolio.
Project, field of study, or venture
Group coaching sessions
One-on-one coaching sessions
Founder talks and practitioner-led mentorship sessions
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Hildegard College is a Christian liberal arts college of Entrepreneurship. Full-time undergraduate students at Hildegard study the Great Books in “Foundations of Thought” courses as well as entrepreneurship in the “Entrepreneur Lab.” In addition to its full-time students, Hildegard is partnering with Vanguard University to provide this unique learning opportunity to Vanguard students.
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Visiting students are part-time, but they are fully integrated into the Lab experience. They may join a cohort with other students from their university as well as from other universities and Hildegard College undergraduates.
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Yes. Your work at the Lab will count for two 3-unit courses (6 units total) at Vanguard.
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No. Entrepreneurship is a creative approach to work for the sake of cultural renewal. Whether you’re studying Business and Communication, the Liberal Arts, Theology, the Fine Arts, or another discipline, at the Lab you will develop skills that will make you more effective at any job you find yourself in.
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Students who complete a semester at the Lab receive 6 units of college credit and a microcredential “Badge” in the entrepreneurial area of focus for the term. Additionally, they take with them practical artifacts that they’ve designed during their time at the lab and a useful addition to their resumé.
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Most meetings are in person at Hildegard College’s FLDWRK campus at 150 Paularino Ave., Building B, Costa Mesa, California 92626. Occasionally, coaching sessions are held virtually.
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Your full-time enrollment at Vanguard University covers your tuition at the Entrepreneur Lab. Any additional course fees will be announced before registration.
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Yes. Each semester the Lab focuses on one of its eight core themes. Vanguard students may apply to as many terms as they wish, earning unique Badges with each term.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to enroll:
Self-Service portal is your main spot for class registration. From there, look up the following classes to enroll in:
Marketing 470 ST - Hildegard College Certificate 1: Principles of Entrepreneurship (3 units)
Management 470 ST Hildegard Certificate 2: Entrepreneurial Practice (3 units)
Info day
We’re hosting a short info session on Friday, March 27 right after our Creators & Coffee event.Local Costa Mesa founder Kohl Crecelius (Krochet Kids, Known Supply) will be speaking from 9–10 AM, followed by a small info session for Vanguard students. Please RSVP to our Creators & Coffee event if you are attending.
Questions email us at admissions@hildegard.college
MEET yOUR faculty & mentors
Jonathan Murillo
Murillo is a communicator, coach, and creator who focuses on guiding early stage founders from communities of color to create meaningful change through their ventures.
Jeffrey Tanner
He created The Formation Method, a coaching pedagogy for leader development, and FLDWRK, a social good incubator and work collective in Orange County. Tanner also serves as VP of Strategy for Standing Stone Ministry and as an Elder at Redemption Church.
Matthew Smith, PH.D.
President Smith holds a Ph.D. in Literature from the University of Southern California, an M.A. from the University of Connecticut, and a B.A. from Biola University. He taught for 15 years in higher education before co-founding Hildegard College.
Christof Meyer, MBA
A graduate of UVA’s Darden School of Business, Meyer is CEO of Square Method Consulting and President of AloTerra Restoration Services. In recent years, he’s served as Strategy Consultant and Chief Revenue Officer for a mental health startup, Mindfuli. He is also an Infantry Officer and Company Commander in the Colorado National Guard.