Start Building Your Career
The M.S. in Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Innovation capstone project is your opportunity to combine your passions, talents and desired career path with newly gained knowledge to begin developing your own entrepreneurial idea or practice solving challenges for established businesses.
As our program is designed for creators and innovators, the capstone project is flexible and mostly self-directed. You will choose whether you want to work on a small team or individually, and select from one of two types of projects. Although the capstone project course formally begins in the spring semester, you will lay the groundwork for your project throughout the program.
Students are supported by a team of experts including nationally ranked LMU entrepreneurship faculty, experienced program staff, the M.S. in Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Innovation Advisory Board, industry executives and successful entrepreneurs.
Option 1: New Venture Launch
Once you or your team decides on a business idea to develop, you will present your concept to faculty and staff for approval, demonstrating its market potential, feasibility and social impact. After your business idea has been accepted, you will work on building your business, including designing products and services, validating the concept with customers, developing a pitch deck and engaging with business partners and investors. You will provide weekly reports of your progress while receiving guidance and feedback from faculty and industry mentors. As your project advances, you are encouraged to compete in a series of business competitions and will give a final presentation to your peers, faculty and industry leaders at the MSESI Showcase. If you are planning to pursue a start-up upon graduating from our program, you will find this option ideal as you can begin working on your concept while still earning your degree.
Option 2: Corporate Project
You will be matched with an industry partner based on interest, availability and background to work on an initiative of strategic importance to the organization. Partners will change from year to year and differ in focus and size — from startups to medium-sized family businesses to corporations — and students may elect to work with their current employer. Projects may include an investigation of the science or economics of new technology, implementation of a more sustainable process development or launch of a new product or service. You are expected to work closely with your industry partner, and you will give a final presentation of your research and recommendations to the firm's executives as well as participate in the MSESI Showcase. For those who are interested in becoming a change agent inside an established organization, this is a unique opportunity to explore the dynamics of innovating inside established structures and systems.