About

An interactive intelligent textbook guiding St. Olaf students through ideation, Ikigai discovery, team formation, and the Ole Cup entrepreneurship pitch competition.

Audience

This book is written for all St. Olaf College students — regardless of major. You do not need a business background to read this book or to compete in the Ole Cup. In fact, some of the most successful Ole Cup ventures were built by students from music, art, biology, and religious studies.

If you have an idea — or want to find one — this book will guide you through the process of turning it into a pitch worth presenting.

Prerequisites

No prior business, economics, or entrepreneurship coursework is required. If you can write a paragraph and speak for two minutes, you have everything you need to start.

How to Use This Book

• Read chapters in order — concepts are introduced in dependency order, from self-discovery through pitching.
• Use the search bar (top right) to jump to a specific term.
• Try the MicroSims as you encounter them; they are the fastest way to build intuition for a new concept (for example, the interactive Ikigai diagram in Chapter 1).
• Check the Learning Graph when you want to see how a concept fits into the larger picture.
• Use the chapter-end exercises to prepare your Ole Cup application materials step by step.

The Ole Cup Competition

The Ole Cup is hosted annually by the Piper Center for Vocation and Career at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. Applications open December 1 and close February 15. The competition event is held in late April. Prize money ranges from $3,000 to $10,000, and the winner qualifies for the Minnesota Cup — the largest statewide venture competition in the country.

For official rules and application: wp.stolaf.edu/pipercenter/ole-cup/

Author

Dan McCreary