STEM Entrepreneurship
Three-Week Summer Business Program
Featured in The Boston Globe – What I Did This Summer: Started A Company
The Boston Leadership Institute, one of the top-named providers of STEM programs for high-achieving teens, is the perfect place to begin your future in STEM entrepreneurship.
The Boston Leadership Institute’s STEM Entrepreneurship hands-on program covers what it takes to start a new business in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics. Students generate innovative and forward-thinking product ideas, explore viable opportunities and markets, and learn to write a sales pitch and business plan. After they master the stages of pursuing the business idea, students learn about different ways to raise capital and manage the finances of a fledgling business.
This program focuses on creating a start-up company and building a broader understanding and skillset in areas such as presentation training and industry, and business analysis. Our instructor will introduce models that detail the stages of building a start-up company.
This program sells out every year – don’t lose your chance to join us by waiting too long. Apply now. Want a reminder? Join the mailing list.
June 29th – July 17th, 2026
Babson College | Greater Wellesley, MA
More About: Awards – Research Programs – Sample Week
In-Class Activities
Sample in-class activities include:
- Learn to analyze an industry and company using SWOT and Porter’s Five Forces
- Explore different methodologies to value private and public companies
- Train using Toastmaster techniques
- Present start-up ideas in a Shark Tank style format
Business Plan Presentations
Students may:
- Generate innovative product ideas
- Explore viable opportunities and markets
- Build a sales pitch deck
- Create a business plan
- Share their work via a PowerPoint presentation or a poster session
Field Trips
In 2025, students visited:
- MIT Media Lab: Students visited this renowned facility where MIT students and faculty conduct research and develop innovative ideas. They presented their three-week research projects.
- Greentown Labs: This entrepreneurial space focusing in climate technology is currently housing 200+ start-up companies. Students spoke with the CEO of a start-up, asked questions, and learned how to bring their own ideas to the forefront.
Note: We cannot guarantee any given field trip will run as in past years or at all.
It's never too early!
Many of the world’s greatest Tech companies, including Dell, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft, were founded by kids not much older than the teens who come to our programs.
2026 Instructor:
Thomas Hoover
Thomas Hoover holds a degree in Economics from Harvard University and an MBA from UNC–Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. He previously served as Chief Business Officer at Matinas BioPharma and brings senior executive experience across multiple pharmaceutical and scientific research organizations. In addition to his industry background, he has extensive experience coaching and teaching at the high school level.
Past Instructors:
Barry Horwitz
Barry Horwitz earned his MBA from Harvard Business School and his bachelor’s degree in economics from Colby College. He established Horwitz and Company in 1995, a management consulting firm that specializes in helping clients grow in a strategic and sustainable way. As a co-founder and COO of a venture-backed Internet startup, he raised more than $12 million in venture capital and led the company’s expansion for three years. A sought-after speaker and moderator, Horwitz teaches MBA courses in strategy and entrepreneurship at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business.
Olivier Aries
Olivier Aries earned his MBA from Harvard Business School. As a Co-Founder and Managing Director of The Thrive Collective, he serves as a trusted advisor to some of the world’s most successful talent optimization firms and consultants and to the most progressive leaders of corporations and nonprofits. With over 25 years of experience in strategy, management consulting, and change management, he helps organizations build new services and businesses and create positive cultures that embrace change and free everyone’s creativity and innovation skills. He also advises on several early-stage ventures in the Boston area.
Student Comments
‘The program was awesome. I learned a lot about entrepreneurship and business, and became a great reference for a potential major in college. Mr. Morgan was absolutely impeccable. Without him, I wouldn’t have this much depth about the class.’
‘The program was great. My teacher was very friendly and qualified. The classroom was great. I liked the independence and trust we were given.’
‘This was a very informative program about STEM entrepreneurship. Not only was it a fun team-building experience. We also learned a ton about presentation skills.’
‘I learned a lot about the program and thought our teacher was really good. I thought the program was very interactive. It was fun and challenging at the same time.’
‘Best teacher ever, would like to attend his class again, rigorous, enjoyable.’
What I Did This Summer: Started A Company
By Brooke Jackson Glidden GLOBE CORRESPONDENT JUNE 10, 2016
In 2016, The Boston Globe featured us in an article. Check out the article here.
“The prestigious Boston Leadership Institute’s STEM Entrepreneurship program offers a three week intensive [program] at Simmons College, introducing students to leaders around the city, with speakers from companies like Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Staples. Students come from around the world, and go on to colleges like MIT and Harvard.”
“These kids, you should see where they’re going. With a background like this, with credentials like this, they really could be the next Bill Gates,” says Jane Bybee, PhD, a founding partner at BLI.
Note: This page represents our best expectations for the program. Activities and instructors are subject to change. In such cases, similar activities and a comparably qualified instructor will be sought.
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