"I Wish I Had This Experience When I Was Young"

Entrepreneurship has played a major role in my life.  Born the son of an entrepreneur, I had the privilege of observing, learning, and then practicing under careful supervision. As my older brother was excelling in sports, my father decided that entrepreneurship would be something special we would share. Starting at age five and up through college, he would explain things, ask questions to elevate my thinking, encourage me to explore and try new things, and give me space to not only fail but to do so with grace and learn from it all.  

It was routine to find myself watching Saturday morning cartoons while being asked by my father if the commercial promoting “buy two, get one free” was a good deal.  He would invite me to meetings, talking to me before and after. He would push me to go pitch a local office supplier to buy my “artisan” pencils, knowing I would fail, but also knowing I would grow from it. Without my knowing, he created the structure and conditions for me to become the man I am today and prepared me to help shape a program that, for the past 10 years, has been positively influencing other young people to think and act like entrepreneurs.

There have been a few watershed moments in my life and one of them was being asked to lead the Sands Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership in its first year. At the time I was busy running a real estate company and education was not on my mind, but the opportunity to give to others what has proven to be so valuable in my own life was something I simply could not pass up. I was honored to be asked and to contribute in the ways I did, and I have been inspired to watch as leadership advanced and the program grew beyond what I ever thought possible.  

There are so many elements to entrepreneurship, but there are three foundational components that present an extraordinary growth opportunity—failure, risk, and alignment.  

The Power of Failure 
In a world where schools and employers talk a good game about embracing and accepting failure, actual experiences for most of us land far from this espoused value. Make a mistake and break expensive equipment in a manufacturing facility and there will be no applause. Work in a restaurant kitchen and overcook an expensive cut of steak and you will likely be relegated to chopping vegetables. Yet despite the sometimes negative repercussions of failure, we all know that we learn more from our mistakes than from our successes. We also know the best way to build resilience is to take risks, put yourself out there, and if you fail, extract the lesson from it and move on stronger for it.  

Every aspiring entrepreneur can share stories about their failures—that time when they realized their idea was already out there, that someone had beaten them to it, or the time when they realized they couldn’t make payroll. These are the moments of truth all entrepreneurs face. Will you give up or step up, roll over or dig deep and grow through it, find a way?  That is how resilience is built, and it all starts with desire, an idea, and the willingness to dare to try. Entrepreneurs don’t talk about things; they do things. They take the first step and work like hell to keep moving. Discovering for themselves that they can survive failure and grow from it shapes lives.  

Understanding Risk and Knowing When to Act 
Risk is inevitable. Even when not consciously aware, we are taking risks all the time. Even though entrepreneurs are often miscategorized as “crazy” risk-takers, the good ones are risk underwriters. They go to great lengths to understand risk and then calibrate their plan of attack accordingly. 

Although CEL embraces risk as part of its students’ learning experience, they are not being taught to be reckless. They are not being told to just act and not worry about the consequences. The CEL experience is about helping students learn how to approach things with rigor and do their homework. The concepts and principles that underpin risk assessment are woven into core subject areas and applied, not just in entrepreneurial endeavors, but across other academic and extra-curricular activities.

Finding Personal Alignment
Preparing students by allowing them to make mistakes and learn from them, and to use that and other skills to underwrite risks and deliver value is not enough. Yes, we can prepare them to be effective, resourceful, resilient people, but if they dedicate themselves to a path that is out of alignment with who they are, they will suffer avoidable setbacks and will fail to self-actualize. In my work, this is the most overlooked area. People learn how to perform well in a role or to launch a business, only to find that it isn’t what they thought. If the path you choose does not allow you to be good or great AND to like or love the work, you will be forced to rely on discipline and willpower to persevere. When there is alignment, however, you no longer have to rely on willpower. You have purpose and joy on your side.   

“I wish I had this when I was young” was something we heard regularly from parents in the early days of CEL, and the idea of learning early is a central component of the program’s design. Having the chance to start a venture when you are in Middle School or Upper School, when the stakes are low and failure is not fatal, is invaluable. Offering students the opportunity to approach potential interests as projects—with a beginning, middle, and end—helps to clarify for them what they might be good or great at, what they might like or love. Weaving in experiences that incorporate opportunity and risk builds critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, communication, and other skills that will serve students for a lifetime.  

Most adults spend a lifetime learning about failure, risk, and alignment, often falling short, and almost always enduring otherwise avoidable pain in the process. The fact that these foundational components are woven into the CEL student experience when minds are still forming is beyond rare. It sets SCH far apart from others, and most importantly, puts our students on a path to self-actualize.  

It was a privilege to be part of CEL. It has shaped my life and work every day since. Far more importantly, it is a powerful force in the development of the students at SCH, including my own children, for which I am endlessly grateful.  

by Mark Greenberg P’23, P’25, P’28 | Founder & CEO, BuildEd
Former Executive Director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership

Over the past 10 years, the Sands Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership (CEL) has become a cornerstone of the SCH educational experience. It is a program as substantial in its educational content as in its inspirational impact. In celebration of the CEL's 10th anniversary coming this May, we are publishing a commemorative booklet with the voices of those thought leaders who have had a role in shaping the CEL since its inception. We look forward to sharing these articles leading up to CEL’s milestone event as it continues to provide opportunity, devise creative solutions, effect positive change, and more for the future of education at SCH Academy.

Learn more: www.sch.org/cel