Entrepreneurship, business and creativity are evolving on campus with a new program, INCubator. The class gives students opportunities they thought were never available in an environment similar to the TV show, Shark Tank.

A startup incubator is a collaborative program designed to help new business startups succeed. INCubator is a program that provides these same opportunities that are available for real-life entrepreneurs, to high school students.

Senior Hunter Gibble is one of about 70 students enrolled in the new course and is excited to take full advantage of the opportunities it offers.

“I saw INCubator as an opportunity to not only impress colleges, but also to gain some experience while the risk is very low,” Gibble said.

According to INCubator, 94 percent of the millennial generation believe that entrepreneurship education is important. Now that the program is available in high schools, teenagers are given the option to not only learn about business and entrepreneurship but also use real investor funding to help develop their creative ideas.

“We can actually get real money,” Gibble said. “We start a business with a real product and a real plan and a real future, then it can actually turn into a real moneymaking business.”

This program allows students to not only create a business, but use it to tackle issues they are passionate about and motivated to work on.

“One of the problems on the earth right now is conventional energy. We’re killing the earth,” Gibble said. “My group wants to enter the renewable energy industry because we feel it’s an important issue that not enough companies in America focus on.”

INCubator is only available in 15 states across the country and is motivating students to strive to achieve goals they may have thought weren’t attainable. Teenagers are directly involved with investor money and opportunity that drives them to shape their future.

“Ever since I was young I realized that I like managing things,” Gibble said. “We’re still forming groups and figuring out what problems to tackle and what products to create but I think it will give me a good knowledge of how to run a business which will be extremely helpful for my future, I’m very excited.”

Close to 50 local business owners will partner with the program, and 18 have committed to meet with student teams each week throughout the school year to help them troubleshoot challenges.

“LISD values innovative educational opportunities. I’m delighted that we can give students this chance to really experience the principles other students only read about or learn in theory,” faculty adviser Dana Jones said.  “It’s been a pleasure to see the business owners teach the students.”