During this opening session, participants will examine their professional histories through an entrepreneurial lens, identifying the skills, relationships, and hard-won knowledge they already carry as founder assets.

Samantha Karlin, founder of Empower Global and the Women’s Leadership Challenge, will drive much of the morning session. Leaning on her own deep entrepreneurial experience and understanding of feminist leadership principles, Samantha will explore entrepreneurship as a form of leadership and draw direct connections between feminist principles and the values at the heart of the impact economy, including shared power, community accountability, and building ventures that are structurally designed to leave people better off.

As participants continue to uncover the entrepreneurial skills they’ve unintentionally developed throughout their careers, this session begins to explore the founder’s mindset and how it can be taught.

Samantha Karlin of Empower Global and the Women’s Leadership Challenge returns to guide participants through the inner work of developing a growth mindset and leading from uncertainty. She will explore what it takes to move forward with confidence when the path ahead isn’t yet clear, and how to draw on everything you’ve already survived as the foundation for what you’re about to build.

Why does the world need more impact entrepreneurs? During this session, participants will uncover the difference between the extractive logic that drives the dominant startup culture and the regenerative approach that defines the impact economy.

BTI is thrilled to welcome Laurie Lane-Zucker, a pioneer in the impact entrepreneurship field, to guide this session. Leaning on his recently published book, the Impact Entrepreneur Breakthrough, Laurie will introduce participants to the impact entrepreneur as a distinct identity – differentiated from that of the social entrepreneur or even that of the conscious capitalist. The impact entrepreneur is defined not just by good intentions, but by a commitment to structural innovation in service of systemic transformation. Laurie will also offer a high-level introduction of the impact economy and how it is not just a softer version of the mainstream economy, but an emerging replacement for it.

This session will build on the definition of the Impact Entrepreneur shared in Session 3 by talking about the type of regenerative ventures needed to build the Impact Economy. This session will bridge the gap from identify to architecture and explore what a venture looks like when it is structurally designed to serve communities rather than extract from them.

Laurie Lane-Zucker returns to examine the difference between regeneration and sustainability, introduce the frameworks that give impact entrepreneurship its structural shape, and make the case that asking, “does it work?” is never enough. Beyond enterprise design and ownership models, Laurie will make the argument that investments in the foundations of the impact economy generates measurable returns and facilitates lasting security.

Participants will leave this session with a preliminary understanding of the business models, ownership structures, and design principles available to them as impact builders, and a clearer sense of what it means to build something that doesn’t just do less harm but actively heals.

An important piece of the architecture of the Impact Economy are the very ventures built by impact entrepreneurs. From the organizational structures and ownership models you select, to the type of funding you pursue, the choices you make as you build a new venture lay the foundation for your organization’s ability to maintain a tight hold on your mission and values long after you, as a founder, has moved on.  

During this session, participants will explore the organization structures and financial landscape for mission-driven ventures. This session will cover nonprofit, for-profit, and hybrid structures, common funding sources, and the key tradeoffs founders face when choosing a financial model. This is a huge topic, and this session is a high-level introduction to the vast scope of options available to mission-driven entrepreneurs designed to empower you to dig deeper.

Every great impact enterprise starts with a clear plan, but turning a mission into a viable business is easier said than done.

During this session, prospective founders will see how the Business Model Canvas, designed for Impact, is a practical tool to help them begin to map out their value proposition, target beneficiaries, revenue streams, and intended impact all in one place. We’ll explore how this framework can help founders to think holistically about both financial sustainability and social or environmental outcomes from the beginning, rather than treating impact as an afterthought.

The journey doesn’t end when the program does. In this closing session, participants will discuss some of the important resources within the impact entrepreneurship ecosystem, including the networks, tools, and communities that can support your journey moving forward.

The future is ours when we build it together!

Live virtual sessions will be held on the following days in September 2026:

Monday, September 21: 10am – 3:30pm ET
(lunch from 12:30-1:30pm ET)

Wednesday, September 23: 10am – 3:30pm ET
(lunch from 12:30-1:30pm ET)

Friday, September 25: 10am – 12:30pm ET

Participants will be sent links to virtual meetings and invited to an online platform which will include supplemental reading, reflection prompts, and resources.

$500 includes all workshops and materials, with ongoing access to the curriculum platform after the program.

Thanks to the generosity of the BTI community, a limited number of scholarships are available – apply here.

The Foundations of Impactful Entrepreneurship will include 12 hours of live workshops during the week.

Participants will also be encouraged to watch short videos and complete self assessments and reflection exercises before and after the sessions. The course includes access to an online platform through which BTI will share additional resources and readings participants can explore as their schedules permit.