Big IDEAS is more than a curriculum. It is a person-centered approach designed with entrepreneurs’ needs in mind. The Big IDEAS curriculum was created by business leaders around the country to help them develop an action plan for creating sustainable businesses. Step by step, the Inspire, Develop, Execute, Accelerate, and Scale stages teach vital concepts. As they participate in this series, entrepreneurs learn to create a business model, develop a problem statement, evaluate customer clarity, assess the profitability of their offerings, promote team engagement, leverage key partnerships, optimize the supply chain, and more!

Big IDEAS is a model that is continuous, experiential, and individualized. It provides a new way forward that is rooted in collaboration, culture, and a community of support.

Where are you on your journey?

To find out, follow the Big IDEAS cycle.
Click a letter below to learn more.

INSPIRE

The Inspire stage is a safe place to explore your curiosities about entrepreneurship and strengthen your entrepreneurial mindset.

This is where you can ask and investigate questions like “Is entrepreneurship for me? Is this idea worth building on? How do I create a business plan?” Together we will help you answer these questions and get you on the path to starting a successful business. During this stage, you will:

Establish your BIG IDEA
Develop your Business Plan
Identify your target customer

In this stage, we offer services such as:

GMEN — GoDaddy training
Website development academies
And other exciting programs to help you along your entrepreneurial journey

DEVELOP

This is the most critical stage in building a sustainable business. It is where you will lay the building blocks for the next stages. Together we will perform a detailed analysis of the problem you are trying to solve, identify and test the market, and assess the level of demand. In this stage, you will:

Complete a customer discovery process
Develop a working business model
Establish a minimal viable product or service

During this stage, we’ll offer services such as:

The Building your Brand Academy
An accounting and trademarking session
And other exciting programs to help you along your entrepreneurial journey

EXECUTE

EXECUTION trumps EVERYTHING in business. You DO. Then you LEARN!

Most startups fail. Why? They start executing before they have a sound business model. What about you? Have you discovered a scalable and profitable business model yet? After the Customer Discovery Bootcamp, you will have identified the core of your business model—your customer segment and value proposition. Or you may discover there isn’t one. And that’s OK, too. It’s better to find out now than after spending years and a fortune, only to discover you were wrong.

In this stage, we offer services such as:

Access to RICE partners and resources as needed.
And other exciting programs to help you along your entrepreneurial journey

ACCELERATE

The Accelerate stage is the marathon that helps you build a stronger business model. This is where you have to change the pace at which you plan for scale and manage risk. During this stage, we will prepare your business to take on high-growth opportunities in various markets. In this stage, you’ll explore:

Evaluate product or service operations
Create a portrait of your customer base
Implement an IP strategy

In this stage, we offer services such as:

A deep-dive business analysis plan with help from partners like Chase Bank
B2G, B2C, and B2B academy intensives
And other exciting programs to help you along your entrepreneurial journey

SCALE

Entrepreneurs who demonstrate a deep knowledge of their customers and markets while achieving strong traction are our Pacesetter companies in the Scale stage of the Big IDEAS continuum.

In this stage, we demand your best, both professionally and personally.

Pacesetters focus on evidence-based, experiential, applied execution to build your business. So the Pacesetters Studio is designed to maximize session time with shared coaching and community building. Each business will be assigned a quarterback coach to help solve problems, access important resources, and keep you connected.

In this stage, we offer services such as:

Access to your personal office space at RICE
CEO roundtables with RICE partners
Access to the RICE Speaker Series
1-on-1s with RICE entrepreneurs-in-residence
And other exciting programs to help you along your entrepreneurial journey.

TWO-YEAR EXPERIENCE

SIGNATURE CURRICULUM

Pacesetters Studio is RICE’s premier program for the entrepreneurs in our community that supports 10 growth-stage Black-led companies selected for a two-year in-house entrepreneur studio experience. Anchored by Ernst and Young’s trademarked Velocity platform and RICE’s signature curriculum, Pacesetters collaborate with some of the biggest names in business. These high-potential companies receive superior access and support in wraparound services to accelerate and strengthen their growth, profitability, and scale. Partner organizations include Google, Chase Bank, Accenture, King and Spalding, and others that believe in creating jobs, strengthening the community, increasing wealth, and setting the pace for others to follow.