Turning Risk into Success:
An Entrepreneurship Program for Teenagers and Young Adults
“Turning Risk into Success”- TRIS– is a licensed 26-lesson hands-on course created by Dr. Curtis L. DeBerg. The TRIS course shows teenagers how to identify and operate their own business. Students’ businesses can be a commercial enterprise or a social enterprise.
Lessons are organized into five parts:
- The Big Picture
- Questions and Answers
- Taking Action
- Quiz Yourself
- What to Do Before the Next Lesson
How Teachers Can Use TRIS
- In a regular entrepreneurship class
- In an advanced entrepreneurship class
- In any CTE class (e.g., entrepreneurship “Fridays”)
- In a new student club after school
- In a community organization
- In a home school
During the TRIS course students will:
- Gain knowledge and skills to become a successful entrepreneur
- Implement project-based learning, with heavy influence on STEM areas
- Develop critical thinking of a business person
- Integrate computing skills (e.g. creating financial spreadsheets)
- Conduct research for career skills relevance (based on CTE standards)
- Design PitchDeck presentations to make TRIS content come to life
- Learn design thinking and brainstorming techniques to identify problems worth solving
After the TRIS course, students are eligible to participate in a Regional or National Tournaments. Students completing the course will receive a certificate of completion from HOPETRIS. If you are a teacher or adult ally interested in teaching this course, we encourage you to attend our next teacher training workshop, please contact Dr. DeBerg. After completing a training workshop, a teacher will receive a certificate of completion.