Entrepreneurial Leadership Program
Entrepreneurial concepts and thinking are a schoolwide focus, and beginning in ninth grade, students may choose to be part of our four-year Entrepreneurial Leadership Program. It is the nation's first four-year, secondary school entrepreneurship program in the country, and courses include:
- Speech (.5 credit, part of Freshman Year Seminar Class)
- Economics of Business (.5 credit)
- Applied Models of Economics Honors (1 credit)* - Offered in 12th grade
- Elective Courses (must choose 2)
- Business Communication (.5 credit)
- Fabrication and Design Methods (.5 credit)
- Leadership for Entrepreneurs (.5 credit)
- Marketing for Entrepreneurs (.5 credit)
- Managerial Finance (.5 credit)
- Microeconomics (.5 credit)
- Macroeconomics (.5 credit)
All Upper School students may take EL classes as electives; however, a student must complete two hours of EL credits and Applied Models of Economics to graduate with the EL distinction.
Senior Capstone
The program’s four-year course progression culminates in the senior capstone class, Applied Models of Economics. Capstone students work with local entrepreneurs in the first semester to gain real-world experience and then create their own ventures in the second semester. At the end of the year, students compete in a shark-tank-like competition that is judged by a well-known panel of Nashville entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.
Entrepreneurial Leadership Faculty

Monica Laird
Assistant Director of Entrepreneurial Leadership
Yarbrough Family Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership
The Yarbrough Family Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, inside the Sondra Morris and Robert N. Moore, Jr. '52 Center for Arts and Entrepreneurship, features board rooms designed for client meetings and pitches; multiple collaborative learning spaces, where student teams can work together to solve critical questions; office space for future entrepreneurs-in-residence; and a makerspace outfitted with state-of-the-art technology to engineer and produce student prototypes.
'Big transformations': How students learn to pitch startups in BGA's EL Program
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about 'Big transformations': How students learn to pitch startups in BGA's EL Program
BGA Hosts Symposium on Sustainability in Entrepreneurship: Public is Invited
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about BGA Hosts Symposium on Sustainability in Entrepreneurship: Public is Invited
BGA to Host Williamson, Inc.'s Economic Summit, "Outlook Williamson," April 27
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about BGA to Host Williamson, Inc.'s Economic Summit, "Outlook Williamson," April 27 (opens in new window/tab)