Entrepreneurship Program Lead

Farm & Forge Club•College Grove, TN

About The Position

Farm & Forge is seeking an entrepreneur, educator, and program builder to design, launch, operate, and grow its Entrepreneurship Program. This is a sole-leader role responsible for the program’s vision and day-to-day execution, including daily programming, student coaching, operations, partnerships, recruitment support, and communication with families and leadership. It is not a traditional business-teaching or classroom position: students will identify real opportunities, create or acquire businesses, work with customers, manage finances, use emerging technology, and build companies that generate revenue. The program aims for graduates to identify a problem worth solving, build or acquire a business, gain paying customers, and demonstrate measurable results. Revenue is one measure of progress, alongside judgment, character, and financial literacy. The role includes building a multi-year program progression, coaching a small, selective cohort, guiding ventures from idea to operation, developing community partnerships, supporting recruitment and enrollment, tracking student and venture performance, and establishing safeguards for minors operating real businesses. Success includes establishing a high-quality program with clear systems and standards; meeting recruitment and enrollment goals; helping every student operate a live venture with customer discovery, sales, paying customers, and accurate financial records by the end of year one; developing students’ entrepreneurial skills and independence; and earning strong confidence among students, families, mentors, and leadership.

Requirements

Real experience with customers and revenue through starting, acquiring, operating, or growing a business; running a side business; selling freelance or consulting services; helping operate a family business; holding revenue or P&L responsibility; or coaching students who successfully launched and sold something.
Practical understanding of sales, marketing, finance, operations, and strategy developed through hands-on experience.
Ability to coach young people with clear standards and accountability.
Experience independently managing a business, program, or team without a large support staff, including overseeing multiple student ventures simultaneously.
Strong organizational, interpersonal, and communication skills, including experience speaking with prospective families and representing programs publicly.
Proficiency with modern business technology and AI tools, with an understanding of responsible use.
Sound judgment, high integrity, and commitment to ethical business practices.
Ability to pass all required background checks.

Nice To Haves

Experience as a founder, small-business owner, startup operator, executive, investor, or consultant.
Experience coaching, mentoring, or teaching middle- or high-school students, or working in an accelerator, incubator, or project-based learning environment.
Experience with business acquisition, recruitment, or program growth.
A public body of work, such as writing, video, an established following, or documented business launches.
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience; an advanced degree is welcome but not required.

Responsibilities

Build and lead the program from the ground up, including curriculum, operating systems, project expectations, assessment methods, the annual calendar, and a multi-year progression.
Set measurable standards for participation, skills, customer activity, revenue, and profitability, and hold students accountable.
Manage the program budget, tools, subscriptions, and events, and refine the program based on student outcomes and feedback.
Lead daily programming for a small, selective cohort and coach students as they create, acquire, launch, and operate businesses.
Teach practical skills as needed, including opportunity evaluation, market research, business models, sales, marketing, operations, accounting, negotiation, and professional communication.
Help students develop pro formas, pricing models, sales plans, and pitch materials.
Hold students accountable for deadlines, commitments, ethical conduct, and measurable progress while fostering initiative, resilience, responsible risk-taking, and high standards.
Guide students from business ideas to functioning ventures with real products or services and paying customers.
Help students assess whether to create a new venture, acquire an existing business, or improve a family business, and test ideas using evidence.
Regularly review student financials, customer pipelines, and business performance.
Help students responsibly use AI and AI agents, coding, robotics, video, digital marketing, and Farm & Forge’s maker and STEM resources.
Ensure students retain appropriate ownership of the businesses and intellectual property they create, subject to applicable agreements and legal requirements.
Recruit entrepreneurs, business owners, investors, attorneys, accountants, and marketers to support student ventures.
Coordinate guest speakers, mentors, judges, and partners without relying on them to operate the program.
Identify local businesses that can provide student projects, acquisition opportunities, customers, or real-world learning experiences.
Prepare students to communicate professionally with customers and partners and represent Farm & Forge in the regional business community.
Document student activity, including launches, milestones, failures, and sales, and provide families with evidence of progress and marketing with meaningful stories.
Partner with marketing on messaging and recruitment, help establish enrollment goals, and contribute to a strong pipeline of prospective students.
Support student selection to ensure each cohort is motivated, capable, and a strong fit for the program.
Participate in recruitment events, family meetings, and tours.
Maintain organized records of student goals, milestones, revenue, expenses, customers, and progress.
Build and maintain a Founder Dashboard showing students, families, and leadership student progress and venture performance.
Provide regular written updates to families and the Executive Director of Academics.
Establish and enforce safeguards for minors operating real businesses, including financial controls, contracts and signing authority, online activity, taxes, safety, privacy, and customer interactions, while adults maintain legal responsibility.
Establish and consistently operate a high-quality program with calendars, systems, and standards.
Support achievement of annual recruitment and enrollment goals.
Help every student operate a live venture with customer discovery, sales, paying customers, and accurate financial records by the end of year one.
Develop students’ entrepreneurial skills, professionalism, and independence, and contribute to strong satisfaction, program reputation, demand, and retention.