The IDEATE Method: the spark that ignites the virtuous cycle of entrepreneurship education at Wake Forest University

The IDEATE Method is a comprehensive approach to fostering entrepreneurship by focusing on idea quality as a starting point, leading to greater probability of the idea morphing first into a concept, and ultimately, a venture. The IDEATE Method represents a strategic shift from the past focus on mere idea generation to a more robust process of idea validation and selection. Previous research found that the IDEATE Method equips students with the skills to identify, evaluate, and select high potential entrepreneurial opportunities. If nascent entrepreneurs are armed with higher potential ideas, other facets of evidence-based entrepreneurship, such as customer discover, vapor testing, and hypothesis testing, are more likely to lead to validated concepts, and successful ventures. Students learn this approach, become successful entrepreneurs, then come back to campus to share their stories, serve as mentors to current students, and, in some cases, become donors, a system referred to as the virtuous cycle.