What is Course Pioneer?

Course Pioneer is a new and innovative program that focuses on instructing and guiding business and entrepreneurially minded teens and pre-teens to make them more competitive among their peers. Through small class sizes, specialized mentorship, and a results-focused program, Course Pioneer aims to sharpen core skills which allow students to become either entrepreneurs, or leaders in their fields.

Dan Salganik, the founder of Course Pioneer, is a recent college graduate with a history of starting businesses. From his first small-scale t-shirt business that he started in high-school, to FunderHut, an online community fundraising platform raising thousands of dollars through successful projects, Dan has been able to take what he has learned and apply it to his teaching. Dan has spent years learning and training to teach a wide variety of students in a way that goes beyond just pen and paper. He has also spoken at numerous panels, conferences, and events with attendance in the hundreds. Dan has many unique ideas and is enthusiastic about the growth of his program. He plans to expand by adding more locations and hiring more specialized teachers. He also wants to create a way to eventually get students, as well as small business owners, connected to one another.

The vision is to create a community of young entrepreneurs that will be connected through our program. As we grow as a company, the plan will be to launch more classes that offer a unique array of hard and soft skills. This is just the ground floor and there is much more to come.

The goal of Course Pioneer is to offer business-related classes that are typically not offered in junior high and high school, such as Entrepreneurship, Public Speaking, and Social Enterprise. Each class in the Course Pioneer program will offer a unique set of skills taught by a college student or young professional that is highly specialized in their field. The goal is to have the class be relatable to the younger students by a mentor/teacher that understands the trends and interactions of the students.

Course Pioneer classes will feature a unique hands-on lesson plan that not only teaches students, but gets them thinking. The goal of the classes will be to get students to go beyond what they learn in the classroom and apply it in a real world setting. Classes such as the entrepreneurship course will not only teach students the essential skills that they need to know when coming up with or launching a business, but will also teach them about unique trends, how to build a business from an idea, reaching the customer, understanding failure, thinking outside the box, social responsibility, and much more. Public speaking is a course built around getting students comfortable speaking amongst their peers. Through many exercises, speeches, improvisation games, and gradual learning methods, students should find themselves more comfortable speaking in front of colleagues. Social Enterprise focuses on building a stronger community through socially responsible non-profits and for-profits. We will explore the sustainability model of triple bottom line, visit unique non-profits, and hear from the founders themselves to see what they did to become successful in their endeavors. Most Course Pioneer classes build up to a final “project” or presentation which is later presented as a graduation to the course. Family of the students, as well as local business owners are welcome to take part in the accomplishments of the students by watching as they present what they learned.