Every year, the students who participate in the Stumberg Venture Competition stun the audience with their creativity, resilience and professionalism. How did they come up with that idea? How did they learn to make a prototype and a business plan, and then anticipate and answer the judges’ questions so well? How did they learn to think like that?
If you have ever dreamed about becoming an entrepreneur and the founder of a successful company competing in the Stumberg and yet your schedule or other plans have kept you from taking this path at Trinity, we still want you to have an opportunity to learn to think like an entrepreneur.
In a new partnership with San Antonio’s own unique Pearl District and the world-famous Culinary Institute of America (CIA, located in the Pearl), Trinity University is offering a small group of students the opportunity to attend the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp from Jan. 5 to 11, 2026. No previous experience or coursework with entrepreneurship required. All you have to have is (1) a desire to learn how to think like an entrepreneur and (2) a commitment to full participation in seven days of learning and teamwork here in San Antonio. Thanks to a generous donor, there is no cost for Trinity students chosen to participate. The university will provide your on-campus housing and meals during this period, and participants will be allowed to move back to campus one week early.
The idea of the bootcamp is that small teams of Trinity and CIA students will combine to spend a week imagining, designing, sourcing, pricing and marketing a mystery product… and you won’t know what that product is until the Bootcamp has already started. By determining the product for you, the Bootcamp will take most of the “what” out of the equation so you and your team can focus on the “how.” Think “Top Chef” meets “Shark Tank.”
Instead of Shark Tank’s judges, though, your judges will be the folks visiting the Pearl on the weekend. And instead of learning on your own, you will have expert teachers and business leaders guiding you along the way throughout the previous week.
Sound intriguing? Navigate to bit.ly/TUEntrepreneurshipBootcamp (or scan the QR codes on campus advertisements and in this newspaper) to get more details about how to apply for the program.
This new partnership brings together three of San Antonio’s most dynamic communities–Trinity, the Pearl and the CIA — for a week of creativity, collaboration, and challenge. You’ll return to campus with new skills, new connections and a fresh perspective on how innovation happens in real time in the real world. You will also have an amazing story to tell future employers along with a certificate of completion and a new group of friends.
We can’t wait to see what you and your team cook up.
