This hip hop institute wants to teach the subsequent era of entrepreneurs - CNNMoney

Tayyib Smith, cofounder of The Institute of Hip Hop Entrepreneurship. the realm sees Dr. Dre, Jay Z, Sean Combs, Kanye West and Nas as hip-hop artists. Tayyib Smith also sees them as a business lesson for aspiring entrepreneurs.

"Hip-hop, extra so than some other style, embodies the spirit of entrepreneurship," noted Smith, who is launching a application called the Institute of Hip Hop Entrepreneurship in Philadelphia. "Our intention is to decode how hip hop has influenced average enterprise practices."

The 9-month program is geared for younger americans from underserved communities who want to delivery a business but lack the funding or working towards to do so.

"some distance too often, younger americans with actual ambitions are neglected by means of present educational and business classes," talked about Smith, a Philadelphia native. "this is for them."

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Smith, 45, is involved in making a small company curriculum that generously borrows from the entrepreneurial journeys of individuals like Dr. Dre.

"Dre increased Beats into a headphones empire earlier than promoting it to Apple for $three billion," mentioned Smith, who labored within the track industry for a decade.

Sean Combs, he said, converted guys's city fashion with his Sean John brand and is now "doing it in the alcohol industry with his joint venture with Diageo."

Tayyib Smith (appropriate) with DJ wealthy Medina.

The weekend business program may be free for all accredited college students. Smith wants to eschew the typical structured educating mannequin and replace with a more experiential setup. So as a substitute of lectures and checks, the institute will partner with entrepreneurs, musicians and technologists, who will teach courses infused with their own experiences.

"on the same time, w e will also center of attention intensely on building a enterprise, from enterprise proposals and advertising plans, to staffing and finding funding," Smith observed.

The most excellent intention is to have the pupil-entrepreneurs able to pitch their organizations to buyers.

Smith expects the primary class of 36 students might be ready within the fall, although he's nevertheless within the early stages of getting the software off the ground. To spur it alongside, he changed into lately awarded $308,000 by the Knight groundwork, which funds resourceful ideas to improve communities.

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looking again, Smith pointed out his personal unconventional story convinced him in regards to the need for alternative programs. Smith become homeschooled for a long time. In his senior year, he dropped out to be a part of the Navy and earned his GED. He due to this fact went to faculty but d ropped out in his second semester.

"i was rebellious, but I also had dyslexia," he mentioned. "In hindsight, I've realized that many individuals who're dyslexic have a tendency to gravitate toward entrepreneurship."

Smith turned into always obsessed with music. It led him to an entry job with song construction enterprise Axis track community. "It become the most effective arms-on gaining knowledge of in regards to the song enterprise," he stated.

He went on to colaunch a journal that situated round tune, artwork and culture known as 215 magazine before cofounding branding agency Little colossal inventive.

"i'm not somebody who would have ever been approved to Wharton," he talked about. "but 10 years in the past, I additionally couldn't have imagined doing every little thing that I actually have completed."