About GWI > Mission

Ignite your Future with the GWI Innovation Academy

Register by October 6

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Register by October 6 ☆

GWI x MCPS 10-Week Academy Starting week of October 7 GWI x MCPS 10-Week Academy Starting week of October 7 GWI x MCPS 10-Week Academy Starting week of October 7 GWI x MCPS 10-Week Academy Starting week of October 7
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GWI x MCPS 10-Week Academy Starting week of October 7
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Program Overview:

Welcome to the Girls With Impact 10-Week Business and Leadership Academy, the nation’s only live, online mini-MBA program designed with leaders from Harvard University. This dynamic and engaging program empowers young women, ages 14-24, to turn their passions into real-world ventures, whether it be a business, non-profit, or impactful project.

What You'll Gain:

  • Personalized Coaching: Benefit from the guidance of a dedicated coach who will help you navigate and develop your ideas.

  • Entrepreneurial Skills: Discover why entrepreneurship is crucial for success in any career path and gain the skills needed to excel.

  • Confidence and Competence: Build the confidence and competence to stand out from the crowd and make a significant impact in your community and beyond.

Class Schedule:

Classes run the week of October 7 to December 9. Choose from the following sessions:

  • Tuesdays 7pm/EST

  • Wednesdays 4:30pm/EST

  • Wednesdays 8pm/EST

Limited spots available. Enroll by October 4 to confirm your spot in the Academy.

Note: If you are enrolling more than one student, you must fill in an enrollment form for each student.

Los Angeles Unified School District logo with seal of LAUSD, including a sun, flags, and the words "LAUSD Ready for the World"

Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has partnered with Girls with Impact to offer LAUSD young women in grades 9-12 a FREE 10-week course in Business and Leadership.

Bring an idea to life in ten-weeks. Through our live, online classes — led by your dedicated business instructor -- we help you find your passion and guide you to build your dream project, provide awesome networking, and arm you with the know-how and gain the confidence to make things happen

Developed with Harvard leaders, our ‘mini-MBA’ program equips girls with the skills, knowledge and confidence to become the leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators of tomorrow.

About the GWI Innovation Academy

Program Details

  • Develop a venture idea (no idea, no problem!)

  • 10 1-hour classes + 9 activities = a lifetime of success

  • Live and online - small classes led by expert instructors

  • Access instructors 1:1 as needed

  • Classes evenings / weekends (from where ever you are!)

  • Access all materials and class recordings online

  • Graduation ceremony and certificate

Why Join?

  • Set yourself apart

  • Boost your confidence

  • Build leadership and public speaking skills

  • Innovate and make an impact

  • It's flexible - attend from anywhere!

How To Leverage It?

  • How to Leverage Your GWI Experience:

  • Make it your Capstone or Community Service Requirement

  • Top extra-curricular in college applications

  • Incorporate into college essay, scholarship applications

  • Show initiative in college/internship interviews

  • Boost your resume

Hear from Our Students

  • I loved learning the best ways to fully understand my customers. I now know how important it is to establish a target market and ensure opportunities for my company.

    Isabella, 16, Maryland

  • Since moving to the United States at 16, I have dealt with the duality between following my dreams and juggling my monetary responsibilities. Statistically, I know that my professional journey might look different than some of my peers, but I will not let these numbers scare me or stop me from achieving my goals.

    Fernanda, 20, New York

  • My journey through this program has been truly transformative. Through the challenges and the hard work, I have come to realize that starting a business requires not only determination, but also a great deal of critical thinking and creativity.

    Jacelyne, 22, Ilinois

What You Learn & Create

We have created a robust and detailed program that covers a wide range of business topics and objectives.

A colorful table outlines a business startup process, divided into three main phases: Investigate, Innovate, Ignite. Each phase contains classes with objectives under Learn, Ask, and Create columns. The Investigate phase includes classes on ideation, design thinking, and vision statements. The Innovate phase covers value propositions, prototyping, and minimum viable products. The Ignite phase features marketing, business budgeting, and presentations. The table also has navigation tabs at the bottom labeled Graduation, Final Presentation, Business Plan, and Final Prototype.

FAQs

  • Below are the steps a student will go through:

    1 - Reserve a place – students fill in a short form and complete checkout with or without provided scholarship code to reserve their place

    2 - Introduction - Students recieve class information 2 weeks prior to the session start date

    3 - Attend Classes Online – Students meet for a live, engaging online class led by their coach

    4 - Updates - Students and Parents are updated with course status throughout the 5 or 10-weeks of live classes

    5 - Graduation - Students and their guests are invited to join a graduation event, live-online. Students are emailed digital certificates of completion.

    • Select your Start Date & Time from the product above

    • Fill out a 3-5-minute enrollment form

    • Click cart - upper right-hand corner

    • Mark your calendar!

  • The Innovation Academy: we should be specific

    "The live, online academy program consists of 9 live classes.

    Our summer live, online academy is 5 weeks"

  • A computer with internet access, smart device / Ipad to join the weekly live classes via video conference

    A computer with internet access to be able to complete the weekly assignments

    Webcam on the computer is preferable but not absolutely necessary

    A quiet place to attend class each week

  • 30 girls max. This allows us to have an engaging class with a powerful back-and-forth exchange

  • They are:

    Professionals experienced in entrepreneurship and business

    Hold an MBA and/or other related degrees

    Excited and committed to help young women succeed

  • Yes, standards are:

    Respect for others – listen without interruption and respond to communications within a 24-hour time period

    Attendance – Attend class on time and at the specified times

    No distractions — No eating or texting during class

  • Girls With Impact has two Mentorship programs available for all graduates after they complete the Academy Program. Student may opt into either of these programs at any time. See here for additional details on our mentorship programs.

  • Students must either attend, or watch the recordings, for ALL classes. The program is structured so that each class builds on the next and missing a class would result in key components of the program being missed.

    We provide students with bite-sized pre-recorded modules of each session within their Google Classroom course shell. If they have missed a class or expect to miss a class they can keep up with session by watching these modules.

    If a student is not going to be present for a live class, please inform your coach in advance.

  • Our program is referred to a “mini-MBA” because we educate girls on many concepts learned in a true MBA program. Our program also includes many personal development learnings.

    To view our curriculum overview, go here.

  • We say 2 hours a week for a lifetime of success.

    Classes are 50-60 minutes each.

    Weekly exercises or “BringBacks” to move your project forward take about 1 hour.

    The entire program is 10 weeks. Live classes are weekly for 9 weeks.

    Note – summer program is 5 weeks total (2 classes/week for 5 weeks, 4 hours/week commitment).