Artificial intelligence is changing how businesses operate, how entrepreneurs launch companies, and increasingly, how students learn. As AI becomes embedded across industries, business schools face an important challenge:

How do you prepare students for a workplace where AI is part of nearly every workflow?

At the Kogod School of Business, Professor Tommy White is helping answer that question by redesigning entrepreneurship education around AI. Rather than treating artificial intelligence as a separate topic, White has integrated AI directly into the startup-building process, encouraging students to use the technology the same way entrepreneurs increasingly do in the real world.

How Is AI Changing Entrepreneurship Education?

Entrepreneurship has always required creativity, resilience, and adaptability. What has changed is the toolkit available to founders.

Today's entrepreneurs use AI to conduct market research, analyze competitors, generate content, create financial projections, build prototypes, and automate routine tasks. The technology has become a powerful accelerator for early-stage businesses.

As AI adoption grows, entrepreneurship education must evolve alongside it. Students need more than theoretical knowledge of artificial intelligence. They need practical experience using AI to solve business problems and make strategic decisions.

Preparing students for entrepreneurship now means preparing them to work alongside AI.

What Does an AI-Powered Entrepreneurship Classroom Look Like?

Professor Tommy White transformed his Entrepreneurship Business Plan course (MGMT-483) to better reflect how modern startups operate.

Rather than limiting AI use, students are encouraged to incorporate artificial intelligence throughout the process of developing their business ideas. They use AI to brainstorm concepts, conduct research, test assumptions, and refine business strategies.

The goal is not to have AI do the work for students. Instead, students learn how to use the technology effectively while developing entrepreneurial judgment.

This approach mirrors the reality facing today's founders. According to recent U.S. Chamber of Commerce reporting, nearly 60 percent of small businesses already use AI tools in some capacity.

By integrating AI into coursework, students gain experience with the technologies they are likely to encounter throughout their careers.

Why Is Learning Through Failure Important for Entrepreneurs?

Entrepreneurship rarely follows a predictable path.

Successful founders often learn through experimentation, setbacks, and iteration. White has designed his classroom around that reality, emphasizing learning through action rather than focusing solely on traditional deliverables.

Students are encouraged to test ideas, explore different approaches, and learn from failure. Evaluation focuses less on whether a business idea succeeds and more on how students approach challenges, adapt, and apply what they learn.

As White explains, "Whether they succeed or fail is not the end of the course. It's more about: how much did you try? Did you fail? What did you learn from that experience?"

This emphasis on experimentation reflects both entrepreneurship and AI adoption, where learning often comes through continuous testing and refinement.

How Can Entrepreneurs Use AI to Build and Grow Businesses?

A key component of the course Professor White teaches involves helping students develop fluency with AI tools.

White spends significant time exploring platforms such as Perplexity AI, which all Kogod students, faculty, and staff can access through enterprise-level licenses. Students learn how to interact effectively with AI systems, evaluate responses, and improve outputs through better prompting.

Prompt engineering—the process of crafting effective instructions for AI systems—has become an increasingly valuable skill in business environments.

Students also engage with custom AI chatbots designed to support brainstorming, concept development, and problem-solving throughout the entrepreneurial process.

These experiences help students move beyond basic AI familiarity and develop the ability to use technology strategically.

How Is AI Changing the Role of Business Professors?

Perhaps the most significant shift in White's classroom is his changing role.

Rather than serving primarily as a content provider, he increasingly acts as a coach and mentor who helps students navigate challenges, ask better questions, and apply what they learn.

As White explains, "I'm extracting myself as a content provider, but I'm a coach and a mentor to them in the classroom. I'm getting them to learn it, getting them to practice it, and then they come to me with questions about it. That's going to be the model of the future."

This approach reflects a broader transformation occurring across higher education. As information becomes more accessible through AI tools, instructors can spend more time helping students think critically, solve problems, and apply knowledge in real-world situations.

How Is Kogod Integrating AI Across Business Education?

White's course is part of a broader AI transformation taking place throughout the Kogod School of Business.

Approximately 90 percent of Kogod faculty have integrated AI into their courses in some form. Theschool's AI initiative includes curriculum updates, new coursework, faculty training, and expanded access to AI tools.

Students encounter AI across disciplines and gain experience using technology in business contexts ranging from entrepreneurship and management to analytics, finance, marketing, and sustainability.

This integration reflects Kogod's belief that AI literacy is becoming a core business skill rather than a specialized technical capability.

What Does AI Mean for Future Business Leaders?

The future of business will require professionals who can effectively collaborate with both people and technology.

Entrepreneurs, managers, and innovators will need to understand how to evaluate AI outputs, make strategic decisions, communicate effectively, and apply human judgment where technology falls short.

By combining hands-on AI experience with entrepreneurship education, Kogod is helping students develop the adaptability, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills needed for a rapidly evolving business environment.

The goal is not simply to teach students how to use AI. It is to help them become leaders who can use technology thoughtfully to create, innovate, and solve meaningful problems.