Case-Method Entrepreneurship Program
The Program
The Decisions That Shape a Venture
Real-world cases designed to sharpen how you think, decide, and lead as an entrepreneur.
The Entrepreneurial Stewardship of Austin is a thirteen-week Friday morning program built around twenty-six case discussions that follow the arc of an entrepreneurial venture from beginning to end: evaluating an opportunity, gathering resources and launching, growing the business, and harvesting the rewards.
Every class is a case.
You read the material in advance, come prepared to take a position, and spend the session defending it against classmates who have done the same. The method is Socratic – the faculty ask the questions; the participants do the work. What you leave with is not a set of notes but the habit of asking the right questions in the right order when the stakes are real and the information is incomplete.
THE QUESTION UNDER EVERY WEEK
Should I invest my money and my life in this venture?
The Journey
From Opportunity to Harvest
What you will work through
Opportunity
Who is the customer, how badly do they need this, and can you make and deliver it cheaply enough to make money? Where is the competition coming from, and is now the right time?
Launch
Time and cash are short. How do you gather the right resources, separate the urgent from the trivial, and execute the two or three things that actually matter?
Growth
What has to change in the business model to scale it? How do you keep everyone pointed at the same target without drowning the company in bureaucracy?
Harvest
Is it time to sell? What is the business worth, how do you negotiate for it, and was the journey worth taking?
Beyond Business
A Life of Meaning
Examine not only what you are building, but what you are building toward and what you are unwilling to sacrifice along the way.
Businesses cannot survive unless they make money, but a life is more than maximizing cash flow. These sessions ask what you are actually building toward, what you would refuse to trade for it, and how you would know if you were succeeding at business and failing at everything else. They draw on the same case method and the same demand for a decision – the difference is that the entrepreneur in the case is you.
Participants consistently describe these as the classes they think about longest. They are not a soft break in the middle of a hard program. They are the reason the rest of it is worth doing.
The Cohort
Who Belongs in the Room
Founders, owners, operators, aspiring entrepreneurs, and intrapreneurs willing to prepare, contribute, and have their thinking challenged.
This program is for people building businesses, running organizations, pursuing entrepreneurial ideas, or bringing entrepreneurial thinking and change to their current roles. No prior Acton experience is required. What is required is preparation, attendance, and the willingness to be wrong in front of a room.
Participants are admitted by application. We keep the group small deliberately: a case discussion only works when everyone in the room has done the reading and brings real experience, questions, or decisions to the discussion.
Think You Belong in the Room?
We’re looking for participants ready to prepare, contribute, and be challenged.
Experience, not theory
Learn From Those Who Have Built It.
Our faculty have built companies, led teams, deployed capital, and made decisions with real consequences.
Participants learn directly from founders who have successfully exited, entrepreneurs who have failed and rebuilt, and operators currently leading complex organizations. That range is deliberate, exposing you to multiple sides of building a business and lessons that only come from doing the work.
Meet a few of the entrepreneurs who will be in the room.
The Details
What You Need to Know
Dates & Schedule
February 5 – May 7, 2027
Case Discussion I
Break
8:20 – 8:40 AM
Case Discussion II
Format & Location
Thirteen weeks
Twenty-six cases · In person
Location: EO Offices, 901 W. 9th Street · Austin, TX
Tuition & Early Enrollment
Standard Tuition
$2,599
Early Enrollment Tuition
$1,999
For accepted participants who enroll by October 31, 2026
Apply for the 2027 Cohort
Join a small group of Austin business leaders and entrepreneurial thinkers willing to wrestle with the decisions that shape a venture and a life.
Application Process
Submit an application with a $99 application fee and a short video, up to five minutes, telling us who you are, what you’re currently building or working on, and why you want to participate in the program.
If you are not accepted, the application fee is refunded in full. If accepted, it is applied toward your tuition.
Applications are reviewed by a member of our faculty and ambassador group, followed by a brief conversation.
Join a small group of Austin business leaders and entrepreneurial thinkers willing to wrestle with the decisions that shape a venture and a life
27
Application Process
Three steps, from submission to your first case discussion.
01
Submit
Apply with a $99 fee and a short video, up to five minutes, on who you are, what you're building, and why you want in.
02
Review
Applications are reviewed by a member of our faculty and ambassador group, followed by a brief conversation.
03
Decision
If you are not accepted, the application fee is refunded in full. If accepted, it is applied toward your tuition.
FAQS
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is ESA for?
What does ESA cost?
Tuition for the 2027 cohort is $2,599. Accepted participants who enroll by October 31, 2026, receive an early bird discount. A $99 application fee is applied toward tuition if accepted and refunded in full if not accepted.
What makes ESA different?
ESA is built on the Acton MBA curriculum and taught by experienced entrepreneurs who have built, led, and invested in real businesses. The format is entirely Socratic so there are no lectures and no theory for its own sake. You learn by taking a position, defending your thinking, and being challenged by faculty and peers.
Does this program earn me a degree or certification?
You will receive a Certificate of Completion for the Entrepreneurial Journey course.
ESA intends to expand over time to offer the full curriculum based on the Acton MBA program, with the goal of allowing students to complete the full Acton curriculum through ESA. However, ESA does not intend to offer an accredited degree.
That is intentional. Our students are primarily seeking the learning, skills, and experience itself. We believe the additional cost, administration, and bureaucracy required to operate as a degree-granting institution would add significant expense without providing enough additional value to justify that cost for our students.
Is ESA an alternative to an MBA?
ESA brings the Acton MBA’s case-method classroom to 13 Friday mornings, allowing you to continue running your business or pursuing your career. It awards a Certificate of Completion, not a degree.
What is the application fee?
When is the application deadline?
What happens after I apply?
Do I need to run a company?
How large is the cohort?
Is there anything I need to complete before the program begins?
What is the time commitment?
ESA meets Friday mornings for thirteen weeks from February through May 2027. Participants may meet for group case prep before the 7:00 AM start, followed by two case discussions through 10:00 AM. Plan for additional time each week to prepare cases in advance. Pre-matriculation begins approximately 30 days before the first class to prepare participants for the program.
Can I keep running my business while I attend?
Yes. Classes meet Friday mornings from 7 to 10 AM. Plan for case prep each week.
Who teaches at ESA?
Entrepreneurs who have built, run, and sold companies, including Acton School of Business co-founder Jeff Sandefer, founding Acton master teacher Steven Tomlinson, Jack Long, and Phil Siegel.