Assessing the Effectiveness of Entrepreneurship Education: A Randomized Control Trial

Many resources, such as business acumen are thought to feed into entrepreneurial success. However, an open question is whether the tools and frameworks available to nascent startups are causally related to their successes in the areas of financing, employment and revenue growth, valuations, etc. In this study, we use a large-scale RCT to assess the impact of entrepreneurship skills training on startup decisions and outcomes across the U.S. In the study, startups associated co-working spaces are offered payment to complete a series of surveys tracking their outcomes over two years. A randomly-selected group of startups within each co-working space is sent through an educational program, while the remainder of enrolled startups are not. In tracking all participants through surveys and interviews we measure not only potential “outcomes” but also a broad suite of interim behaviors that may indicate change in approach by the entrepreneurs and that are likely to indicative of future outcomes.