Impact Evaluation of Entrepreneurship Training

This project is a collaboration with Corner to Corner to study the impact of their entrepreneurship training course on financial stability. Corner to Corner, a Nashville-based nonprofit, is focused on their mission of helping their neighbors to flourish and addressing the racial wealth gap. One of their primary programs is The Academy, a 10-week entrepreneurship training course that teaches students the fundamentals of starting and operating their own business. To study the effects of the intervention, eligible applicants to the Academy will be randomly assigned into one of two groups: the treatment group (offered a seat in the class) and the control group (not offered a seat in the class). This study will use a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the intervention against the control group that does not have access to the Academy. The goal of the study is to enroll 1200 individuals over 3 years into the treatment group and an additional 1200 individuals into the control group, for a total of 2400 study participants. We hypothesize that a community-based, fundamentals-focused entrepreneurship training course such as The Academy will empower participants to start their own businesses. Outcomes measured in administrative records and with a one-year followup survey will include housing stability, creditworthiness and use of credit, feelings of confidence in one’s financial capabilities, and whether participants successfully start and maintain their own businesses.