Transforming creative passions into viable business ventures
A unique entrepreneurship course developed by adjunct instructor Jason Wadler is helping Media School seniors transform their creative passions into viable business ventures. The Media Entrepreneurship class, which completed its second year in spring 2025, originated from Wadler’s previous work with the school’s Dean’s Advisory Board.
“There was a desire to bring more professional business expertise into the school,” Wadler said.
“I had also created a discussion at one of the alumni events called ‘The Business of Creative’ to help creative students think about how to turn their passion into a business. That became the foundation of what my Media Entrepreneurship class is today.”
Rather than focusing solely on traditional business skills, the 10-week course emphasizes what Wadler calls the “harder skills.”
“There was nothing like this in school back in my day. And honestly, there is not a course like this at many schools,” Wadler said. “To be able to teach what I call the ‘harder skills’—how to discover one’s IKIGAI/purpose, how to be resilient in the face of adversity, how to be part of and eventually lead a purpose-driven culture—those are topics that will help students throughout their personal life and career.”
The course structure combines Wadler’s teaching with guest appearances from senior leaders in the marketing and advertising world who share their perspectives on each topic. The first four weeks focus on building students’ personal IKIGAI (a Japanese concept referring to one’s reason for being) and the “three P’s of success”—purpose, passion, and perseverance.
Following this foundation, the course brings in leaders from LinkedIn and executive recruiters to help students effectively present themselves to potential employers. The second half shifts focus to business applications—uncovering the soul of businesses, building purpose-driven cultures, and adapting to new ways of working in an evolving world.
For their final project, students work with actual entrepreneurs to define the IKIGAI/purpose for their businesses and how it can be communicated in the market.