Entrepreneurship creates social value and economic growth for individuals, communities, and the nation as a whole. Challenges of the 21st century technological global economy make the demand for successful entrepreneurs greater than ever. In response, a growing number of colleges and universities offer entrepreneurship education programs to give prospective entrepreneurs foundational skills needed for success in new business ventures. In the United States, minority immigrants make up a significant percentage of small business owners and employers. Being both ethnic minorities and immigrants to the United States, these individuals require greater educational support in specific areas, such as written language, verbal communication, law, market factors, local culture, networking with local business communities, and more. This can be achieved with a teaching style based in multidisciplinary, creativity, and learning from failure, in addition to providing targeted resources and support systems to meet the unique needs of minority immigrant students. Educational leaders must ensure programs exist to deliver this knowledge effectively to the student populations who stand to benefit the most from pursuing entrepreneurial ventures. In order to aid and inform the development of such programs, this study interviewed minority immigrant entrepreneurs (n=10) currently living and working in the United States who have already achieved success. By investigating the factors that these individuals attribute most to their own success, the study’s findings help identify the gaps in current curricular offerings in order to inform development of future programming to most effectively meet the real-world needs of prospective minority immigrant entrepreneurs.

KEYWORDS: Entrepreneurial Education, Minority Immigrant Students, Higher Education, Cultural Diversity and Entrepreneurship, Culturally Responsive Teaching