Entrepreneurship: From Ideas to Impact in Fintech
For entrepreneurs, digital disruptions in financial markets are creating opportunities for growth and financial gain. Financial technologies, like cryptocurrencies and blockchain, are among the innovations that are changing payment processing, investing, and financial services. Explore how these entrepreneurial disruptors are capturing revenue, democratizing access, and impacting economies the worldover. Thinking of one day launching your own business in finance or technology? Start here.
Program Dates
Multi-length courses available throughout the year
Eligibility
For students ages 13 and up
Fees
$1495
Understand the Entrepreneurial World of Fintech
Learn the Fine Points of Financial Services
Delve into traditional financial services: lending, credit, and investment advisory. Discover how the 2008 financial crisis brought about entrepreneurial innovations like financial technologies (fintech), data science, and internet banking.
Discover How Entrepreneurs Have Disrupted Payments and Money Transfers
Ecommerce has the potential for disruption. Learn the role of the federal bank. See how blockchain technologies work. Review case studies on Paypal, Venmo, and Apple Pay.
Study How Lending is Being Transformed
Understand the vulnerabilities of traditional lending, how debt-to-income ratio is calculated, and areas of disruption in digital lending, credit enhancement, and student loans.
See How Entrepreneurs are Disrupting With Fintech
Learn how brokerage companies manage investments. Discover how automation through algorithms and robo-advising engines make investment choices fast. Consider the regulatory issues and pitfalls encountered by entrepreneurial startup Robinhood.
Explore the New Frontier of Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain
We’ve seen the volatility with blockchain, particularly cryptocurrencies. How do these new tech models work? Review case studies and learn the volatility and regulations that define fintech.
Learn About Potential Careers in Business
Topics in this course reveal careers available to those interested in entrepreneurship around fintech. Some professions include: startup entrepreneur, blockchain developer, financial analyst, compliance expert, and cybersecurity analyst.
How You Will Benefit
- Gain insights on how entrepreneurs create and adopt fintech to earn money and provide new customer experiences.
- Be able to analyze key disruptors, such as PayPal, Lending Club, Square, and others.
- Learn how these fintech disruptors work and how they fuel startup businesses.
- Understand how fintech companies target their customer base and promote their brands.
- Review case studies to understand the various technologies, and how they are used by entrepreneurs to deliver financial solutions.
- Earn a Certificate of Completion from Rice University.
Three Learning Advantages Designed for You
Capstone Project
Create a simple business plan for an entrepreneurial fintech product or service. Consider the size of your potential market, revenue, annual spending, and the technology you are recommending.
Choose from two options:
- Option 1: Describe a solution, product, or service of your own that you'd like to develop.
- Option 2: Pick an existing fintech company and add your offering.
Mentoring
You’ll receive guidance from a mentor who can support you and deepen your learning experience. You can expect:
- Encouragement and direction on all assignments.
- Inspiration, motivation, and confidence to help you excel in your studies.
- Brainstorming and ideation to help you prepare for your capstone project.
Flexible Learning
- 100% online learning that works with your schedule.
- Flexible format: you’ll learn through video lectures that allow you to tune in anytime that works for you.
- 20-30 hours of total instruction and course work,
- Tech-forward interactions, including engaging multimedia, real-life simulations, and curated assignments.
- Guidance and support from mentors.
Apply Now for the Next Available Course
All course options have the same educational content, learning materials, and number of assignments. We are offering a condensed version of the course in order to accommodate students’ individual schedules.
Hear From Our Students
I learned so much about fintech and how they have completely disrupted the financial services scene. The discussion boards, videos, assignments, and final project ensure you maintain a sufficient amount of understanding in these topics. This course has ignited a new passion within me to pursue this field and work in it. - Lucas, entrepreneurship student from TX.
This course not only teaches you to think critically, but also provides all the tools necessary to succeed. The entire course is well thought out and very well executed with many areas for the student to showcase their understanding of the modules. It’s been a pleasure having a mentor who overlooked the entire experience and I would definitely recommend this to students looking to take a deep dive into fintech and the ways to think like an entrepreneur. - Ananya, entrepreneurship student from TX.
I would recommend the course to other students because it provided a comprehensive analysis of several fintech companies and technologies which are finding ways to innovate and capitalize on opportunities in the world of finance. The video resources and guest speakers throughout the course were very engaging and I'm interested in possibly taking similar courses in the future. - Kendyl, entrepreneurship student from MD.
Course Designed by Rice University Faculty
Professor Manolo Sanchez
Adjunct Professor in Management - Operations Management, Rice University
Professor Sanchez teaches courses to MBA and executive MBA students on digital disruption in finance, leveraging 20+ years of banking leadership experience. He is a director at Fannie Mae, Stewart Information Systems, and BanCoppel, after serving as chairman and CEO of BBVA Compass for 10 years. Manolo currently serves as an advisor to several fintech and blockchain start-ups, including SpringLabs, Securitize, and Topi. During his 27-year career in banking, he worked in the U.S., Mexico, France, and Spain.
Meet Your Mentors
Marcus
Currently a graduate student in Experimental Psychology as well as a Neuroscience researcher. Teaching assistant for Research Methods and Statistics course.
Mariza
Holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Criminal Justice and a Master’s degree in Fashion Studies. Her research explores the intersection of design, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
Jenn
Undergraduate Rice University student working towards a B.A. in Business and Sociology.
Want to Know More?
Sign up for more information and we’ll be in touch.
Frequently Asked Questions
How will you be graded? What are assignments like? How much time do you have to turn around a project? When do you find out if you’re admitted? Find answers to your questions here.
Scholarships
We offer need-based scholarships for participating students who exhibit high potential and an inability to pay the full tuition.
- If you haven’t applied to the program, apply here. After submitting your application, click “Apply for a need-based scholarship” on the confirmation page to request a scholarship.
- If you’ve already applied to the program, sign in to your profile to check your scholarship status. If we don’t have a scholarship request on file, click “Apply for a need-based scholarship” to request a scholarship.