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Summer Business Scholars Program

Study remotely this summer with one of the top business schools in the world through BUSN 20330 91 Building the New Venture

Chicago Booth's approach to teaching helps you build an analytical framework rooted in problem-solving and critical thinking skills that will set you apart from your peers in the classroom and in recruiting. Participants who complete our courses will receive University of Chicago undergraduate course credit.  After completing our courses, you will return to your undergraduate institution or head to your first job or internship with a newfound confidence and a distinct competitive advantage. We prepare you to excel with employers and to make an immediate impact on your organization upon beginning your internship or full-time job, giving you the knowledge and tools you’ll need to think decisively and act confidently.  

Course Information

Course Description: BUSN 20330 91 Building the New Venture
This course is designed for undergraduate students with a curiosity about business and particularly entrepreneurship and small business or not-for profit organizations. It is not necessary that students be planning to start a venture in the near or even distant future. Each week will feature a specific entrepreneurial skill. For those who may be interested in starting or running a business or non-profit, this class will provide an essential foundation for the process, skills and resources required as well as the opportunities available. While students will not write a formal business plan in this class, the team YourCo. assignments will give those students interested in pursuing their projects much of the information necessary to complete a business plan. Instructor and TA assistance will be available for those who wish to continue with a formal business plan in order to launch a business or compete in the College New Venture Challenge. This is an experiential class. Strong participation is required, with a significant amount of work in a team format. Each team will have access to a Faculty Coach to advise them on their assignments.

Academic Prerequisites
Applicants from any academic major are welcome!

Course Schedule

Synchronous class meets Wednesdays, 5:00pm - 8:30pm Central, June 10- August 9.

This class will be delivered via remote instruction. 

Instructional Team

Our instructional approach emphasizes the strong connections between theoretical learning and practical, hands-on experience.  Guest speakers and workshop leaders drawn from Chicago Booth faculty, staff, and alumni will bring their real-world experiences into the classroom, providing a broader context for how course content applies to modern business. 

Primary instructor CJ Pryzbyl is an entrepreneur and business leader with experience in all company stages, from founding/early startups to late-stage growth companies and steady-state corporations. He co-founded Snapsheet after leading the pivot of BodyShopBids from a consumer brand into a B2B innovator at the forefront of the Insurtech revolution, raising over $100M and scaling the business to over 400 employees with over 100 insurance customers. He conceived the Snapsheet app, the first photo-based mobile app for claims, an innovation that has become industry standard.

CJ then led the stealth development and launch of Snapsheet Cloud, a SaaS platform which enables fully automated claims from FNOL to digital payment, in partnership with multiple corporates, including Zurich Insurance, Key Bank, and JPMorgan Chase.  CJ architected and led Snapsheet’s expansion beyond the US, into Canada and multiple countries in Europe.

CJ is an avid angel investor and advisor, focusing on unique GTM methodologies, corporate strategic partnerships, business development and fundraising advice. He is passionate about using technology to enable more automation for humans. In addition to his day-to-day activities at Snapsheet, CJ is an adjunct professor of entrepreneurship at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, an advisor at the Creative Destruction Lab in Wisconsin and Duality (the nations first quantum startup accelerator), an advisor to the OCA Ventures EDGE fund, and he currently serves on the board of directors of the department of physics and optical engineering at Rose-Hulman.

CJ holds a bachelor’s degree in optical engineering from the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.