Empathy Meets Enterprise in New Pre-College Program for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

At its best, business is more than profit margins and market share — it’s a tool for solving human problems.

That’s the guiding light steering “Innovation and Design for Aspiring Women Entrepreneurs,” Bentley’s newest summer program for high school students. Developed by faculty members Janelle Estes ’04, MSHFID ’07 and Sarah Pagliaccio, both lecturers in Experience Design, and Veronica Pierni, lecturer in Management, the program shows how empathy can spark innovative business ideas.

Over five immersive days, students learned how to turn those ideas into action. They designed real-world solutions to help blind and low-vision students navigate Bentley’s campus and gained hands-on experience prototyping, testing and planning the launch of their own startup ventures. With guidance from faculty, tech entrepreneurs and accessibility experts, they learned to appreciate the lived experiences of others — and discovered that the most powerful innovations begin with understanding. 

Seventeen domestic and international high school juniors and seniors came to campus in July for the week-long program. They learned about entrepreneurship and experience design (XD) — a discipline that combines business, technology and human-centered design to create products and services that aren’t just functional, but also useful and enjoyable.  

“Experience design teaches students how to approach problem-solving with both creativity and strategy,” says Estes, director of Bentley’s Master’s in Human Factors in Information Design program. “It focuses on human needs, helping businesses deliver products and services that make sense and are meaningful to the people who use them. It’s a skill set companies across every industry are seeking as they look to improve customer engagement.”

It’s also a skill set that gives budding entrepreneurs a competitive edge. “Entrepreneurship is about spotting opportunities. Experience design ensures those opportunities are turned into solutions that people actually want and need,” Pierni explains. Focusing on the customer experience ensures that business leaders “aren’t just building a product, they’re creating experiences that matter — and that’s what makes a venture stand out.”  

The people-first approach to innovation is also a natural fit for “disability tech,” a fast-growing field that creates accessible and inclusive tools for people with disabilities. Valued at $25 billion in 2023 by global consulting firm McKinsey & Company, the disability tech market is projected to grow to $40 billion by 2030.  

Students got a firsthand look at the field through a design challenge developed through collaboration with the Howe Innovation Center at Perkins School for the Blind. The center connects the disability community with disability tech inventors and investors.

Raquel Ronzone, the center’s associate director for strategy and partnerships, explained that 1.6 billion people, or nearly 20% of the global population, live with disabilities. Yet, most companies treat accessibility as an afterthought. She noted that prioritizing inclusive design helps companies create products and services that benefit all users. Audiobooks, closed captioning, automatic doors and text-to-speech tools were all designed specifically for people with disabilities, she said, but “ended up making the world better for everyone.”

Students worked in groups to create new tools to help blind and low-vision individuals navigate Bentley’s campus safely and easily. To build truly useful designs, the students first needed to understand accessibility challenges. They participated in a scavenger hunt wearing simulation glasses that mimicked low vision. They explored Watertown’s Riverfront Park and Braille Trail, learning how guide wires and Braille markers help visitors who are blind or low vision explore independently. And they met with accessibility experts from Fortune 500 companies — Salesforce’s Sunish Gupta and CVS Health’s Viola Williams — to learn best practices for inclusive design.

These experiences helped participants create unique disability tech solutions. Concepts included smart glasses paired with a navigation app and a smart cane featuring GPS navigation and micro-cameras to detect obstacles. Students built and tested mock prototypes with help from graduate students in the university’s User Experience Center (UXC). They also developed business plans and used AI tools to create marketing materials. Then they pitched their ideas to an audience that included Gupta, Bentley graduate students, faculty, staff and parents.

For students, the week-long program ended with more than prototypes and pitches. They walked away with greater confidence — and a stronger understanding of how business and design come together to create meaningful change.

“I really liked the hands-on approach to learning about innovation and entrepreneurship,” says Claire Wei, of Bedford, Massachusetts. She found the Perkins visit particularly inspiring. “I was able to empathize with [blind and low-vision individuals] and see life from their perspective. It really helped with the process of product design because you’re able to put yourself into someone else’s shoes.”

This shift in perspective is the summer program’s main goal. “We want to show emerging women leaders that successful businesses — in any industry — prioritize customer needs,” Pierni explains. She’s both impressed and inspired by the students’ growth throughout the week. “They came in on Monday with no understanding of disability tech and ended the week pitching thoughtful and viable business ideas. This experience encouraged creativity, collaboration and adaptability — lessons we hope they’ll carry forward into their classrooms, communities and careers.”