Students participating in this program are senior undergraduate business students specializing in Entrepreneurship at Montclair State University's Feliciano School of Business. 

Students have completed prerequisite business coursework and enter the capstone with foundational preparation in areas including entrepreneurship, business strategy, finance, marketing, and operations. 

During the first half of the semester, students study entrepreneurial companies and examine how businesses evolve as they move through growth stages. They then apply that knowledge to the live client engagement during the second half of the semester. 

Students are prepared to examine an entrepreneurial company holistically rather than from only one functional perspective. Depending on the project, they may analyze customer acquisition, market opportunity, business models, revenue streams, competition, positioning, operations, partnerships, organizational requirements, financing, and financial performance. 

A particularly important component of the course is developing students' ability to connect strategy with financial implications. Using LivePlan, students learn to translate growth assumptions and operating decisions into integrated financial forecasts and use those forecasts to evaluate whether a proposed business model is economically viable.

Through the Startup Growth Strategy & Business Model Consulting Project, students will: 

The Montclair State University Entrepreneurship Capstone Consulting Project connects senior undergraduate Entrepreneurship students with a growth-stage startup, emerging company, or small business seeking strategic support as it moves beyond initial launch and into its next stage of growth. 

During an intensive 7-week consulting sprint, student teams work with one participating organization to analyze its growth strategy, business model, competitive positioning, customer acquisition approach, revenue model, financial outlook, and investor readiness. The organization serves as the shared client for the class, while individual student teams may explore different strategic priorities, markets, customer segments, revenue models, or growth opportunities. 

Students enter the engagement after spending the first half of the semester studying how entrepreneurial companies grow and applying relevant business and entrepreneurship frameworks. The live project then allows them to use those concepts in a real organizational setting. Ethne specifically structures the course around one company, with multiple student teams taking different perspectives on the same overall growth challenge.  

Strong partners should already have a validated product or service, with evidence such as active users, pilot customers, testbeds, initial sales, or early revenue. This is not primarily an idea-validation exercise. Students are most valuable when the founder has moved beyond initial concept development and is confronting real decisions about how to grow, monetize, differentiate, finance, and operate the business.

Depending on the company's needs, student teams may explore: 

Using LivePlan, students develop an integrated strategic business plan and, where sufficient company information is available, build a three-year financial model that connects strategic decisions with projected income statements, balance sheets, cash flow, and unit economics. Teams also develop presentation materials designed to communicate their analysis and recommendations clearly to founders, investors, accelerators, or strategic stakeholders. 

The engagement culminates in a founder-facing presentation and handoff of the students' strategic work. The goal is to provide the participating company with thoughtful outside analysis and actionable growth recommendations while giving students substantial, resume-ready experience advising a real entrepreneurial organization.

Participating founders gain a concentrated strategic consulting engagement with senior Entrepreneurship students focused on helping the organization think critically about its next stage of growth. 

Growth Strategy Analysis 

Students can examine customer acquisition, expansion opportunities, revenue models, partnerships, pricing, market positioning, and other strategic questions that directly affect the company's ability to scale. 

Multiple Strategic Perspectives 

Rather than receiving the perspective of only one team, the participating company can benefit from multiple student teams exploring different aspects of the same organization or growth challenge. 

Business Model Development 

Students can evaluate the company's existing model and propose refinements to customer segments, value propositions, channels, partnerships, revenue streams, and other core components. 

Competitive & Market Insight 

Teams can map relevant competitors, benchmark alternative approaches, identify strategic gaps, and help clarify how the organization can establish a stronger differentiated position. 

Financial Modeling 

Where sufficient information is available, students will translate strategic assumptions into a three-year integrated financial forecast, including income statement, balance sheet, cash flow, and unit economics modeling using LivePlan. 

Investor Readiness 

Students can help founders strengthen the strategic and financial story presented to investors, accelerators, lenders, or strategic partners and develop a polished presentation deck. 

Substantial Outside Perspective with Limited Founder Burden 

The project is deliberately structured around a small number of meaningful founder touchpoints rather than requiring constant supervision.

Strong startup and growth-stage partners may be located anywhere as long as they can participate effectively through virtual collaboration. 

Preference may be given to New Jersey, New York City, and broader Northeast-region companies when geographic proximity creates meaningful opportunities for students to meet founders, visit the organization, or participate in an in-person final presentation. 

Project quality, company traction, founder engagement, and fit with the course learning objectives are more important than geography.

The strongest partners will be growth-stage startups, venture-backed companies, emerging businesses, or established small businesses that have moved beyond the idea stage and now face substantive decisions about how to grow. 

Ideal participating organizations should: 

The exact project scope will be agreed upon by the faculty member and participating founder before students begin active project work. 

Students may complete appropriate NDAs provided by the company or instructor. Operational information and financial metrics shared for the project will be used for educational and project-development purposes within the course.