Midland Institute for Entrepreneurship

What Midland Institute for Entrepreneurship does

Midland Institute for Entrepreneurship is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Effingham, Illinois, that operates the CEO (Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities) Program — a year-long experiential entrepreneurship course for high school juniors and seniors. The program runs 90 minutes per day, never meets in a classroom (rotating among local businesses instead), and produces 2 high school credits per participant. Founded in 2009 to expand Craig Lindvahl's 2008 Effingham pilot, it now serves 75 programs across 10 states with over 6,000 graduates to date.

The Institute does not develop proprietary technology. Its platform stack consists of CEO+, an internal resource portal for boards and facilitators (best-practice materials, how-to videos, customizable templates), community-branded websites, and licensing of the third-party DiSC personality assessment. Supporting products include the Fearless Founders podcast and Craig Lindvahl's required textbook 'Things You Wish You Knew Yesterday.'

The business model is donation-funded: students participate tuition-free, and the Institute operates on tax-deductible contributions from local business investors, individuals, and organizations. Each community independently raises its own program funding, while the national Institute provides the launch playbook, facilitator training, ongoing support via Regional Support staff, and the annual National Conference. The stated commercial ambition is to scale from 75 to 150+ communities nationwide by 2030 under Community Engagement Leader Chris Egelston, with Donnie Wilson serving as Interim Executive Director following founder Craig Lindvahl's death in January 2020.

Name

Midland Institute for Entrepreneurship

Legal name

Midland Institute for Entrepreneurship

Website

https://midlandinstitute.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Midland Institute for Entrepreneurship is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that operates the year-long CEO Program, an experiential entrepreneurship course for high school students meeting in local businesses, deployed across 75 communities in 10 U.S. states through donation-funded community partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Entrepreneurship Education

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Professional and Management Development Training (61143)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics (EDAMAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Business Planning, Pitching & Competitions (Pitch Decks, Demo Days) (EDAMAHAB), Leadership, Management & Teamwork for Business (EDAMAHAI), Career Exploration & Industry Exposure (Guest Speakers, Company Visits) (EDAMAHAJ), Entrepreneurship & Small Business Workforce Programs (EDAAAOAM)

Keywords

• Entrepreneurship education
• High school programs
• Experiential learning
• Youth business development
• Nonprofit education services

Headquarters

HQ city

Effingham

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donor/Investor Contributions: The CEO Program is funded by local business investors, organizations, and individuals in the community. Funding supports not only financial contributions but also hosting classes, serving as guest speakers, and mentoring students. The Midland Institute is a 501(c)(3) organization and accepts tax-deductible donations.
2. Recurring Gifts and Pledges: Ongoing gifts and pledges allow donors to provide continuing support over a period of months or years. Payment schedules are flexible and arranged directly with the Institute.
3. Book Sales: Sales of Craig Lindvahl's book 'Things You Wish You Knew Yesterday' which is the required textbook for CEO Programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Midland Institute for Entrepreneurship operates the CEO (Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities) Program, a year-long experiential entrepreneurship education course for high school juniors and seniors that meets 90 minutes daily and provides 2 high school credits. The program uses local businesses as classrooms, requires students to visit 40+ area businesses, host 40+ guest speakers, complete group business experiences, and start and operate their own businesses showcased at an annual trade show. The Institute supports the model through the CEO+ resource portal, facilitator training, community launch guidance, and supplemental tools such as the DiSC personality assessment and Fearless Founders podcast.

Product overview

Midland Institute for Entrepreneurship provides the CEO (Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities) Program as its core product, a year-long experiential entrepreneurship education course for high school students. The offering consists of the main CEO Program supplemented by the CEO+ technology platform for program management, the DiSC personality assessment tool for participant development, and the Fearless Founders podcast for national networking. The program is supported by Craig Lindvahl's book 'Things You Wish You Knew Yesterday' as its required curriculum resource, and communities receive access to the Community Resource Center for program administration and tracking.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CEO Program: A year-long entrepreneurship education program for high school juniors and seniors that meets 90 minutes daily, utilizing local businesses as classrooms, with student business visits, guest speakers, and individual business creation.

Products and services

• CEO (Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities) Program Year-long experiential entrepreneurship education program for high school juniors and seniors that meets 90 minutes daily Monday through Friday, providing 2 high school credits. Students visit 40+ local businesses, host 40+ guest speakers, complete two group business experiences, and start their own business showcased at an annual trade show. Funded entirely by local business investors and donors at no cost to students.
• CEO+ (CEO Plus) Platform Online resource management platform for CEO program boards and facilitators providing best practices, customizable materials, recruiting and marketing resources, student documents, how-to videos, and life lesson videos.
• Things You Wish You Knew Yesterday (Book) Book by Craig Lindvahl containing essential life lessons and truths for successful living, considered the required textbook for all CEO Programs.
• DiSC Personality Assessment Self-assessment tool measuring personality tendencies and strengths across Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness, provided free to CEO community members including students, facilitators, and board members.
• Fearless Founders Podcast Audio podcast series featuring conversations with successful visionary leaders that shares their stories, failures overcome, and lessons learned with CEO participants to help build their network on a national level. Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts.
• Community Resource Center Support tool providing communities with website development, weekly newsletters, tracking for student and investor numbers, and community impact metrics for managing their CEO programs.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 6,000 graduates across the program network
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE): National non-profit providing entrepreneurship education to youth from under-resourced communities. Most directly comparable peer as it delivers experiential, project-based entrepreneurship curriculum to high school students with similar mission and pedagogy.
• Enactus: International non-profit engaging student leaders in entrepreneurial projects that improve lives. Comparable as a student-centered, project-based entrepreneurship and business education organization, though delivered through college chapters.
• DECA: Student organization preparing emerging leaders for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management. Comparable as a youth business/entrepreneurship education platform, though primarily delivered through school chapters rather than community partnerships.
• FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America): Career-oriented student organization for students interested in business and leadership with middle school, high school, and college divisions. Comparable as youth-focused business education and leadership development, but tied to school curricula.

Others

• SCORE: Non-profit supported by the SBA providing mentorship and education to small business owners. Adjacent as a small business/entrepreneurship education provider, but serves adult entrepreneurs rather than high school students.

Broad incumbents

• Junior Achievement USA: Largest youth-focused business and financial literacy non-profit with K-12 programs. Comparable as a youth entrepreneurship/workforce education provider, but operates at significantly broader scale and is more established than Midland Institute.
• Babson College - Lewis Institute for Social Innovation: Babson College is recognized as a global leader in entrepreneurship education; the Lewis Institute focuses on social and community entrepreneurship. Broader incumbent in entrepreneurship education, including youth programs and research.

Emerging players

• Young Americans Center for Financial Education: Non-profit providing real-world business and financial education to youth through programs like Young AmeriTowne and International Towne. Comparable mission of experiential youth business education with similar hands-on philosophy.
• Lemonade Day: National youth entrepreneurship initiative teaching kids to run a lemonade stand business through community-based programs. Comparable community-delivered, experiential youth entrepreneurship model, though narrower in scope than CEO.
• BizWorld Foundation: Non-profit delivering project-based entrepreneurship education programs primarily to elementary and middle school students. Comparable youth entrepreneurship education mission, though targeted at younger ages than CEO's high school focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubevimeo.com/midlandinstitute
• Facebookfacebook.com/CEO-Program-Midland-Institute-for-Entrepreneurship-1600328063587765
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/9302653
• Instagraminstagram.com/miehq
• Xx.com/MIEHQ

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles24 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Midland Institute for Entrepreneurship