An innovative spirit has always been important to progress in our society. Entrepreneurial leaders seek opportunities for progress and create positive change in organizations and communities. While they may not hold formal leadership positions, they make things happen. These leaders have a clear and compelling vision of what they want to accomplish, possess effective leadership skills and management savvy, and are willing to assume a measure of risk because they deeply believe what they are doing will make a measurable difference.

The purpose of the Entrepreneurial Leadership Initiative (ELI) is to awaken, educate, and embolden Duke University students to create innovative solutions to community and global problems through passion, persistence, and skilled leadership.

In keeping with our purpose, ELI seeks to instill in students moral courage, vision, creativity, adaptive persistence, and personal reflection. Through ELI's rigorous experiential program, undergraduate students are introduced to entrepreneurial leadership and social innovation, social enterprise development, and approaches to living an entrepreneurial life. ELI embodies the emphasis that its umbrella organization, the Hart Leadership Program, places on creating sustainable change by integrating academic coursework, experiential learning, close mentoring, and critical reflection.