This story is shared as part of an initiative led by the CEOs of Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP) to highlight entrepreneurship and innovation across Indiana’s universities. Learn more about the initiative here.
This article was originally published by TechPoint. Click here to read the original article.
Founder’s College at Butler was a finalist for Startup of the Year at this year’s Mira Awards. The nomination recognizes a barrier-reducing model that combines affordability, wraparound support and direct workforce alignment for students often underserved by traditional systems. Dr. Carolyn Gentle-Genitty served as founding dean of Founder’s College during its first years.
Built From Personal Experience
Gentle-Genitty grew up in Belize, where she attended an all-girls Catholic high school built for wealthier families. Even as a strong student, she didn’t have the same resources or clothing as her classmates. She later moved to the US to continue her education and went on to build her career here, carrying that early experience with her.
Her community filled the gap in those early years. Friends and family helped cover her uniform, books and other school materials, support that changed her trajectory and shaped how she would go on to lead Founder’s. As she put it, people operate from their last memory: a good or bad experience becomes the lens for how they see everything after. Her own early experience with limited access is why she built her career around expanding it for others.
The Problems with Random Barriers
Most students who don’t go straight into college after high school aren’t held back by ability. They’re held back by cost and logistics: the money for gas, a car note, insurance or even a laptop. GPA-only metrics unfairly blame students for what are really structural gaps. Gentle-Genitty calls this the randomness of student success, the barriers colleges rarely plan for but that quietly keep capable students from enrolling in the first place.
“Our goal is to remove the randomness of student success,” she said. Founder’s was built to close that gap with technology rather than just good intentions alone.
That gap shaped the two support tools Founder’s implemented first: Tutor.com and Professor Fiona. Tutor.com gives students access to a live tutor 24 hours a day from a pool of over 4,000 tutors across the US. Professor Fiona is a digital twin trained on best practices for the Founder’s student population, built into every Canvas course so students can ask questions outside of office hours.
The program’s cohort-based model also lets students work while they study. Students can take classes in the morning and work in the afternoon or the reverse, and there are no Friday classes so students can pick up longer shifts on the weekend.
What Makes a Founder?
Founder’s looks for students with academic ambition and determination, whether that shows up through IB coursework, dual credit or another form of demonstrated drive. Grit and resilience matter as much as grades: students admitted with a 2.0 GPA have often shown they can handle rigorous work when they have the right support behind them, whether that’s a coach, a mentor or a parent.
The Pathway Forward
Founder’s is designed to move students toward a four-year degree, at Butler or elsewhere. Degree maps are built to align with Butler’s four-year programs, and about 85% of students in the first cohort say they see themselves continuing onto a four-year program, whether it’s in their original field or a new one.
The iQ4 Digital Wallet
Employer partnerships are central to Founder’s model, built on the idea that career and education should move together rather than in sequence. For students who are already working, the goal isn’t to prepare them for a job. It’s to prepare them for a better one.
iQ4, a digital wallet added by Founder’s, converts every course a student completes into a named, employer-readable skill instead of a line on a resume. Students can search jobs directly through the platform, which flags skill gaps in real time. Gentle-Genitty described how it works: “you already have 30% of the skill set needed for this job.” Students can close that gap with a club, an elective or specific training, rather than discovering it after graduation.
The same wallet helps employers too. Internships listed through iQ4 come with clear job descriptions and defined competencies, giving employers a guide to what a student already does well and where they can grow. Employers also sign agreements to pay interns, since many students are stepping away from paid work to take the internship on.
Founder’s built in a Match Day, similar to medical residency matching, along with a recurring Bridge and Bond networking series that starts are early as freshman orientation and includes employer shadowing days in the spring.
A Mira Moment
Being named a Mira Finalist was a “wow moment” for a program still working on filling a gap in Indiana. Two students attended the ceremony and were eager to speak on stage about what Founder’s had meant to them, a moment Gentle-Genitty pointed to as validation that the program is solving a real problem.
What’s Next
Founder’s is working towards a $32 to $35 million endowment to sustain the program well beyond its current leadership. In the years ahead, the goal is to see students grow into well-prepared professionals and entrepreneurs, not just job seekers, while helping raise Indiana’s college-going rate. For Gentle-Genitty and her team, that work is about proving what they already know: that talent is here in Indiana, and ready to succeed and help the state grow.
Words of Wisdom
Gentle-Genitty’s advice to first-generation students reading this is, “you get to author your own ending.” She knows firsthand how unclear the road can look when you’re the first in your family to walk it, with more questions than answers and fewer people who know what support to offer. Her message is that where a student starts doesn’t decide where they end up. All it takes is putting one foot in front of the other and continuing to show up.
Want to see the full list of this year’s honorees? Check out the 2026 Mira Awards digital program here.
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Across Indiana, our universities are fostering the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators who are shaping our state’s future. In collaboration with our university partners, CICP is excited to share and amplify those stories; which highlight students, faculty, and alumni who are turning ideas into action. By celebrating these efforts, we aim to strengthen the connections between higher education, industry, and community, and to shine a light on the innovation happening throughout our state. Click here to learn more about this initiative.
