Business Partners

District C’s network of business partners provides real problems for student teams to solve.

Join our growing network of businesses helping prepare the next generation of talent.

Become a Business Partner

Our business partners represent all types of organizations from across industries — startups and large corporations, nonprofits and for profits, retail and high tech, and everything in between. The one commonality is that all of our partners believe in the following:

We need to prepare our students differently for an economy that is rapidly changing, and the business community has an important role to play.
Access to prepared talent is the single most important driver of success for the businesses and institutions at the heart of our communities.
A diverse, equitable, and inclusive approach to talent development is not only the fair and ethical path forward, it’s also good for business.

If this is you, we hope you’ll join us in this work.

What Our Business Partners are Saying

“District C was the best thing that happened to me in months… [The teams] stuck to the schedule, problem solved like it was their full-time job, and came up with solutions that we have already begun implementing. These solutions are helpful, hopeful, and life-changing for A Place at the Table and something we so desperately needed but didn’t know how to do. I left that week feeling empowered, encouraged, and 100 percent supported.”

Maggie Kane

Founder, A Place At The Table

“Working with District C was not only fulfilling, but it was super helpful for my business. The students were so incredible and they genuinely wanted to help solve a problem for Headbands of Hope. They had a young and fresh take on business and really thought outside the box and came up with not only brilliant solutions, but step-by-step ways to implement them. In our check-ins, they were always prepared and never wasted a second of my time. I would hire them all if I could…”

Jess Ekstrom

Founder & CEO, Headbands of Hope

“Working with District C… allowed us to connect with our local community in a deeper way… We challenged students with real, complicated, and challenging problems to work on. We came away impressed with the level of detail and sophistication displayed in the solutions. So much so that we have piloted one of the projects and are seeing an improvement in efficiency and data retrieval concerning new customer acquisitions.”

Matt Logan

Community Outreach, Fleet Feet Sports

How It Works

Business partners provide real business problems that set the context for student work across our growing list of member schools. This means an opportunity to have diverse teams of students working on your problems. District C’s certified coaches are responsible for providing day-to-day support and guidance to the student teams, so your time commitment is limited to the blocks outlined here.

First, we’ll get you all set up:

1. Connect

Take just a few seconds to complete the interest form above. We will follow up to schedule a short online conversation.

YOUR TIME: 0.5 hours

2. Get Matched

When a District C member school or organization requests a business partner match, we’ll get in touch.

YOUR TIME: None

3. Preparation

Meet with the District C team to identify an urgent and meaningful business problem impacting your organization.

YOUR TIME: 0.5 hours

And then start your engagement with student teams:

4. Launch Interview

Attend a student-led meeting and answer questions about you, your business, and the problem.

YOUR TIME: 1.5 hours

5. Check-In

Attend an online check-in, scheduled at your convenience, to hear student ideas and offer feedback.

YOUR TIME: 1 hour

6. Pitch Event

Hear solution pitches from student teams, ask questions, and workshop their ideas in front of an audience.

YOUR TIME: 1.5 hours

What Our Business Partners are Saying

461

businesses have offered real problems through Teamship.

83%

of business partners have implemented, or plan to implement, at least parts of the solutions that District C students proposed to them.

9.4

is the average rating given by business partners when asked if they would recommend District C to another business leader. (10-pt scale)

Example Problems

Problems that businesses pose to student teams tend to fall into three broad categories:

Operations & Process Improvement

Example: Clinispan Health, a startup that increases access to and diversity in medical studies, was looking to improve their participant sign up experience.

Employee Engagement & Hiring

Example: Novo Nordisk, a top global producer of insulin, was seeking strategies to increase representation by getting young women interested in technical roles.

Targeted Marketing & Growth

Example: Citrix, a multinational software provider, was looking to increase the Customer Success Team's client retention rate from 75% to 90%.

FAQ

How often will my organization get matched?

It depends on how you want to get involved, but we love to see involvement at least once a year.

Can I do more than just one engagement?

Yes! We hope your first experience is so valuable that you’ll want to keep coming back for more!

I can see the time commitment laid out above, but how long is each engagement?

Some engagements are as short as one week (Launch Meeting on Monday, Pitch Event on Friday), and others can be as long as 9 weeks. The typical engagement runs 4-6 weeks.

You mentioned above you want to have a conversation after I apply... what about?

The 30-minute conversation is an opportunity for you to learn more about District C and the important role that you play in our work, and for us to get to know you and your organization. We think you’ll be 100% sold after having a chance to chat with us, but we want to be sure you get all the information you need before opting in. Also, not every business is a good fit for this work. This is our chance to make sure it’s a fit as well.

What if the timing isn't right for my business?

No problem. We will discuss what timing works best for you, and you’ll have the option whether or not to accept any opportunity that comes your way. If needed, we’ll just put you back into the rotation for future opportunities.

Does this cost anything?

Nope.

What business problems are a good fit?

Think problem, not project. Projects are task-oriented and have a clear direction. Problems are messy, complex, and could have a variety of solutions. We also urge business partners to think of something that is meaningful and urgent while being accessible to students. Remember that you will be fully guided by a District C team member when framing up a problem for students to solve!