Purpose-Driven Entrepreneurs: How Design Thinking and Philanthropy Collide at VIDA

Overview

Christian Ludwig teaches at VIDA – Vista Innovation and Design Academy in San Diego, where he runs an on-campus incubator blending design thinking, entrepreneurship, and Project Heart. He hasn’t looked at a test score in six years. The skills he’s building – agility, empathy, ownership – won’t show up on one, but they’ll matter across every path a student takes.

How the Curriculum Was Used

Christian uses Project Heart as a foundation and freely adapts and extends it with his own Dimensions of Entrepreneurial Learning. He converted the lessons into integrated Google Slides decks – worksheets and content in one – that other teachers have picked up and used nearly plug-and-play. Students choose their own cause, then design their own approach to impact.

What Students Created

During the pandemic, when community access was limited, students showed adaptability and initiative. One sixth-grader launched Red Wagon Donations, a neighborhood supply station partially funded by an Illumination Fund grant. Another student developed a full campaign to support an animal sanctuary, creating a website, writing a press release, and leading a donation drive. This effort followed an earlier failed attempt to start a pickleball business, after which the student pivoted to web design—a journey Christian continues to highlight. In another example, a student group applied design thinking by interviewing teachers, creating an Amazon wish list, and raising $434 in supplies—an amount matched by an Illumination Fund grant—to support new educatorsucators.

Why It Matters

When students choose their own cause, the motivation follows naturally because the work belongs to them. Christian’s core message: connectedness. No one does this alone, and authentic learning happens when students can see their work fitting into the world around them.