APEX, NC, May 13, 2026—The Brian Hamilton Foundation today announced the launch of Starter U, a three-hour, on-demand masterclass designed to teach the fundamentals of starting and growing a business. Developed with a team of Hollywood filmmakers, the new course replaces the original Starter U, which has been completed by more than 35,000 people since its inception.
Starter U is available at StarterU.org. Driven by the foundation’s mission of “entrepreneurship for all,” the program provides the education necessary for individuals to pursue business ownership as a means of social and economic mobility.
In addition to its public availability, the course is accessible on tablets in more than 1,800 correctional facilities nationwide, establishing Starter U as the most widely available entrepreneurship program for incarcerated individuals in the United States.
The course is taught by Brian Hamilton, the founder of Sageworks (now Abrigo), one of the world’s first fintech companies. Under his leadership, Sageworks became a market-defining platform used by millions of small business owners to understand their financial information and by thousands of financial institutions to assess and manage risk.
“Entrepreneurship remains the most sustainable path to building wealth in this country,” said Hamilton, who also founded the Brian Hamilton Foundation and Inmates to Entrepreneurs. “While dreams and goals are essential, they require action. With Starter U, we’ve distilled decades of business experience into the practical steps you need to take today to really get started and to grow.”
Starter U is organized into six sequential sections that walk learners through starting a business. Each section includes chapters made up of an expert-led video lesson and a five-question quiz to reinforce key concepts. While the course is self-paced, it can be completed in about three hours.
“At the end of the day, entrepreneurship is about freedom,” Hamilton said. “The people who succeed are those who love building something of their own. We created Starter U to give every person, regardless of their circumstances, the chance to experience that independence and to build the future they want.”
To enroll in Starter U, visit StarterU.org.
About the Brian Hamilton Foundation
The Brian Hamilton Foundation believes in entrepreneurship for all. Our mission is to increase business ownership across the world because it is the most reliable way to remove the socioeconomic barriers to freedom. We teach people why and how to start businesses—mostly simple ones that don’t require capital—and help them get started by bootstrapping, the way almost all entrepreneurs begin. To learn more, visit brianhamilton.org.
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