PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze what is the influence of the junior enterprise environment on the entrepreneurial profile and intention of university students and what is the difference in the entrepreneurial behavior between students who participated and students who did not participate in junior enterprises.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative approach based on multivariate data analysis using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling was applied to a sample of 549 respondents.FindingsParticipation in junior enterprises influences the development of the students’ entrepreneurial profile more than their entrepreneurial intention. This study presents which behavioral characteristics are mostly developed with participation in a junior enterprise.Research limitations/implicationsThe questionnaire with perception conditions and self-assessment indicators; data collection by a single cross-sectional research design; the scope of the research, which did not use a probabilistic sampling.Practical implicationsPractical implications are to assist higher education institutions in having a more accurate understanding of the role of junior enterprises in stimulating university entrepreneurship. To implement an effective entrepreneurial education, stimulating junior companies can be a fundamental action for the HEIs, and this is valid for courses in all areas. Entrepreneurial education in a practical context, as in the case of a junior company, can increase entrepreneurial intention.Originality/valueThis research fills a research gap on the uncertainty of the effectiveness of entrepreneurial education in developing the entrepreneurial behavior and entrepreneurial intention of students, at least when considering the junior company as part of entrepreneurial education in the university context, presenting a robust quantitative methodology and a large sample in a developing country.