Why entrepreneurs need an mba

Perhaps studying cases about companies that had grown too fast and lost control of both their finances and the quality of their products would have encouraged me to expand at a more sober pace. We wasted years trying to re-organize after over-expanding and perhaps missed countless opportunities in the process. I could have saved or made a lot more money had I taken some courses in business law or venture capital financing.

So I believe MBA programs do give future entrepreneurs valuable tools to help them mitigate risk and increase the probabilities of success. But even with those tools, only you know whether or not you have the heart to execute on the opportunities we all recognize to launch a compelling new business. That is when the real bullets start flying.

You have 1 free article s left this month. You are reading your last free article for this month. Subscribe for unlimited access. Create an account to read 2 more.

Like Silicon Valley, the gold standard for startup ecosystems, dozens of cities around the world have established reputations for entrepreneurship—from Vancouver and Austin in North America, to Berlin and Birmingham in Europe.

An MBA can be a perfect way to tap into those ecosystems. Business schools—as a trifecta of research, funding, and a deep talent pool—tend to sit at the center of innovation in these startup hubs.

Olin Business School at Washington University of St Louis, for example, offers students a chance to do MBA consulting projects with startups , working alongside founders in the seed stages of a business, helping deliver insights to drive their business plans. Olin professor Doug Vilhard believes this is the perfect opportunity for aspiring entrepreneur MBA candidates.

You never know who you could be sat next to in your MBA class: future Fortune CEOs, future presidents, and even your future business partner. The MBA classroom brings together bright minds from across different industries, which can result in the perfect combination of talent to go into business together. A few years after graduation, they teamed up to launch Blueland, aiming to eliminate plastic waste through reusable cleaning products.

While networking at business school can mean meeting future employers or building global contacts, for budding entrepreneur MBAs, it could mean finding the missing piece of your future business. Not satisfied with learning essential entrepreneurial skills and meeting future business partners?

Some MBA programs actually offer students the chance to launch their business. In other cases, launching a business is part of the curriculum. The BarrelWise team were randomly brought together on the Technology Entrepreneurship module at Sauder. In fact, after graduation, many students go into business with individuals they have met through the programs. Another advantage to having an MBA in entrepreneurship is the opportunity to receive hands-on learning experience. These experiences often go hand-in-hand with the coursework and require students to work with classmates on project.

In addition to allowing students the opportunity to improve their leadership skills in a safe environment, this concentration will also show students how to develop sound business plans, find new ventures, identify and assess business opportunities and practice their entrepreneur skills in a number of mock situations and contexts.

These classes will help students avoid many of the most common mistakes often experienced by new entrepreneurs when starting and running businesses. Although all MBA programs allow students to take a number of applied business courses that will prepare them for the future, seeking an MBA in entrepreneurship also provides a variety of courses within a specific interest area.

Requirements vary depending on the school and program, but most MBAs with a concentration in entrepreneurship offer courses in global strategies, mergers and acquisitions, entrepreneur strategies, venture capital and private equity. Students will learn a multitude of critical business skills, including the methods of coping with the uncertainties of the business world, the organizational strategies necessary to companies and the tactics of investing. An MBA program in entrepreneurship prepares graduates to manage investments, raise money and begin and operate their own organizations and businesses, including limited liability corporations, companies and nonprofits.