This is the era of entrepreneurs. Pick up any report and you will see a definite increase in the number of entrepreneurs throughout the world. Most countries are encouraging the rise in small businesses since they support the economy, provide employment and have the potential to go to a different level, as has been proven in the case of Facebook and Google. This page is for you if you have reason to believe that you can be an entrepreneur and an MBA from the top business school will help you to wear the entrepreneur's hat.
What makes a successful entrepreneur? What does it take to make it click for you?
Here are some of the things that almost all entrepreneurs have in common:
1. Commitment to finish what they have started
2. Perseverance to get it done at any cost
3. Dedication to the purpose
4. The guts to fail
5. The intellect to learn from your failure and turn around your failure into success
6. Creativity
There have been extensive discussions online and an ongoing debate on whether you need an MBA to be a successful entrepreneur. It is pretty straightforward. Where do you think you stand today? Do you think you have it in you? I believe that entrepreneurs can be divided into two categories: 1. Those you are born with it and 2. Those who are motivated in every which way to be an entrepreneur.
The six points that I mentioned above are qualities that you are born with. No one can teach you to be committed or dedicated. In order to be really successful, you need to possess these characteristics. Look at any entrepreneur and you will see what I mean. But apart from these, there are several other attributes that will determine your success. This is where your MBA kicks in.
Some of the traits you will develop during your education are:
1. Understanding new venture finance
2. Business Development skills
3. Negotiations, an often underestimated skill
4. Customer Development
5. Decision Making
6. Leadership skills
7. Thinking out of the box
Moreover, it will help you network with the right people - fellow entrepreneurs, venture capitalists etc. An MBA in Entrepreneurship makes sense for people who have some great ideas but are not sure how to implement it. It makes complete sense for you to do an MBA if you have the ambition to become an entrepreneur but lack the skills to go for it. Your business school will offer you the opportunity to network with people from the real world, which might otherwise be difficult to access.
Here is a list of schools that are renowned for their courses in entrepreneurship:
1. University of California, Berkeley
2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
3. University of Pennsylvania
4. Stanford Graduate School of Business
5. Harvard Business School
6. Northwestern University, Kellogg Graduate School of Management
If you are really determined to be an entrepreneur and are interested in technological breakthroughs or have a tech background, you would be better off selecting a school on the West Coast, since this is the incubator of businesses. This is where the action is.
Some of the things you may want to consider while selecting school are:
1. Does your school have an entrepreneurial mindset? It is critical that the school that you apply to not just offers a couple of courses in entrepreneurship
but actually encourages its students to think like entrepreneurs.
2. Faculty. This is absolutely critical. Do your research on the professors who teach courses under entrepreneurship. They have to be professionals who have
experience either in starting their own companies or in venture funding or consulting for start-ups either, in the past or in the present. Learning theoretical concepts will not make you an entrepreneur, rather learning from someone who has real-world experience will definitely help.
3. Check out your school's history with entrepreneurship. Do they have a seperate department or center for entrepreneurs? Browse through their alumni. Do they have a club that is dedicated to entrepreneurship? These factors are absolutely important since if you want to be an entrepreneur, you have to be 100% involved in everything pertaining to the same.
4. The right business school will offer you the opportunity to intern at local start-up companies and provide you with means to connect with mentors (who are currently entrepreneurs), small business incubators and/or venture capitalists.
So, once you decided to go for an MBA in Entrepreneurship, the million dollar question is what lies ahead? What happens once you graduate? There are mainly two options available to you once you obtain your MBA. You can be:
1. Founder of a company
2. VP or CEO of a start-up
According to me, these are some solid options. So, if you believe you can, just go get it.
