Some would-be entrepreneurs may wish to start up their dream venture without delay. Others may lack the credibility and contacts necessary to assemble a strong management team and get funding or simply not have their ideal venture firmly in mind yet. If you are in one of these categories, a degree in entrepreneurship can provide you:
• the opportunity to develop highly relevant skills, from business basics to entrepreneur-specific skills (such as how best to write a business plan targeted to venture capitalists)
• credibility as someone interested in, dedicated to, and knowledgeable about business and entrepreneurship
• a perfect venue for trying out entrepreneurial ideas (such as by writing a business plan for a seminar, with a critique to be offered by fellow students as well as professors)
• a fine hunting ground for assembling a management team for your venture; whether during your studies or long after, the people you meet in your programme are likely to be those you will tap to help you get your venture up and running
• a good test of your entrepreneurial enthusiasm.
In fact, this degree may be valuable to a wide range of participants, not just those who intend to start (and grow) their own businesses. It can also appeal to those who intend to:
• act as professional service providers to entrepreneurs
• work in high-growth firms
• invest in entrepreneurial ventures
• pursue social entrepreneurship
• help society develop more entrepreneurs or entrepreneurial activity.
The growth in entrepreneurial activity has been driven by many factors, including:
• increased visibility of wealthy entrepreneurs, particularly in the tech sector
• increased awareness of entrepreneurs’ positive impact upon the economy
• the development of social (not just business) entrepreneurship
• numerous opportunities in a time of technological, social, and political change (not to say disruption)
• plentiful venture capital.
Most entrepreneurship master’s programmes are one year in length. Similarly, most have proven entrepreneurs on the faculty (albeit sometimes as adjunct faculty members) or as entrepreneurs-in-residence. There are, however, major differences among them. Some are ‘lockstep’ programmes – everyone takes the same courses at the same time, without any elective/specialised course options, whereas others offer a range of options. Some welcome those without prior degrees in business, whereas others are designed for those with a solid foundation in core business subjects. The major difference, however, is between programmes that focus exclusively upon developing technology-driven businesses and those that do not consider tech businesses to be the only ones worthy of consideration.
The typical topics covered in an entrepreneurship programme include:
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• recognising opportunities
• developing a business plan
• financial projections
• entry strategies
• growing the business
• financing the business: venture capital, debt, other forms of financing
• external advice
• legal and tax issues
• intellectual property
• exit strategies
• the entrepreneurial mindset.
Some programmes require a first degree in business, whereas others simply look for prior coursework in accounting, finance, and statistics. Others are open to those with essentially any first degree.
Many programmes also look for:
• a technological orientation, if not coursework related to technology
• evidence of prior entrepreneurial effort
• a combination of leadership and team play (given that successful entrepreneurs need to be able to assemble a team of skilled people to operationalise an idea).
Entrepreneurs may or may not manage to start a venture upon their graduation. Many, while attempting to assemble the resources (or come up with the idea) for a venture, take up positions that give them relevant experience. Some choose to work in the industry that they have targeted for their would-be startup; others look to get relevant operating experience in an appropriate functional area keyed to their skills (such as marketing); and still others work in a service capacity for startups, often in hopes of developing a network that they will be able to tap in the future.
Typical job titles
• Company founder
• Project manager (for a startup)
• Corporate intrapreneur (in-house venture project manager)
• Consultant
• Venture capital analyst
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British Venture Capital Association
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International Entrepreneurs Association (UK)
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National Venture Capital Association (US)
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National Association for Seed and Venture Funds (US)
In a field littered with idiosyncratic texts and hero-worshipping tales of successful entrepreneurs, Robert D Hisrich et al,
Entrepreneurship (McGraw-Hill/Irwin), provides a balanced and sensible treatment of how to create and start a venture, how to finance it, and how to manage, grow, and cash out of it. In addition, it discusses the perspective necessary for successful entrepreneurship. Its thorough treatment is marred only by its relentlessly American examples.
Those who have not mastered some of the business basics, however, are advised to consult the recommended readings for fields such as accounting, finance, marketing, and the like before embarking on this text.
Insofar as entrepreneurs are likely to want to become the heads of any organisations they start, the field of management overlaps substantially. See the
‘Management’ discussion for further information.
