Teaching entrepreneurs

Can entrepreneurship really be taught? Asks Julie Logan

 

It is a long-running, fiercely argued debate. The popular notion of the entrepreneur is that of the inventor toiling away in the garden shed, or the young business prodigy dropping out of school or college. The reality, however, is slightly less romantic. Increasingly, the Richard Bransons of the future are acquiring their entrepreneurial skills at business school, rather than in their basement.

 

In recent years there has been significant increase in the numbers of people viewing entrepreneurship as an acceptable career path; an exciting, more autonomous way of doing things.

 

This is partly because of the demand for people with an entrepreneurial mindset. "The need for entrepreneurial skills in business is growing as firms find themselves in a more entrepreneurial environment," says Simon Parker, director of the Centre for Entrepreneurship, at Durham Business School (DBS). "Looking for market opportunities or being in a risk taking phase, for example, is becoming part of the normal career experience; not the exclusive domain of the old style entrepreneur who necessarily was self-employed and typically worked on their own."

 

For a new breed of entrepreneurs, people like Stelios Haji-Ioannou, Cass alumnus and founder and chairman of easyJet and the easyGroup, business school is a natural part of their entrepreneurial career track. At Cass Business School, we have seen a marked increase in the number of students interested in entrepreneurship. Half of current full-time MBA students say they are thinking about starting their own business within ten years of graduation. Many start them while still at business school.

 

The picture is similar across the UK.  At Saïd Business School at Oxford University (SBS), for example, about 80 per cent of prospective MBA students attending interview express an interest in founding a company.

 

So what do business schools offer the would-be entrepreneur? First, through the core curriculum they provide a foundation of general business knowledge, but also through specialist electives, the specific skills and knowledge targeted at students planning to start a business.

 

"You need more than just the core skills and background knowledge for running a company," says Fiona Reid, director of the new entrepreneurship centre at SBS. "You must develop other skills: determination, adaptability, excellent communication skills, particularly regarding relationships with investors, the ability to work in a team, to galvanise other people to work for you, and to keep the spirit of the company going."

 

The best schools embrace the whole entrepreneurship agenda, offering a range of support services for would-be entrepreneurs from entrepreneurs in residence to entrepreneurial clubs.

 

At Judge Business School at Cambridge University, for example, students are encouraged to network outside of the business school. "We run Enterprise Tuesday -- a university wide extra-curricular programme," says Shai Vyakarnam, director of the Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning, at Judge. "It is attended by post grads from across the University, as well as the local Cambridge business community." It is just one of many initiatives at Judge designed to help student entrepreneurs.

 

At Cranfield School of Management, where the new Bettany Centre for Entrepreneurial Performance and Economics opens in 2006, alum Robert Wright who bought a business for £1, built it up and sold it for £75 million, is the Entrepreneur in Residence.

 

This kind of added value is essential.  When choosing a business school, would-be entrepreneurs should look for a base line offering that includes much more than just the teaching aspect.

 

There should be an opportunity to enter a business plan competition, allowing the application of learning to a practical real world situation; exposure to serial entrepreneurs; an emphasis on networking with people that can help at the start-up stage; help with financing, whether through VC networking or seedcorn funds; a tech transfer process enabling students to link up with scientists within the university; and an excellent entrepreneurship elective where entrepreneurs come into the classroom acting as role models.

 

It seems like a tough task, but many UK business schools already do this and much more to help entrepreneurs. And, while the MBA is still the principal postgraduate route to a business school entrepreneurship qualification, there are other options. Several schools run an MSc in entrepreneurship. Cass offers a Science Entrepreneurship, at Cranfield School of Management you can take an MSc or PhD in Entrepreneurship. Some courses target specific market sectors, such as Tanaka Business School's New Ventures in the Health Sector course at Imperial College.

 

And for any future entrepreneurs still unconvinced of the merits of the business school versus garden shed career route, note the words of Professor Steve Haberman, deputy dean at Cass: "The statistics show that it is extremely difficult to become a successful entrepreneur. Practical experience is valuable, but, for budding entrepreneurs, the knowledge and skills acquired at a leading business school help tip the scales in their favour and make the chances of success that much greater."

 

Dr Julie Logan PhD MSc is the Director of Simfonec, an Enterprise Centre led by Cass Business School, City University, London, UK