Why an Entrepreneurship Concentration is the MBA Bootstrapper’s Secret Weapon

The majority of students who attend business school (as many as 80% by some standards) aspire to start their own companies, and while a standard MBA will equip students with a broad range of business knowledge that can actually help them in many ways when starting a company, an entrepreneurial MBA, or an MBA with a focus on entrepreneurship, may give students an edge.

But an entrepreneurial MBA isn’t just for entrepreneurs. It can help you learn how to direct your own thoughts, focus on big-picture projects and strategies, and climb the corporate ladder if you plan to work for an employer rather than starting your own company. Overall, an MBA with an entrepreneurship focus can help prepare you to found a startup or take on a leadership position at a large corporation.

What is an Entrepreneurial MBA?

An Entrepreneurial MBA is a type of MBA or MBA intensive that specifically prepares students to be entrepreneurs, or to start their own companies after (or before) graduation. The main focus of this type of program is on the basics of starting a business, but they also tend to emphasize the idea of ​​thinking like an entrepreneur, which can be useful for students from a variety of fields.

“Of all the classes you can take during your MBA, mine are focused on how to think and act as an entrepreneur, either within a large corporation or your own startup,” says Doug Wilhardt, professor of the practice of entrepreneurship and academic director of entrepreneurship at Washington University in St. Louis.

In fact, entrepreneurial MBAs, or MBA students with a concentration in entrepreneurship, are cultivated with a particular mindset and perspective—a focus that is lacking in other types of MBA programs.

“It’s more of an ecosystem perspective,” says Rosanna Garcia, a professor of innovation and entrepreneurship at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts. “Entrepreneurship is so important because not all students are going to start a company.”

And for students, the focus on cultivating that mindset could make a difference when they ultimately try to start a company.

What are the specializations in MBA Entrepreneurship?

An MBA with a concentration in entrepreneurship is roughly the same as an MBA program with a concentration in entrepreneurship. In some ways, the terms are synonymous. That’s why some schools offer MBA programs with MBA specializations, which aim to provide students with the opportunity to take classes that teach entrepreneurial-specific skills.

This includes a variety of topics, such as analytical tools, organizational design, and management skills. Depending on the particular school and MBA program, there are also different specializations. For example, an MBA specialization in entrepreneurship may focus on innovation or technology, while some entrepreneurial MBA programs do not have a specific specialization within the entrepreneurship concentration area.

Is an Entrepreneurial MBA Worth It?

Studying entrepreneurship as part or as the main focus of an MBA program may be valuable for someone whose goal is to start a company, but it may also be valuable for someone who is looking to move up the corporate ladder, leading a division or part of a larger corporation, or creating some kind of excitement within their current company.

“The majority of our students are pursuing interesting careers at large companies,” says Willhardt. “They don’t want a cubicle, they want to be in a position to launch the next product or service,” he says. But roughly a quarter of students are looking to start their own companies, “which sucks up the other 75 percent of the class,” he says.

“The reason you pursue an entrepreneurial idea through an MBA program is to give yourself a slightly better chance of succeeding and starting a startup,” he says. “And the great thing about this program is that it’s an alternative. You get two years of great knowledge and you come away with a full-blown workshop.”

But again, whether it’s worth it ultimately depends on each individual student’s specific goals.

How an Entrepreneurial MBA can be a founder’s secret weapon

Garcia says the real appeal of entrepreneurship-focused MBA classes and majors is that they foster innovation and creativity in students. Again, it’s about cultivating a mindset.

“I don’t just teach how to be innovative, how to generate ideas, and how to start a company,” she says. “I teach from an ecosystem perspective, which is why entrepreneurship is so important.” She adds that WPI students also do a lot of recurrent learning during their time here: They work directly with local incubators and companies, getting hands-on with real-world business problems.

And perhaps most importantly, Garcia says, MBA programs and classes focused on entrepreneurship thoroughly instill the concept of “customer discovery” — “asking students if there is an actual need in the market for their business idea.”

“When students go through customer discovery, go out to market, and find out there’s no market, we consider that a success,” she says. “They’ve learned a lot. We encourage failure, but we view it as a positive.”

That’s why these programs can be a kind of “secret weapon” for future entrepreneurs: “Students give you the opportunity to fail,” rather than failing when the risks are higher, she says.

Wilhardt says he’s taking a similar approach.

“People think entrepreneurship is about starting a company, and that’s a misconception. That’s true, but entrepreneurship is really about finding a problem, falling in love with the problem, talking to a lot of people about the problem, and coming up with a hypothesis about a solution to that problem,” he says. “With that mindset, companies launch products.”

Additionally, students have the opportunity to learn directly from a successful entrepreneur in the business world like Wilhardt. By bringing real-world knowledge into the classroom, Wilhardt allows students to absorb even more insight and expertise during the class instead of learning the difficult lessons later.

“What we’re trying to do, having been through this before, is to create the curriculum we wish we had back then,” Wilhart says, “and pass on to our students the lessons we had to learn the hard way.”

summary

An MBA or major in entrepreneurship may be a good option for those who are looking to establish a company or startup in the future, or simply want to kickstart their career. Not only do these programs offer a broad business education, they also help foster an entrepreneurial mindset, which may serve professionals in a variety of settings and job roles.

“It’s not just a business discipline, it’s a skillset that can be applied to anything,” Willhardt says. Plus, when students graduate and look to start their own companies, they may have an advantage because they’ve likely already workshopped their ideas, worked directly with mentors, and launched companies while they were still in school. That means the degree program could be a kind of secret weapon for future entrepreneurs.