So, You Want To Be An Entrepreneur

You are right it’s hard, but we came up with measurements of how to test the skills to identity opportunities. And we test sometimes through cases, sometimes through simulations. We look for unique ways to be able to say yes this is what we think you should be able to do in order to be entrepreneurial and here is how to test it. We have done that with all different aspects of tasks and skills to be entrepreneurial in order to demonstrate you can teach it and this is how you can do it.

Compare to going to a traditional college program, what do you think are the benefits of studying an entrepreneur program?

There are only about 18, 346 big businesses in United States. And there are 28 millions businesses in the United States. If we just focus on United States, which is a challenge to begin with, over half of the work force in US works in small and medium businesses. I would flip it and say the challenge is all that we teach is about big businesses. Less than 1 per cent are big businesses, so what people actually do to earn a living is more likely with small and medium businesses, [so] why isn’t that the traditional way of teaching and learning?

What do you think would make a good student for an entrepreneurial program?

Someone who is interested in creating values that they get to decide which values they want to create. Whether it’s for themselves to make money or for a new way to solve a community problem. If you read all the global ways entrepreneurship is being used, it’s really being use to create value and be problem solvers whether it’s about economic development or environment. Most people who are interested in solving big problems realize it has to be done through entrepreneurship.

Would you say you wouldn’t have to be a businessman after graduating an entrepreneur program?

I definitely would say you don’t have to be a businessman. It’s different with different people. At Babson, we have a lot of people who come to us who are already being entrepreneurial. We help them learn and hone tasks and skills. Some of them will go on to work for others first, in fact I think it’s actually good to work for others first. Learn how businesses work, so you can decide how you don’t want yours to work in some way and how you do in other. Build your network, make some money, gather some resources and then start some your own business or whatever you want to be. For others, they want to dive in right away. It’s very personal and individual decision to what you do next.

What do you think are the big challenges for startup entrepreneur? How do you think the education system help alleviate these challenges?

Two different things: I think one of the biggest challenge is that our country is the educational system, the policies and regulations are all constructed to support big businesses. So it’s learning how to navigate systems that aren’t created to be navigated by small businesses. That’s a huge challenge because if you think about it every attorney, every accountant, every banker have gone through an educational system that is focused on large corporations. You have to be careful that you even find profession services that understand how to start a small business. I think that’s a huge obstacle. Same for policies. Policies are made for large businesses and then you have to figure out what the implications are for small and medium businesses.