CNN.com - Budding entrepreneurs add skills

Budding entrepreneurs can learn some start-up lessons at business schools.

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FT's Executive MBA Rankings
1. Wharton, U.S.
2. Kellogg, U.S.
3. Chicago GSB, U.S.
4. Stern, NY, U.S.
5. Fuqua, Duke, U.S.
6. Hong Kong UST, China
7. Columbia, U.S.
8. Instituto de Empresa, Spain
9. London Business School, UK
10. Tanaka, Imperial College, UK
Source: Financial Times 2005

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EMBA SNAPSHOT

Executives taking the top EMBA courses in the U.S., Europe and Asia have average salaries of around $130,000 to $200,000.

A typical EMBA student is likely to be aged in the early 30s, with 6-10 years of working experience.

A top EMBA course can cost $100,000. Customized courses start at a few thousand dollars.

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(CNN) -- MBA graduates traditionally secure well-paid positions inside big corporate firms. But growing numbers of budding entrepreneurs are also showing interest in doing a business course.

These people are keen to gain the skill sets necessary to take an idea or plan and build it into a successful and profitable business.

In response to this demand, many business schools are incorporating more content into their courses that relates to entrepreneurialism, placing it alongside traditional subjects examining problem solving and strategic planning as it applies to large organizations.

In many cases, such content is offered as an optional elective for students but is designed to mesh with the skills and knowledge covered in other subjects within the degree.

Going to business school to learn how to create a successful start-up business seems counterintuitive to many who have built their own companies. Some people believe that the only way to truly learn how to be an entrepreneur is to get out into the business world and give it a try.

However the major business schools are confident they can impart the skills required, and report that growing numbers of students are enrolling with that type of career path in mind.

London Business School's MBA program director Julia Tyler says there is a strong vein of interest in entrepreneurial subjects offered as part of her school's degree course.

"Courses in entrepreneurship are among the most popular electives on offer," she says. "We cover topics such as understanding entrepreneurial management, new venture development and managing and growing a business."

LBS also runs an entrepreneurship summer school. Tyler says this course is effectively an internship in the student's own nascent business, helping them to work through the key steps required when setting up a new firm. Like other academic institutions, LBS also provides office space for start-up ventures and has a history of investing in some of the businesses which emerge.

"Interest in the area of entrepreneurship is increasing in people who recognise that the skills involved can be of as much relevance to a large business as to a start up," says Tyler.

"It also comes from mainstream MBAs who recognize, in addition, that they may well be working with entrepreneurs in their role as bankers and consultants and strategists."

Other business schools are also recognizing the trend and incorporating entrepreneurial material into their MBA courses.

For example, INSEAD offers a range of electives as part of its current MBA degree course. These include subjects such as entrepreneurship and family enterprise, managing entrepreneurial growth and preparing for a successful exit.

In its MBA program, the Stanford Graduate School of Business offers 16 subjects in its entrepreneur elective, covering areas such as start-up globalisation strategies, social entrepreneurship, evaluating opportunities and managing growth.

Earlier this year Stanford GSB conducted a conference that explored the qualities and skills shared by successful entrepreneurs. Speakers agreed that having an unrelenting focus and drive is key, but so is a solid understanding of business fundamentals. They pointed to a business world littered with people who started with a great idea but did not have the commercial skills to make it profitable.

Former Handspring CEO and speaker at the conference, Donna Dubinsky, says it is important to have both a big-picture vision and a focus on details.

"You can have the greatest strategy in the world, but if you fail at the implementation of it, then you can't succeed," she says. "You have to get the details right."

Many of the conference speakers had completed MBA degrees and agreed the skills they acquired had helped significantly in their entrepreneurial endeavours.

LBS's Tyler agrees, saying that it's not a case of people just being born with the innate skills to succeed.

"I would argue that, even if you are born with skills, learning the basics in class can prevent some very, very expensive mistakes," she says. "An entrepreneur who has started in business school may not always succeed first off, but they are more likely to avoid the obvious bear traps."

Budding entrepreneurs add skills

Business schools can provide start-up lessons

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