Babson Entrepreneurship: Curriculum, Tracks, Accelerators, Labs, Fundraising & Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM)

Babson introduced entrepreneurship as a distinct discipline almost half a century ago. It is an intrinsic part of the Babson culture. As a result, among the class of 2012, 17% started their own business, while 7% went back to their family business. This is an extremely high rate of entrepreneurial commitment at a Business School, even beating Stanford's 16%. At Babson, Entrepreneurship is not just a distinctive discipline; it is integrated across the curriculum so that it forms a fundamental skill for all Babson graduates. Students can pick from 80+ entrepreneurship courses.

Entrepreneurial Thought and Action is the registered trademark that represents Babson's famed entrepreneurial philosophy. It involves an interdisciplinary approach to formulate sustainable, practical solutions from pertinent issues across the globe. Babson considers this philosophy as the primary solution to help create sustainable economic and social assets. Students develop an entrepreneurial mindset to help anyone, anywhere, at any level and transform ideas into reality - in a creative, analytical and ethical manner. Students are imbibed with the instincts of identifying problems to deliver opportunities.

Here is how Babson's Entrepreneurial Thought and Action is put to practice.

Curriculum

While most B-schools offer Entrepreneurship in the form of electives or concentrations, Babson has it as part of the core curriculum. They include Opportunity & Entrepreneurship, Creating & Leading Effective Organizations and Managing Talent: Yours and Others.
The Signature Learning Experiences (SLEs) add to the core curriculum with hands-on experiences where theories are put to the practical test. The emphasis is on both the necessary business skills, and the ability to manage one's own self along with others.

Examples are:

• Creating –Students are given a challenge that involves risk-taking, making a difference and taking an innovative, unconventional approach.

• Team Process Day - Teaches how to build effective teams through a day-long program of indoor and outdoor activities

• Feasibility Analysis - To analyze the feasibility of startup ideas.

The Entrepreneurship Intensity Track is designed to enable students to incorporate their business idea, pick a location, develop a marketing strategy, execute their idea, gain funding and launch the business during or soon after the MBA program is complete. Students also get to collaborate with an outside mentor - a decision taken by the mentor himself.

Entrepreneurship 101 is an intense one-day course that focuses on the mental attitude and self-analysis required to become an entrepreneur. It gives students a 360 degree perspective on the fundamentals of entrepreneurship. Program sessions teach entrepreneurial Thought & Action, self-understanding and its importance for Entrepreneurship, creativity and ideation, market testing and taking action. 
            
Buying a Small Business is a hands-on, one-day program for entrepreneurs, who are interested in small business (Enterprise value or revenue below $3-5 million) acquisition. The program intensively covers all aspects of buying a small business. It includes self-Analysis, the M&A process, sourcing business opportunities, peculiarities, valuations, deal structures, seller objectives and psychology, financing alternatives, purchase and sale agreements, running a small business and passive income purchases.

The Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship

Since 1998, The Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship has been the platform for the vibrant entrepreneurial environment at Babson. It offers 6,000 sqft, and hosts the Department of Entrepreneurship faculty, Successful Transgenerational Entrepreneurship Practices (STEP) Project, the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), and the John E. and

Alice L. Butler Venture Accelerator Program

The center develops path-breaking co-curricular programs and research through global co-operative initiatives to further Babson's Entrepreneurial Thought and Action philosophy. It also has a whole array of student-led entrepreneurship organizations and forums, and is part of the Boston's entrepreneurial network.

It runs the world's first entrepreneurial Hall of Fame - the Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs, which in 2012 inducted Scott D. Cook, Founder, Intuit Inc., Gururaj "Desh" Despande, Chairman, Sparta Group LLCand Howard H. Stevenson, Senior Associate Dean, Harvard University and Director of Publishing and Chair, Harvard Business Publishing Company.

It also conducts the annual Celebrating Student Venturing, a 2-day event that includes the Student Business of the Year Award, the Creative Thinking Prize and Babson's Annual Business Plan Competitions like the B.E.T.A. Challenge. Here graduate and undergraduate winners each win $20,000 in cash and services from corporate sponsors. Two other finalists win $2,500.

John E. And Alice L. Butler Venture Accelerator

The John E. and Alice L. Butler Venture Accelerator provide budding entrepreneurs at Babson with support at all the critical development stages. The first stage is EXPLORE, where students generate ideas, and verify market opportunities. The second phase is PURSUE, where students give form to their business idea and come up with a plan of action. The third and final stage is LAUNCH AND GROW, where ventures are launched, revenue streams are created, funding is obtained, and the product or service is marketed. Resources available to students include Dedicated Faculty Advisers, Assessment Tools, Workshops,

Open Lab Space, Peer Group Collaboration, Events and Fundraising

The Summer Venture Program gives up to 20 student teams a 10-week intensive experience as part of the Launch and Grow phase. The program is also open to Babson undergraduates and students of the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering. Teams get accommodation, office space, mentorship and a speaker series. The program ends with the Demo Day where all the teams showcase their ideas to institutional investors and the community at Babson.
As of May 2011, 211 students (Including 139 from the MBA program) have launched 190 businesses here.

BABSON College Entrepreneurship Research Conference - 1981–2012

The Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference was first held in 1981 to empower and encourage entrepreneurial research across the globe. Today, it is considered the oldest and foremost conference in the international entrepreneurial space. The proceedings of the conference are published annually in Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research - the most extensive group of empirical research papers for entrepreneurship in the world. The conference model is an extremely interactive one where students can network with peers and top entrepreneurship scholars to further their ideas and learn about new ones.

Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM)

GEM was developed in 1999 with the London Business School. It is the world's top research program on entrepreneurship with influences in national economic policies across the world. Entrepreneurs are the key to transforming Economies and as many as 59 countries are part of the program. The Universidad del Desarrollo, Chile and the Universiti Tun Abdul Razak, Malaysia are also a part of the program.

GEM studies entrepreneurs, highlighting the different features of entrepreneurship in different parts of the world. It also provides access to some of the globe’s top researchers and institutions. In USA, GEM testified for the House of Representatives Committee on Small Business. In Brazil, GEM is highly influential in the top echelons of government, and is an important means of getting to top policy makers and bodies. In Spain, GEM has a 6-year relationship with the Industry Ministry, and assists the Spanish Association of Commerce Chambers with decisions and plans twice a year.

MassChallenge

Babson is an academic sponsor of the global business competition – MassChallenge. It is located in the Boston Innovation District and gives entrepreneurs the resources to launch their ideas. Finalists receive office space, training, mentorship, and the opportunity to win some of the $1 million prize money. There also is an accelerator program that lasts 4 months, $10 million in-kind support and no equity has to be surrendered.