When you consider the Top Entrepreneurial MBA Programs in Europe, IE Business School is consistently featured among them. The Entrepreneurial eco-system and curriculum have helped MBA students transform Business Ideas to new ventures, and raise capital for their initiative.
Curriculum
The IE International MBA program is divided into Pre-Program, Core Period, Change Module, and IMBA+ Period. Entrepreneurship is part of the Core Period with the Entrepreneurship Management Course. During the final IE IMBA+ Elective Period, Entrepreneurial students can select electives from over 80+ courses in English.
The Entrepreneurial Management focus involves courses and activities in Corporate Venturing, Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital, Hands-on Rapid Innovation Accelerator, Knowledge Incubator and Venture Lab Accelerator. Students can also choose relevant courses from Operations Management, Accounting, HR, Marketing, and Strategy, to supplement Entrepreneurship.
Venture Lab
MBA Students get the chance to launch new Businesses with Venture Lab. The lab is developed by the International Center for Entrepreneurial Management with the aim of nurturing, developing, and investing in new Businesses. The partnership with a large network of investors enables new companies to transform Business concepts to investment ready companies. The Venture Lab is divided into two components: The Venture Lab Accelerator and Venture Days.
The Venture Lab Accelerator (VLA)
Serial Entrepreneurs, Start-up Investors, and Industry Experts, along with IE Professors, lead 10 learning sessions. The sessions primarily focus on issues faced by start-up companies like the challenges faced in each sector and the obstacles during the growth phase. Some of the examples of learning sessions are The Lean Start-Up and Customer Development Learning from failure, Business Model Generation, Getting to Plan B, Venture Deal Term Sheets What investors want, and developing an Investor Pitch.
Each project in the VLA is assigned to a mentor, who can be an Entrepreneur, Investor, Expert, or a Businessperson. These mentors question the Business model and bring a real-world perspective to the projects. The feedback from the mentors is invaluable and allows students to optimize the project into a more viable Business. Entry to Venture Lab Accelerator requires that the project is innovative, has high growth potential, and is scalable. The skills and potential of the team is also evaluated before accepting to VLA.
Venture Days
Once the project has been accepted, and transformed to a pitch ready format, students get the chance to present their Business to local and international investors through IE’s Investor forum – Venture Days. The Top 5 Business Ideas from The Venture Lab Accelerator will get the chance to pitch in the forum. The Forum is conducted twice every year (May and November) in Madrid. MBA Students can also take part in International Venture Days. In 2012, the events were conducted in Shanghai, Colombia, Sao Paolo, and Mexico.
Spain Startup Co-Investment Fund (SSCIF)
SSCIF is a €40 million co-investment fund, equally contributed by ENISA (a Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism affiliated public Company that supports funding of Small and Mid-Sized Enterprises) and an external investor. Co-Investment partners are invited locally and internationally for investments of up to €1,500,000 per company. The Fund has been operational since 12th September 2012.
Recommended IE Entrepreneurship Resources
1) IE Entrepreneurship Lessons via ITunes
2) 10 IE Business School Alumni Videos about their entrepreneurial experiences
3) Other Interactive Case Studies and Resources
About the Author
I am Atul Jose, Founding Consultant of F1GMAT, an MBA admissions consultancy that has worked with applicants since 2009.
For the past 15 years I have edited the application files of admits to the M7 programs: Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, the Wharton School, MIT Sloan, Chicago Booth, Kellogg School of Management, and Columbia Business School, together with admits to Berkeley Haas, Yale School of Management, NYU Stern, Michigan Ross, Duke Fuqua, Darden, Tuck, IMD, London Business School, INSEAD, SDA Bocconi, IESE Business School, HEC Paris, McCombs, and Tepper, plus other programs inside the global top 30.
My work covers the full MBA application deliverable: career planning and profile evaluation, application essay editing, recommendation letter editing, mock interviews and interview preparation, scholarship and fellowship essay editing, and cover letter editing for funding applications. Full bio with credentials and admit history is here.
I am the author of the Winning MBA Essay Guide, the best-selling essay guide covering M7 MBA programs. I have written and updated the guide annually since 2013, which makes the 2026 edition the thirteenth.
The reason I still write and edit essays every cycle: a good MBA essay carries a real applicant's voice. Writing essays for F1GMAT's Books and Editing essays weekly is how I stay calibrated to what current admissions committees respond to.
Contact me for school selection, career planning, essay strategy, narrative development, essay editing, interview preparation, scholarship essay editing, or guidance documents for recommendation letters.