Entrepreneurship at Texas MBA: Compete in $135,000 Venture Lab Investment Competition

The Texas MBA Program consistently ranks among the top 20 MBA Programs in the world, with the Bloomberg BusinessWeek’s 2012 biennial ranking placing the program at No.19 for the Best Business schools in US. The program has a strong track record in employer satisfaction, Quality of the Class and Leadership Skills. Austin Texas McComb School of Business is also known for its expertise in research and intellectual capital development.

Although not surprising to Texas MBA Students, The University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business was ranked #5 in the Top 25 Graduate Entrepreneurial Colleges. The ranking was contributed by the role played by Herb Kelleher Center for Entrepreneurship in developing Entrepreneurial students.

For Full-time MBA Students, opportunity to learn about Entrepreneurship is offered as a concentration. During the first year, students will have to complete the core curriculum mainly covering topics in Finance, Operations, Strategy and Marketing. In addition to gaining fundamental knowledge about Management, the program also put emphasis on ethical leadership. The electives allow students to tailor their program according to post-MBA goals.

Entrepreneurship Concentration

Entrepreneurship is part of Texas MBA’s Interdisciplinary Concentrations. The On-Campus experiential learning opportunities with the concentration make Entrepreneurship a valuable concentration. For this concentration students must complete five courses from

Entrepreneurial Management, Opportunity Identification and Analysis, Entrepreneurial Growth, Entrepreneurship and Incubation, Social Entrepreneurship, Texas Venture Labs Practicum, New Venture Creation, Venture Capital Fellows Program, Law for Entrepreneurs and Marketing for High-Tech Products.

Herb Kelleher Center for Entrepreneurship

The Center for Entrepreneurship is named after Herb Kelleher, the Founder of South West Airlines, who revolutionized the flying experience. During the early 60s, flying was a luxury, affordable only to the elite. Herb changed the Business Model, by cutting unnecessary services and starting direct routes to remote destinations, very different from the traditional hub-and-spoke scheduling system, which required passengers to get down at major cities and take a connecting flight to the destination.  

The resources and partnerships provided by Herb Kelleher Center for Entrepreneurship makes it an essential platform for Entrepreneurial MBA Students. With the support of the center, students can evaluate their ideas through Texas Venture Labs. For students who want to work in a startup environment, the Center coordinates the internship opportunities at Austin Technology Incubator. The Center facilitates the creation of Student Entrepreneurship groups and offers Entrepreneurship education.

Venture Labs Investment Competition

Herb Kelleher faculty facilitates the Venture Labs Investment Competitions. The Annual Venture Lab Investment Competition (VLIC) is a great platform for new ventures in University of Texas as they get to compete for prizes worth $135,000.  The winner is picked up for the Global VLIC, a larger platform to showcase startup ideas. The participants will compete with start-ups around the world for a cash prize of more than $150,000.

The Center also facilitates the Idea to Product Competition where students compete for the best Business proposal in the technology sector. Another similar initiative supported by the Center is the Texas Venture Labs, which enables the commercialization of technology products and supports innovation in this sector.

Entrepreneurship Education

Apart from Experiential learning and mentorship, the Herb Kelleher Center is also known for its research expertise. The faculty play a major role in educating entrepreneurial students. Here are some of the interesting Publications on Entrepreneurship:

1) Fetters, M., Greene, P., Rice, M., & Butler, J., 2010. The Development of University–based Entrepreneurship Ecosystems. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.

2) Rindova, V., Petkova, A., & Kotha, S. 2007. Standing out: How new firms in emerging markets build reputation. Strategic Organization, 5: 31-70.

3) Butler, J., & Kozmetsky, G., 2004. Immigrant and Minority Entrepreneurship. Westport, CA: Praeger.

4) Adams, R., 2002. A Good Hard Kick in the Ass: Basic Training for Entrepreneurs. New York, NY: Crown.

John Sibley Butler, Director at The Herb Kelleher Center, is also the Director for UT’s IC2 Institute, which mentors and accelerates growth of startup companies with the Austin Technology Incubator (ATI).

Speaker Series

Another great initiative from the Center is the Speaker Series, which is conducted in partnership with AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center. The series is open to general public and the audience will get the chance to learn from Serial Entrepreneurs, who were able to start a company, obtain funding, build a team and found a profitable exit strategy.

Student Organization plays a big role in bringing together like-minded Entrepreneurs. Many relationship and partnerships are formed through this network. Two Student organizations for Entrepreneurship at Texas MBA are the Entrepreneur Society and Venture Fellows.

Career Opportunities

Career Opportunities for Texas MBA Entrepreneurial Students are not limited to New Venture Creation. MBAs can also take up roles as Venture Capital Associate, Small Business Strategist, Marketer or as a Product Manager. By understanding the various elements in a start-up and how they interoperate, MBAs can play a crucial role in kick starting the growth for start-ups.

Recommended Reads

1) Herb Kelleher Center for Entrepreneurship
2) Venture Labs Investment Competition