MBA in Entrepreneurship | TopMBA

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What is an MBA in Entrepreneurship?

An MBA in Entrepreneurship is the perfect specialization for candidates looking to start a successful business venture. The degree usually includes a standard MBA curriculum alongside entrepreneurship-focused classes, such as venture capital and asset management.

What You Need to Study an MBA in Entrepreneurship

Each entrepreneurship-tailored MBA program will have different requirements. Generally, most b-schools will require the following:

  • Three to five years of professional experience (although this can vary)
  • An undergraduate degree
  • A good GMAT/GRE score
  • Employers’ recommendation

In terms of skills, you’ll need:

  • Resilience
  • Passion for entrepreneurship
  • Proactive attitude

MBA in Entrepreneurship – Course Content

While walking into the first course of an MBA in entrepreneurship with a business plan in hand isn't necessary, it can be helpful to know exactly what you want from your MBA. As with any other MBA career path, the clearer an idea you have, the more you’ll be able to get out of it.

However, if you don’t have a preformed business plan, don't worry – an MBA in entrepreneurship is built around helping you create and implement start-ups and new ventures. While it can be helpful, you might find that your MBA takes your preconceived notions and rips them to shreds. When it comes to start-ups in particular, who knows how the new ideas you’ll be exposed to and the people you’ll meet will inspire you?

Common entrepreneurship MBA courses include:

  • Generating new start-up and venture ideas
  • New venture feasibility
  • Financing, managing, and marketing new ventures
  • The legal structures behind a new business
  • Sustaining a start-up
  • Venture capital
  • Entrepreneurial strategies
  • Social innovation and entrepreneurship
  • Product design and marketing

On an entrepreneurship MBA, you might also have the opportunity to participate in venture capital competitions.

Stanford Graduate School of Business has been ranked as the best business school in the world specializing in entrepreneurship for yet another year, with 15 percent of its graduates starting their own business. The complete top 10 can be found below.

1) Stanford Graduate School of Business

2) MIT Sloan School of Management

3) Harvard Business School

4) Imperial College Business School

5) Copenhagen Business School

6) The Wharton School

7) IESE Business School

8) Judge Business School

9) IE Business School

10) Saïd Business School

Top Careers to Pursue with an MBA in Entrepreneurship 

Although it isn’t the typical corporate-focused course of study, there are many jobs available with an MBA in entrepreneurship, mainly because of the opportunities available to graduates ready to start their own business.

You could use your creativity and entrepreneurial skills within an established company as an intrapreneur. Similarly, as entrepreneurs are good at multitasking, project management is a good career prospect.

Entrepreneurship MBAs could also land a roll as a growth hacker. As entrepreneurs know how to build businesses up from scratch through trial and error and experimentation, this makes it a lot easier to work in organizations as a growth hacker to heighten their userbase.

Similarly, you could easily land a leadership role in a large organization, but this often isn’t the end goal.

Choosing an entrepreneurship concentration means students envisage themselves as innovators and leaders in their field, with strong ideas on how they want to start their business and guide it for long-term growth and marketplace success (according to US News and World Report.)

Therefore, many entrepreneurship graduates pursue career paths that are far from traditional. Some students network with peers and start a new company before graduating from their MBA program. While others will take time to start a new company during their degree, to ensure it can be successful thanks to start-up “incubator” systems.

All three of these unconventional career paths are a great fit for students ready to take the lead and bring a new service, product, or concept to market. Starting something new, and being one’s own boss, is often considered the “American Dream” in terms of employment. With this degree, that’s easily within reach.

Salaries

According to PayScale, MBAs graduating with an entrepreneurship concentration could be set to earn an average of $98,000 in the US. But with the opportunity to specialize in your career post-graduation, there’s room salaries to soar.

For example, a product manager in software earns an average salary of US$109,000; senior product managers are earning an average of US$126,000; marketing directors earn US$117,000 on average; and CFOs make on average US$169,000.