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January 13, 2005
Venture Capital Taken into the Classroom
When I teach about entrepreneurial finance I try to get the student to understand the financing relationship from both sides of the table. I tell them they need to understand how a banker or investor thinks and what drives them.
An AP article that ran in the Tennessean spotlights some innovative programs that truly put entrepreneurship students in the shoes of venture capitalists.
"In an effort to elevate their teaching beyond the usual case studies and guest speakers, a handful of schools are raising significant amounts of money to turn over -- with a few strings -- to students who invest in real startups. The hope is to better train both aspiring venture capitalists and aspiring entrepreneurs, who will need to know what it takes to catch an investor's eye."
The University of Maryland, the University of Michigan, Cornell University and the University of Utah all have implemented this type of program. These are examples of how far entrepreneurship education is moving ahead in major universities, through the investment of tens and even hundreds of millions of dollars into their programs.
Belmont and several other colleges here in the Nashville area also give students exposure to equity investment in entrepreneurial ventures in their programs.
Posted January 13, 2005 05:10 AM
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Comments
Our startup here in Nashville (Pathfinder Therapeutics, Inc.) actually spoke with individuals at Univ. of Mich. about our company and got some great feedback. For those MBA students that are interested in this, you cannot beat the experience of actually reading and evaluating biz plans. As I'm quickly learning, the guys and gals that do this well have very exiciting careers...
Posted by: Jim Stefansic at January 13, 2005 04:39 PM
at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. He consults with a variety of businesses on start-up and growth related issues, and with larger corporations on re-establishing entrepreneurial cultures within their organizations. Dr. Cornwall's current research interests include entrepreneurial finance and entrepreneurial ethics. He has authored or co-authored four books.
