Business school offers new entrepreneurship option for undergrads

Students aiming to become successful entrepreneurs have a new academic option at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

The School of Business now offers students the opportunity to pursue a concentration in entrepreneurship within its undergraduate major in management and human resources.

“More and more of our highly qualified undergraduate students were requesting this opportunity,” says Randall B. Dunham, chair of the school’s management department. “Employers have been emphasizing the value of entrepreneurship training even for employees of traditional firms. We have an entrepreneurship faculty that is one of the best in the country; we are delighted to add to our portfolio of options for undergraduate business majors.”

The program is designed to offer training to students who may be interested in launching a business while in school, immediately following graduation, or later in their careers. The program will also provide training to students who wish to work in an existing small business, family business or startup, as well as those students who may provide services to startups, or provide services such as management consulting.

The new option has an enrollment limit with an admission process. For the current academic year, only a small group of students with junior standing were eligible to apply.

Coursework will begin in fall 2007 and will integrate theory and practice. Students will meet with business professionals involved in entrepreneurship including entrepreneurs, lawyers, and venture capitalists. They’ll also learn how to write business plans for local businesses, their own business ideas and for business plan competitions.

The entrepreneurial spirit is nothing new at the School of Business. In 2003, business student Matt Stamerjohn decided there must be an easier and cheaper way to get textbooks, and created ExchangeHut, a Web site where students can buy or sell just about anything – including textbooks, concert tickets, mopeds and more – from and to students at their university.

Kristen Berman formed netNerds, an on-call computer support and repair company, while a sophomore at UW–Madison. Berman recognized that students moving into a new community often need help getting their computers wired and running efficiently. Although not technologically savvy herself, she was able to launch a successful startup company to serve students.

Assistant professor Jon Eckhardt, the primary architect of the program adds, “Similar to our successful MBA program in entrepreneurship, the overall goal of the new undergraduate option is to provide training, life experiences and mentors to facilitate the entrepreneurial aspirations of our students.”