Many entrepreneurs believe that, regardless of formal education,
there is no substitute for on-the-job learning. The Entrepreneurial
Experience (BMGT 463 in Montana State University's College of Business)
offers students real-world entrepreneurial experiences in projects
assisting start-up companies. As a client company of these student-consultants,
your business can have a student team (likely two members), which
takes on a specific challenge in your business and brings knowledge
from this course and other business education to bear on it for
a period of 13 weeks. Students receive three hours of academic credit
for the course and no monetary compensation for their work. The client
receives free labor focused on the issue of its choosing, resulting
in a deliverable which summarizes findings, conclusions, and recommendations.
While the specific focus of the project undertaken by the student-consultants
depends on the pressing issues of your business, the course is an
opportunity for students to learn methods and processes for:
· Gathering qualitative and quantitative information;
· Scoping and estimating work and creating and executing project
plans;
· Practicing sound project management; and
· Delivering and communicating professional-quality work.
Companies that have participated in the Entrepreneurial Experience
course include EnviroZyme, Golden Helix, Inc., InfoGears, LigoCyte
Pharmaceuticals, Inc., RightNow Technologies, TEXBase, Inc., and
PrintingForLess.com. Historically, engaging the students quickly
in the client company produces better outcomes. The more that clients
can commit to spending time during the first three weeks of the
course with students, helping them to understand the issues facing
the business and the expectations for the content and quality of
their work, the more likely it will be that they will receive deliverables
imminently useful to their business. Candor in expressions of expectations
and feedback throughout the engagement will help to develop the
students and will be welcomed by the professor.
The Project:
The content and direction of the project depends primarily on the
client company's initial identification of needs. We encourage clients
to identify a specific, meaningful challenge or gap in business
strategy or operations that can benefit from research (primary or
secondary) and exercise of basic business skills. In previous semesters,
students have investigated competitors' advertising and marketing
behaviors, created customer databases, researched regulatory issues,
identified and validated markets for new products, and compiled
intelligence on companies as potential partners for bringing new
technologies to market. Results from previous projects have been
incorporated into client-companies' marketing materials, commercialization
plans, funding proposals, and conference presentations.
The Students of BMGT 463:
Students in The Entrepreneurial Experience are usually undergraduate
seniors who have chosen to minor in Entrepreneurship and Small Business
with a major concentration in marketing, accounting, finance, or
management. Also students from other MSU colleges, e.g.,
Engineering, Agriculture, and Arts and Architecture sometimes enroll
in the course. Students possess basic business education, including
familiarity with financial reports, marketing and financial concepts
and tools, and customary approaches to research and analysis. You
can expect students to work four to six hours each week on the project. The application is available as a fillable PDF file here.
