By Satouka Basso, Recruitment and Admissions Manager, Leadership Programmes
Do you have ambitions of developing your own business venture? If you have between 7 and 22 years of experience and a strong professional track record why not consider our Executive MBA (EMBA) programme. By choosing to study your EMBA at London Business School, you will benefit from a range of services and facilities specially designed to develop and expand your entrepreneurial perspective.
The Entrepreneurship Summer School gives you the chance to assess and shape your business opportunity in a robust and practical way. This programme aims to help you to succeed as an entrepreneur by providing you with the skills you need to choose which business opportunities to pursue and how to develop those ideas into workable businesses.
The LBS Incubator programme supports a selected number of graduating students and recent graduates to use the School’s facilities to launch your business. Zipporah Gatiti, Founder of Taste of Kenya credits the Incubator for offering almost everything a new business needs, as well as a mentorship programme that goes above and beyond: “If having a mentor was the only thing I’d received, it would have been worth it. Mentors are like co-founders. They study your company, help keep you on track and hold you accountable.”
There are many opportunities to learn from the professionals, the Entrepreneurship Mentor in Residence Programme provides the chance for students to learn from expert entrepreneur mentors from a range of sectors and disciplines. The famous TELL Series also showcases successful entrepreneurs’ personal stories. Navin Valrani studied the EMBA Dubai programme and the two years changed his life and career forever.
“It was wonderful in so many aspects,” he says. “First of all, the knowledge that you pick up on the EMBA gives you a fantastic toolkit to work with. You’re exposed to the most outstanding faculty you could possibly come across, and you can socialise with them after class and have some really good informal discussions. I am where I am today in my life, and with the growth rates of the businesses that I lead, because of LBS.”
Lidia Chmel decided it was time for a change of company, function and industry and founded her own company, Mama’s Dream Club. She says “I would never have had the courage to start my own company without the EMBA programme. Exploring case studies and hearing from guest speakers who had founded their own companies showed me that it was eminently possible to change direction and still be successful.”
The LBS Entrepreneurship Club provides a forum for students to network and share ideas and an environment which fosters innovation and entrepreneurship and helps students to cultivate and develop their own ideas.
Teruko Kyuden, SVP of VC Investments & Research Analyst – Company Fundamentals at Caygan Capital, says of her EMBA experience:
“LBS gave me an incredible foundation of knowledge on startups and entrepreneurship. Through the ‘Financing Entrepreneurial Business’ elective, I learnt about the VC industry landscape, the things venture capitalists check in due diligence and how to evaluate startups. There’s so much going on, both in the classroom and outside of it, and that’s what makes LBS such a fantastic place for aspiring entrepreneurs.”
If you are thinking about how you’ll finance your venture, we have relationships with Sussex Place Ventures and Enterprise 100, who have been fundamental in helping new start-ups. Students also have the opportunity to pitch their ideas before investors and benchmark their plans against those from other schools. Competitions include, European Business Plan of the Year Competition, Venture Capital Investment Competitions and Global Social Venture Competition. See further information about Competitions.
Start your entrepreneurial journey at LBS. See further information on applying to the programme.