Experts and MBA alumni are all agreed: if you are striving for an international career, attending a high-quality MBA program is definitely a good idea. Many, however, are unaware of the enormous benefits the right MBA can bring for people seeking to start their own businesses.
In the following interview, one of Europe's leading experts explains why this is the case: Prof. Nikolaus Franke, Academic Director of the WU Executive Academy's Professional MBA Entrepreneurship & Innovation and Head of WU Vienna's Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation.
After the interview with Prof. Franke, three alumni, who have successfully set up their own businesses during/after the MBA, speak about their experiences on their way into self-employment, outlining the role of the MBA in this process:
- Clemens M. Wass, founder and managing director of RIS:App by OpenLaws.at - BY WASS GmbH
- Svetlana Kokurina and Iain Coles, founders and managing directors of CEEsam Marketing GmbH
Prof. Franke, is entrepreneurship something you can learn?
Prof. Franke: You not only can but actually have to learn it. Nobody is born with the knowledge you need to identify and exploit entrepreneurial opportunities. The question, then, is how to learn the necessary knowledge and skills—solely by doing and from your mistakes, or by taking advantage of other people's knowledge and experience. We know from experience that the latter strategy is more efficient and produces better results. Of course, you also need to be gifted.