Business Schools Aim to Build Entrepreneurs With Expanded Programs
Faculty say they see rising interest among students wanting to start their own ventures.
An entrepreneurship event at Olin Business School in St. Louis.
Source: Olin Business SchoolWhen Jordan Hollander started business school in September 2015, becoming an entrepreneur wasn’t part of his longterm plan. “I probably would have said, ‘You shouldn’t go to business school if you want to be an entrepreneur,’” he says. Instead, given his interest in extreme sports, he saw himself working in marketing at a big company like Red Bull.
That plan changed not long after his studies at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management began. Hollander joined the Zell Fellows, a program for students who want to start or acquire their own businesses. The fellowship arranged for him to travel to Israel to meet fellow graduate students, provided equity free grants (a form of funding that does not necessitate giving up equity in the business) and helped him to develop the confidence he needed to pursue his own business dream. Hollander is now the chief executive officer of Hotel Tech Report, a platform that allows hotel operators to research software providers. He co-founded the company in 2017.