Intl MBA Students: What can we offer for venture research outside the US?

MBA degree programs are highly populated by foreign students

Building new ventures/entrepreneurship is one of the new competencies many seek to learn

Without a green card or US employer sponsorship to attain one, many students on student visa are unable to stay and work in the US

Many students seek to use their time here to make connections and create business plans to execute in their home nation

Basic Facts

The US experience in venture creation/ funding is the primary approach that is actively taught

Nearly all of the resources and examples and cases that are used are focused on the US experience

How can we bring more focus and resources to bear on the non-US entrepreneurship needs of this important part of our student cohort?

The big issue

More than 85% of respondents were located in the United States, with the highest percentage from the east and west coasts: Massachusetts, California, Washington, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Illinoi, New York New Jersey Pennsylvania, and Texas.

International respondents were slightly younger than US respondents and hailed from 66 countries with high percentages of respondents from Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Mexico, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Venezuela

Babson College Alumni Survey

Deep and recent on e-ship curriculum outside US

Growing amount on the most effective tools and methods for enabling eship locally (Saras Sarasvathy – “effectual reasoning”)

Lots on the theories Little on the needs, resources and tools

required to make it happen

Research on Intl Eship Pedagogy

“Entrepreneurship as academic discipline must push beyond cozy walls of college to connect with a broader population of students…”

“Connection (with agencies and sources of funding)..enhance the students learning and develop stronger linkages to the surrounding community…with implications for regional development.”

– Structure and Scope of E-ship Education Programs in Higher Ed Around the World; Winkel, et al, Journal of Entrepreneurship Education, v. 16 2013.

Recent survey study finds….

1. Expansion of research resources for non- US market identification, funding sources, competitive products, venture environment and govt promotion programs

2. Opportunity to create our own small international venture incubator for venturers from emerging market nations

So, how can we help?

Venture/PE industry is under developed outside of the major economies

Funding is very private, not disclosed and not accessible for many - forget Thomson!

Size of industry is so small at this point – angel investors and crowdfunding, microfinance are alternatives

More focus on US/Euro funds seeking EM investments

Funding sources/deal histories

Size of markets usually dictate availability of market share data

Smaller economies often do not have local industries nor the infrastructure to support them

Data may be available on the ground, in local language but nowhere else

Growing, but……

Markets – immature, untracked, unavailable

So many sources focused on foreign firms setting up operations in the country

Good sources from global/local accounting and consulting firms keep track of what is taking place locally – sometimes by city or region

PWC and Ernst and Young “Doing Business in…” series are typically good and reasonably current.

IFC “Doing Business” series on business regulations is excellent

Lex Mundi and HLB International are great free resources that cover smaller nations

“Doing Business In” guides won’t work

EMIS – both in English and local language

Intl databases/directories in local language

Google Translate Colleagues at foreign colleges, govt

development agencies in location Community of entrepreneurs in that locale Venture accelerators/incubators in

country Community of business students in your

institution

What sources work?

EMIS Emerging Mkts Information

Use your local intl venturers to do the research on weblinks to resources

Create a “Thailand Entrepreneurship” Libguide to maintain those resources for future needs

Seek to hire similar students to update it Can’t do it? Outsource it – but retain it! Reach out as far as you can when you

don’t have it.

Creative solutions?

Best source for assessment of eship activity, aspirations, attitudes across range of nations

http://www.gemconsortium.org/ Started 1999, now covers 100 countries Both global and country reports Published list of network participants for

contacts

Babson Global Eship Monitor

Jack Cahill jcahill@babson.edu Mgr Research and Instruction/Cutler

Ctr for Investments and Finance Questions?

Thanks for your attention!