from the editors' desk - harvard university · 2019. 6. 12. · liou sumit malik francois manll...
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THE HARBUS NEWS CORPORATION
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PRI A BAKHSHI PABLO BOTERO DENNIS CHUA JOE FEGHALI
TRISTON FRANCIS ASHIANAJIVRAJ
PIPPA LAMB CALV IN 0 . LIOU SUMIT MALIK
FRANCOIS MA N lL ANTON MCGONNELL
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SARAH SCALIA KEVIN SHARER CLARE SIMONIS
SHU ZHENG
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From the Editors' desk No More ''Lost Einsteins''
Pria Bakhshi, Editor-in-Chief
SumitMalik, Editor-in-Chief
For all the attention directed toward startups in an era of record venture capital financing, massive appetite for early-stage investments, and an ever-growing club of VC-backed "unicorns" crossing billion-dollar valuations, entrepreneurial activity by MBAs from leading programs has lagged far behind. Entrepreneurship among recent MBA graduates has reached its lowest level in eight years, falling by over a quarter since 2015.
In a survey by the Financial Times, the decline in the proportion of students founding a business within three years of graduating, to I 6 percent from 22 percent, coincides with an increase in the opportunity cost; average post-MBA compensation has risen nearly IO percent over the same period, and established corporations have increasingly sought to replicate the innovative and cultural characteristics that that draw students to startups. At the same time, new evidence has come to light that socioeconomic and demographic disparities have resulted in "lost Einsteins," capable innovators who do not realize their entrepreneurial potential , on a dramatic scale.
Recent research by economists at Harvard, MIT, Stanford, LSE, and the US Treasury highlights
that individuals born into families at the top one percent of the income scale are overwhelmingly more likely to become inventors, by a factor of ten, than those with family income below the median. The authors proceed to demonstrate a significant causal relationship between exposure to inventors while growing up and the likelihood of becoming inventors-with consequences not only for children from less wealthy families , but also for minorities and women, who often are exposed to fewer role models in a space where they have been persistently underrepresented.
Harvard Business School is actively working to buck this trend and foster a thriving entrepreneurial
alike regarding increased diversity in the protagonists featured in cases furthermore exhibits a commitment to leveling the playing field for underrepresented groups.
A short walk from the Aldrich classrooms, potential founders can find broad-reaching support at the Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship. HBS students have privileged access to a multitude of resources to develop skills conducive to launching and managing a successful venture, build a broad network within the startup community, and develop a business from idea to inception and beyond. Shared space at the Innovation Lab and interactions with Entrepreneurs-in-Residence promote mentorship and
powerful entrepreneurial ecosystem at HBS provides valuable ongoing support to the over 50 percent of alumni who start a business over the course of their careers. The Rock I 00 connects high-impact alumni founders; programs such as Startup Studio NYC, the Harvard Launch Lab, the Harvard Life Lab, and Northern California Startup Partners support the startup ecosystem across industries and geographies.
Perhaps as a result of the drive at this institution to promote an entrepreneurial spirit, we cannot overemphasize the caliber of the entrepreneurs that we have encountered in our class at HBS and the gravity of the challenges that they work to address. At The Harbus, we are
We cannot overemphasize the caliber of the entrepreneurs that we have encountered in
our class at HBS and the gravity of the challenges they work to address.
ecosystem. This starts in the classroom: not only does the school offer over 30 second-year electives related to entrepreneurship, but the required first-year curriculum offers critical components of an entrepreneur's toolkit. The Entrepreneurial Manager (TEM) in particular delves into the watershed decisions across an early-stage company's life cycle, such as crafting a business model, attracting talent and capital, and operating and improving a growing enterprise. Attention from the Student Association and faculty
camaraderie, as does the HBS Startup Bootcamp. As profiled in The Harbus last month, this year's Bootcamp drew 188 students, about one-fifth of the first-year MBA class, for hands-on guidance on building a business. Would-be entrepreneurs may even find financial support at the Rock Center: its flagship New Venture Competition will this April distribute over $300,000 of awards, while the Rock Accelerator and Rock Summer Fellows programs are also potential sources of funding for student startups.
Beyond graduation, the
enthusiastic to highlight their stories. In this issue, we are pleased to introduce Startup Comer, a new recurring feature on HBS startups and the students who founded them. These inspirational founders come in all shapes and sizes, from all industries, ethnicities, and socioeconomic backgrounds-a harbinger, we hope, of a time when there are no more lost Einsteins.