Colleges focus more programs for entrepreneurs
NASHVILLE (AP) — Kevin Alexandroni is studying to get a business degree at Belmont University, but his future isn’t in corporate finance — it’s in preparing kosher food for weddings.
Alexandroni, whose business, Sova Catering, pays his tuition, is part of a growing number of students across the nation who attend college to learn practical skills in launching and running a small business.
“Most business classes assume that you’ll work in corporate America,” said Alexandroni, 30, a former officer in the Israeli Defense Force. “But if you’re going to open your own business, a class in corporate financing isn’t relevant.”
Four years after he started a restaurant called “Le Courouge,” or “The Redneck,” an experiment in what he calls “French-Southern fusion,” Alexandroni realized he needed the entrepreneurial skills to match his cooking talents.
“Belmont’s program gives me bootstrapping tools and experience in the day-to-day things I need to survive,” he said.
Dr. Jeffrey R. Cornwall, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at Belmont, said the program’s emphasis reflects a fundamental change in the nation’s economy.
“In the last 20 years, there’s been a net job loss at Fortune 500 companies,” he said. “Yet we’ve had a significant increase in the number of jobs nationwide because most new jobs come from companies with less than 500 employees.”
Small businesses — those with 500 workers or fewer — represent the majority of all companies, the U.S. Small Business Administration reported.
Small firms create 60 to 80 percent of net new jobs each year. Such companies are also innovative, producing as much as 14 times the number of patents per employee as large companies.
There were about 23 million businesses in the United States in 2002. Two-thirds of new firms survive at least two years and about half survive at least four years, the government agency said.
“Change and chaos create opportunities,” Cornwall said. “Belmont’s program is designed to give students the tools needed to start and run successful enterprises. I’m not here to train merchants.”
The mix of the practical and theoretical creates a new demand for professors with business experience and academic credentials.
Cornwall launched and sold Atlantic Behavioral Health Systems in Raleigh, N.C., a company that provided non-hospital care for mentally ill patients. The company grew to 350 employees from seven and had revenues in excess of $12 million a year.
But he’s also published academic papers and several books, including “From the Ground Up” which details how to start a homeschool network, Internet-based teaching programs and charter schools.
Programs in entrepreneurship typically flourish at small universities, Cornwall said. The University of Michigan is a clear exception.
“Students do everything from starting small, boutique lifestyle business such as restaurants to technologies with intellectual property,” said Dr. Thomas Kinnear, a professor of entrepreneurial studies at Michigan. “There are great ideas each year — the creativity of the students keeps me here.”
In 1996, Michigan students Hal Davis and Vinay Gupta launched Blue Gill Technologies, developer of the first software designed to handle bill payment over the Internet. The company was sold in 2000 for $250 million.
Kinnear has launched nine companies while a professor and is a limited partner in four venture capital funds.
The typical MBA student at Michigan is about 28, holds a degree in engineering or science and brings five or more years of work experience to class.
“Undergraduates are smart and aggressive but not experienced,” he said. “The typical MBA student has enough experience to know what it takes to put a business together.”
At St. Thomas University in St. Paul, Minn., Dr. Christopher Puto mixes balance sheets with philosophy and theology.
“Profit isn’t the goal of a business — it’s the reward for running a good business,” Puto said. “An entrepreneur must identify the needs of customers, deliver value and provide a workplace that’s respectful and pays an honest wage — that’s what we’re trying to teach every student.”
Entrepreneurship is offered in undergraduate and graduate programs at St. Thomas. The graduate program covers four basic points: planning, venture financing, start up and managing a growing business.
“Our goal is to produce graduates who have the ability to identify and understand customer needs and work through organizational development to deliver goods and services — that’s entrepreneurial thinking,” Puto said.
Kevin Plank got the idea for his business while playing football at the University of Maryland.
Sales at his Baltimore-based athletic clothing company, Under Armour, have grown to $200 million a year from $17,000 when launched in 1996.
Under Armor offers six product lines for athletes. Plank said he wanted something warmer than cotton in winter and a fabric that wouldn’t get soaked with sweat in summer.
His customers now include professional teams and major colleges.
“You have to be flexible and move from what you think is the answer to the right decision,” Plank said. “An entrepreneur has to practice like any other person who wants to master their craft. How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice.”
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