Entrepreneurship and Innovation

At London Business School

Jeff Skinner, Executive Director of the Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship
at London Business School, talks to us about ‘being entrepreneurial in any
context’ and how the School does this, both in and out of the classroom.

Q: What is London Business School’s

approach to entrepreneurship?
Over the years, the portfolio of
entrepreneurship courses has grown
considerably and student demand has
matched that growth. We go from teaching
courses on the very early stage of
developing a business, through to courses
on specific types of ventures such as
social entrepreneurship, technology
ventures and creative ventures, which
require very different approaches. We’ve
recently introduced another course,
Entrepreneurship in Emerging Markets,
taught by John Mullins and Rajesh
Chandy.

Our approach is to bring out new sources

of value for our students and to try
Jeff Skinner, Executive Director of
something new. We know there’s a
Entrepreneurship and Innovation
demand for understanding
entrepreneurship in an emerging market
that’s being blown around on corporate
and there’s certainly an enthusiasm for it.
waters, they suddenly realise that they can
The faculty here also believe that this is an
have a real impact.
important and strategic topic, and, crucially,
it builds on their research interests.
There’s a responsibility on every manager
to initiate and incubate ideas. It’s the same
Q: Do you think that entrepreneurship
type of process, especially at the early
plays a role in ‘traditional’ companies
stages, as a new venture entrepreneur
and if so, what does that mean for the
has to go through.
skills of existing managers?
The entrepreneurship faculty at London
Q: What makes a good entrepreneur?
Business School are not just teaching
People say that entrepreneurship is all
people how to start their own ventures;
about risk-taking, but in reality,
we’re teaching people how to be
entrepreneurs actually try to limit the risk
entrepreneurial in any context. The same
or transfer as much of the risk to other
issues of building coalitions, writing
people. They tend to be incredibly
business plans, securing finance and
resourceful. The best entrepreneurs are
persuading other people that you’re right
good at spotting the weaknesses in their
while objectively testing whether an idea is
own projects.
viable, are all issues faced by people
inside any organisation.
What we do at London Business School is
bring some rigour, so that the plans the
At London Business School we provide
students write are based on firm
the tools that enable people to take charge
foundations. We want plans to be solid,
of the ideas they have and to drive them
the financial projections to be solid and the
through the organisation. It‘s empowering
market research that the idea is based on
for individuals to no longer feel like a ship
to be solid. We want potential investors to
be wowed rather than unmoved – the
latter being the fate of the vast majority of
business plans that pass their desks.
Q: What can aspiring entrepreneurs
expect from the faculty and learning at
London Business School?
There are many people who have a
plausible idea and initial drive but who lack
any methodology and insights to take it
forward.
By studying and observing many
entrepreneurial ventures we’ve come to
understand some elements of best and
worst practice and can thus help students
avoid the worst mistakes and assist them
in achieving what they’re aiming for. We
also help them to apply the frameworks,
knowledge and tools that they learn in
their other courses and apply them in an
entrepreneurial context.
Q: What other entrepreneurial
resources does the School offer
outside of courses and electives?
The student and alumni entrepreneurship
clubs are fantastic assets to the School.
They are large and lively clubs and create
a wonderfully supportive and challenging,
spirited entrepreneurial community.
The students organise a magnificent
annual entrepreneurship conference
together with various business plan
competitions. The latest initiative is the
Entrepreneurial Leadership Speaker
Series, which is also entirely student
driven. (For more information, please visit
www.london-entrepreneurship.com)
The entrepreneurship faculty work closely
with the student committees - we’re very
interested in what they are doing and have
some tacit knowledge on what has and
hasn’t worked well in the past. We’ll
always strive to find them speakers from
our various networks but it’s their show.
Q: Can you tell us about the
Entrepreneurship Summer School?
The Entrepreneurship Summer School is
the elective for students who are
passionate about starting their own
business. It gives them the chance – and
the push - to go out and bring their ideas
to life. The summer school extends over
two months and is limited to 50 students
from within the School and out.
Students work in groups of up to three
using the initial idea they come in with as a
vehicle for finding out about their industry
and market. We start with a block week
that’s packed full of the raw skills and
insights that an entrepreneur needs in the
early stages. We teach them to ‘power
network’, cold call, pitch their opportunities
and tell them how to keep themselves out
of court.
Q: What is the greatest benefit of
participating in the summer school?
The students are paired up with a mentor
and this is probably the most distinctive
part of the course. We’ve assembled a
great band of about 60 successful
entrepreneurs who really enjoy working
with students. They’re a tremendous asset.
At the end of the course, the students
present back to a group of 40 experienced
entrepreneurs – saying whether they still
think their idea is viable and why. Many
conclude that the idea is viable but in a
very different form or using a very different
business model. Most acknowledge that
their original idea was naïve and they have
to change it in a number of different ways
for it is to succeed – which is the whole
point of the exercise. The next touch point
with us is when the students are ready to
pitch to the Enterprise 100. The Enterprise
100 are a terrific group of business angel
investors that are associated with the
School and it is a powerful piece of
support we offer the students.
Q: What difference do you see in
students after the summer school?
By the time the students reach the end the
course, the increase in maturity and
confidence is quite phenomenal. But even
at that stage, very few students have
started a business by the time they leave
here. We may see them about 18 months
later when they feel they are ready to pitch
before the Business Angel Club, which is
the School’s business investor group.
At that point, you’re seeing the same
students from the beginning of their career
and you’re just thinking wow, these guys
have really got it. When you compare how
they are now with how they were at the
beginning of their programme, there is just
no comparison, so we’re obviously doing
something right.
For more information on Entrepreneurship
at London Business School, please
visit our website.