by Suzanne Wolkenfeld
Entrepreneurs are surrounded by a certain mystique in our culture. Although they create businesses in widespread fields, they are commonly viewed as individualists and risk takers, with a strong drive toward financial success. Their academic background and training are seldom highlighted in their biographies. But how much of the myth of the entrepreneur stands up to scrutiny? And what is the university’s role in developing entrepreneurs? Baruch Management Professor Edward Rogoff questions the psychological profile of the “quintessential” entrepreneur. In his view, entrepreneurs are good risk managers rather than risk takers. They hire specialists to compensate for areas in which 
they lack professional strengths. More recent research plays down the importance of personality in entrepreneurs, Rogoff explains, focusing instead on their role in the context of a “family,” which provides them with information, financial support, and a network of relationships. (Learn more about the myth of the “entrepreneurial personality” at www.baruch.cuny.edu/magazine/fall05/essays1.html).
So if entrepreneurs aren't born, are they made? How?
Although the popular imagination has chosen to ignore the academic training of the entrepreneur, Baruch College has not. Just like all business professionals, entrepreneurs benefit from developing necessary business skills in the context of the university. At Baruch, entrepreneurship studies is a multifaceted program that draws on various disciplines and approaches. It is an important component of the Zicklin School’s curriculum and receives ongoing investment. Faculty members specializing in this discipline have been added in each of the last two years, and the Department of Management is currently searching to fill the newly endowed Field Family Chair in Entrepreneurship. After that search is complete, Baruch will have nine full-time faculty members devoted to entrepreneurship.
Zicklin School Dean John Elliott proudly proclaims Baruch’s “commitment to entrepreneurship as a key element in the College’s mission to serve New York City. Baruch’s entrepreneurship program is built on the conviction that training and experience increase the possibility of success in building a business.”
In agreement with the College’s position are its alumni-entrepreneurs, among them Lawrence N. Field (’52, DCSc [Hon.] ’04) and William Newman (’47, LLD [Hon.] ’97). Both credit Baruch in their entrepreneurial success in real estate development and investment businesses. Field is founder and principal of NSB Associates, a real estate development and investment firm with a diversified portfolio of quality assets in the Southern California area. Newman is founder and chairman of New Plan Excel Realty Trust, one of the nation’s largest real estate companies, focusing on the ownership, management, acquisition, development, and redevelopment of community and neighborhood shopping centers, with assets of approximately $4 billion.
At the degree level, Baruch’s Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Business Administration specializations in entrepreneurship explore ideas for creating new products and services, building wealth as fast as possible, working for oneself, and growing a family business. The link between new and small businesses recognizes that these are the areas in which most business growth takes place. Here are some of the courses offered in these degree programs:
Core BBA Courses
- Entrepreneurship Management—Provides an overview of structure, strategic planning, governance, technology, and turnaround management.
- Entrepreneurial and Small Business Start-ups—Guides students from the initiation of a new business venture to the preparation of a detailed business plan.
- Entrepreneurial and Small Business Experiences—Focuses on field projects with local businesses.
Core MBA Courses
- Entrepreneurial Strategy and Cases—Provides an overview of structure, strategic planning, governance, technology, and turnaround management.
- Entrepreneurial and Small Business Experiences—Focuses on field projects with local businesses.
- Managing the Entrepreneurial Enterprise—Analyzes cases dealing with family business matters, business valuation, exit strategies, and financial issues.
In 2004 there were 191 undergraduate and 69 graduate students who majored in entrepreneurship at Baruch. The entrepreneurship program was ranked in the top 50 on a regional level by Entrepreneur magazine in 2005.
Core entrepreneurial activities at Baruch are located in the Lawrence N. Field Center for Entrepreneurship, established in 1993 and endowed in 1998 through a gift from Field. The center constitutes a collaborative effort to make Baruch College a national leader in entrepreneurial education and research. Participants include:
- Entrepreneurs who require technical assistance and financing
- Zicklin faculty who interact with entrepreneurs and, through these relationships, enrich their classroom and research activities
- Zicklin students who work with entrepreneurs under the supervision of business advisors and faculty
The center provides educational programs, networking, and consulting for small and start-up businesses. It offers a range of technical services, which include advice on business development and marketing plans, funding decisions, accounting systems, and employee supervision. It also has a free one-on-one consulting service in business plan development, marketing, financing, e-commerce, home-based business, management issues, franchising, and contract procurement. Moreover, the center is unique in providing community outreach workshops, which offer clients free business advice. In fact, it has the largest outreach program in the CUNY system, with over 8,700 clients served and over 1,900 jobs created since 1997.
Key to the center’s client support services is the assistance it provides through its Small Business Development Center (SBDC). One part-time and three full-time business advisors, all of whom are Zicklin School of Business graduates, counsel entrepreneurs and existing businesses on a full-time basis. In addition to English, the center offers business counseling in Spanish, Turkish, Hindi, and Chinese, which provides support to immigrant businesses and communities. In fiscal 2004, center advisors supported over 1,000 clients, placing Baruch’s SBDC in the top 10 of the over 20 New York State centers offering these services. In addition to services, the center boasts nationally recognized experts, like Ramona Heck, Peter S. Jonas Professor of Entrepreneurship (in Zicklin’s Department of Management), who provides assistance to family businesses, a subset of small businesses.
The College’s centerpiece for developing and supporting budding entrepreneurs is the annual Baruch College Entrepreneurship Competition. Launched in 2000 with major support from Larry Zicklin (’57, LHD [Hon.] ’99) and Arthur Ainsberg (68, MBA ’72), the competition is open to all Baruch students (teams can include members who are not Baruch students, but Baruch students must make up a majority of a team’s membership). With guidance from successful entrepreneurs, business professionals, Zicklin faculty, and the Field Center for Entrepreneurship, teams work for two semesters to design new ventures. Each group submits a concept paper, which is judged on its potential to lead to a viable business and on the competence of its members. The next step requires eligible teams to develop detailed draft business plans. At the end of the spring semester, teams submit fully developed business plans and make oral presentations. The finalists are judged by a panel, and cash prizes of up to $10,000, as well as possible start-up funds of up to $50,000, are awarded to the winners.
Runners-up who reach the final round of the Baruch College Entrepreneurship Competition now receive support from the Baruch Entrepreneurial Network (BEN), founded in 2004. In exchange for BEN’s investment in the form of cash and seed funding, the entrepreneurs contribute a
5 percent equity stake in their businesses to The Baruch College Fund.
The competition further evolved in 2004 with the entrance of Merrill Lynch, which contributed $500,000 in funding to expand the university- level competition to New York City high schools. The program was renamed the Baruch College & Merrill Lynch IPO® Challenge and includes both the college- and high school–level competitions. The added high school competition mirrors the college competition. Eight high school groups attend workshops structured as a mini-MBA program and taught by the Field Center administrative director, Zicklin faculty, Merrill Lynch employees, and other business professionals. Participating high schools are chosen from the New York City Department of Education program, Virtual Enterprises International. Teams vie for a $10,000 grand prize, a $2,000 first-place prize, a $1,000 second-place prize, and a $500 third-place prize.
The College’s commitment to entrepreneurship at all levels recognizes that entrepreneurs are vital to our economy and bolster innovation and growth in the marketplace. Family businesses alone—just one type of entrepreneurial venture—account for over half of U.S. business revenues and over half of the jobs in the U.S. labor force. As important as the financials, though, are the opportunities entrepreneurship offers. Entrepreneur Larry Field advises students “to think positively, be persistent, work hard, think innovatively, have integrity, and find something you love to do. In short, go out into the world and realize your dreams.” Baruch College believes that entrepreneurship, with its considerable potential for success, can make those dreams come true.
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