Warwick Business School Adds Silicon Valley Trip to MBA

As MBAs gravitate towards careers at Silicon Valley tech companies such as Uber and Amazon, and San Francisco-Based startups, European business schools increasingly are setting up shop in the Bay Area. 

Warwick Business School of the UK is the latest to jump on the bandwagon. Last week it announced plans to launch a new module that will take MBA students to Silicon Valley in December, where they will receive lectures from entrepreneurs and academics. They will also visit venture capitalists and angel investors, plus the offices of some of the fastest growing startups in the world.

Thousands of companies are headquartered in Silicon Valley, with 39 of the Fortune 100 based there, while San Francisco has the highest concentration of venture capital funding in the world. 

John Lyon, professor in the entrepreneurship and innovation group, said: “We will be using seasoned Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and businesses to take the students through the journey of a startup: how to get finance, build the product, people, how to pitch for funding and grow the business.”

The trip highlights how business schools are pivoting towards entrepreneurship, as MBAs consider careers in risky startup ventures in greater numbers. Warwick’s MBA entrepreneurship specialism, for example, includes a module on new venture creation and the chance to develop a startup idea alongside academics and entrepreneurs.

Cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset

After the Silicon Valley trip, named the Entrepreneurial Finance module, Warwick MBAs will be asked to pitch for millions of dollars in funding using a business case study. Lyon said: “This is a great chance for students to bring back some of the magic of Silicon Valley. It is like no place on earth, where the entrepreneurial spirit is celebrated and venture capitalists are on the hunt for the next Uber or Facebook.”

He believes it is passion, vision and story-telling ability that students need to impress potential investors, rather than technical knowhow.

“When an investor’s heart is captured by a pitch, they are more likely to listen to the rest of the presentation,” he said. “In the US, they talk about vision. A startup is all about the future. All the figures are projections; a business plan will be out of date in weeks. Investors will look at you and wonder if you will be tenacious enough to hang in there when the going gets tough.”

However, the module is not just for budding entrepreneurs: it is also for those wanting to develop an entrepreneurial mindset for use inside established corporations, which are increasingly looking for “intrepreneurs”.

“Entrepreneurship is a mind-set that can be learned and is something increasingly sought after in the workplace,” said Lyon. “Silicon Valley is a colourful place where innovation and taking risks is revered.”