The Portable MBA in Entrepreneurship

By William D. Bygrave

Book Overview

Your golden opportunity to get a state-of-the-art education in entrepreneurship in your spare time and at a tiny fraction of the cost of an MBA program . . . . . . From an all-star team that includes: William D. Bygrave, Babson College . . . Jeffry Timmons, Harvard University and Babson College . . . Karl Vesper, University of Washington . . . Gerry Hills, University of Illinois, Chicago . . . Robert Ronstadt, Pepperdine University . . . David E. Gumpert, David Gumpert Communications . . . William Wetzel, University of New Hampshire . . . Joel Shulman, Babson College . . . Elizabeth Gatewood, University of Houston . . . Richard Mandel, Babson College . . . Joseph Iandiorio, Iandiorio & Teska . . . Steve Spinelli, Babson College . . . J. William Petty, Baylor University . . . Bruce Kirchhoff, New Jersey Institute of Technology . . . Julian Lange, Babson College. "Bygrave has assembled a thoughtful and highly usable volume. The fundamentals are all here . . . from how to recognize entrepreneurial opportunity to the development of successful business plans and financial arrangements. This book will be on the desk of every aspiring entrepreneur who wants a ready reference with a wealth of information equal to his dreams of entrepreneurial success." --Alfred E. Osborne, Jr. Director, Entrepreneurial Studies Center "Bygrave's book includes all the right stuff: the right topics, the right applications, and the right concepts for the MBA student seriously interested in entrepreneurship or providing goods and services to the growth segment of the business world." -- Donald L. Sexton, William H. Davis Chair of American Free Enterprise System, Ohio State University "This book is a 'keeper.' The entrepreneur will be referring to it through the startup process and long afterward. This will be the bible for those who want to create and grow their own ventures." --Frank Hoy Dean, College of Business Administration, University of Texas, El Paso With the global marketplace now a reality, entrepreneurs and small businesses are seizing opportunities at a rate never before equaled. New markets emerge almost daily, offering boundless potential to those with the vision to see them, the courage to pursue them, and the persistence to capture them. But a keen eye, a strong heart, and a tenacious temperament do not guarantee success in this swirling maelstrom of competition. You'll also need a generous supply of the most precious commodity in the global marketplace--knowledge. The Portable MBA in Entrepreneurship, Second Edition equips real-world entrepreneurs with the same state-of-the-art business knowledge and information taught to MBA candidates in top business schools. William Bygrave has reassembled his all-star team of professors, consultants, and entrepreneurs to expand and update this bestseller. Every chapter is brought into step with the times through a host of new case studies and examples, and the changing legal, tax, and regulatory climates for small businesses and entrepreneurs are examined and explained as well. New and updated topics covered in this indispensable Second Edition include: Using the Internet as both a source of opportunities and a resource for generating additional revenues Discovering the perfect business opportunity Creating a business plan Financing a business with venture capital or debt financing Managing for growth Protecting intellectual property Harvesting your business Amazingly, while The Portable MBA in Entrepreneurship, Second Edition brings you the collective wisdom of some of the top guns in the academic and business worlds, you don't need an academic background to understand it. Featuring solid, substantive information written in a clear and engaging style, this book is your golden opportunity to get a five-star education in entrepreneurship at a take-out price. Also available, The

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471160784
• ISBN13: 9780471160786
• Release Date: February 1997
• Publisher: Wiley
• Length: 528 Pages
• Weight: 2.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 7.7" x 9.8"

Customer Reviews

Poor Man's MBA

I Found this book to be invaluable. I have ordered the entire series because of information involved. This book opens the readers eyes to realistic business information and strategies that work. I used this book to write my business plan and plan my business as well as getting financing for the business. The verbage and language helps you negotiate any business contract. Actually, there is too many benefits to list! Just buy the book if you are considering becoming an entreprenuer.

Everything you should've done

If you have been running a business for a while and are seeing successes/failures but you aren't sure why: Please buy this book and enjoy! If you are just starting out on your expedition (because journey is way too overused), I recommend you get a SCORE (http://www.score.org) representative in your area to help you out for about a year, then pick up this book: It will say a lot of the same things, but in a different way. Which, I think, can never hurt. My favorite section of this book is easily the cash flow projections. He made my brain hurt a little bit, but then I started to understand things I didn't know were out there. All in all, this is a book I will keep in my library for as long as I own a business.

Good book, good MBA insight

this was my first MBA or any business type book. it was a really good and easy read, and had a good mix of detailed and technical know how. Gave me some good insight into understanding the company that i was working for which was about a 30 employee company in Boston.

Great help for beginning business.

The reason I purchased the book is I had gotten a copy from the library, the only one of about 50 titles on the topic that was well organized and specific in the information given. Perhaps the reason for the excellent coverage is the outstanding credentials of the authors assembled from educators at the forefront of their field.

Overview of Entrepreneurship

"The Portable MBA in Entrepreneurship" is a very thorough introduction to the entire process of entrepreneurship and business formation. New entrepreneurs will find articles by various entrepreneurs and scholars of entrepreneurship that cover marketing, finance, venture capital, writing a business plan, and many other topics. "The Portable MBA in Entrepreneurship" also notes many interesting aspects of entrepreneurship as it relates to the broader economy. It is pointed out that throughout the 1980's, for example, that only 5% of all the companies accounted for 77% of the new jobs in the U.S. Such information is interesting and it helps us understand the broader issues of entrepreneurship. Although much of this academic information about entrepreneurship is not practically useful to new entrepreneurs who are building and growing companies, it does make for some interesting reading. Nor is "The Portable MBA in Entrepreneurship" a thorough analysis of successful businesses. It is not a business case study book. The chapter about Market Opportunites and Marketing by Gerald E. Hills is especially good reading for people contemplating starting a business. While this is a very good book, if I were going to teach a class in entrepreneurship (and assuming students wanted a more hands-on introduction to building a company), I'd use "The Entrepreneur's Fieldbook" by John Vinturella.Peter Hupalo, Author of "Thinking Like An Entrepreneur"