Sandy Ehrlich, Qualcomm executive director of SDSU’s Entrepreneurial Management Center, says students get to observe venture capital meetings. (photo/lambertphoto.com)

As an MBA student at USD, Andreas Roell knew that he wanted to start an Internet business. He was involved with a venture while taking Dennis Zocco’s “Financing New Ventures” course. The class placed students in the roles of entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. Groups of four to five students developed business models and pitched their projects to groups of students acting as venture capitalists.

Last summer, students in UCSD’s inaugural FlexMBA program created companies and products. That was one objective of “From Lab to the Market,” a course covering topics including “what venture capitalists want” and “typical funding stages.” Representatives from venture capital firms were among those evaluating the students’ projects.

At SDSU, business students watched several partners from the Domain Associates venture capital firm conduct a phone conference. The “fish bowl” exercise allowed students to observe what a venture capital meeting looked like, says Sandy Ehrlich, Qualcomm executive director of the university’s Entrepreneurial Management Center.

For some graduate business students, learning experiences in areas like financing are drawn from interactions with the business world. Businesses also are turning to graduate schools for services ranging from research to consulting.

At USD, students gain perspective about both sides of the venture funding process, says Zocco, who also teaches the undergraduate “New Venture Finance.” Both courses cover topics like negotiating and the term sheet, the nonbinding funding offer issued by investors.

“The student group makes a pitch for me to grade. But it’s also to attract funds,” says Zocco. “Some classes are negotiating sessions. Venture capitalists can invest in one or more venture, and entrepreneurs can take capital from more than one group.”

Roell says he used Zocco’s course to come up with a business mock-up. He earned an MBA in 1999. The following year, Roell started Geary Interactive and serves as its CEO. The online advertising agency’s clients range from Trump International Hotel and Tower in Las Vegas to USD’s business school.

The local venture capital community is active with UCSD’s Rady School of Management, says JoAnne Starr, assistant dean for MBA programs. UCSD launched its business school with the FlexMBA for working adults in 2004. Starr says that venture capitalists are among the school founders and supporters. Investors participate in the executive mentor program and speak to classes about how they make investment decisions. Venture capital organizations like San Diego Tech Coast Angels participate in a range of activities at UCSD and SDSU.

Angels In The Classroom

The local organization is the San Diego network of Tech Coast Angels, a group of private investors who fund and help early-stage companies in Southern California. Starr says that the interaction between venture capital groups and the university leads to the “funding and creating (and) the commercialization of new ideas.”

San Diego Tech Coast Angels internships for SDSU students are arranged through the Entrepreneurial Management Center. EMC’s roster of mentors for students includes Brian Dovey of Domain Associates. In addition, State has hosted and garnered awards at Venture Challenge, an international business plan competition.

In the classroom, Ehrlich says students learn about raising equity from the perspective of the entrepreneur and investor. The emphasis for entrepreneurs is what’s most appropriate for their businesses, and venture capital is a small part of the equity picture. Issues under consideration include funding sources. Where the entrepreneur gets funding could add value to the business, says Ehrlich.

University of Redlands plans to hire a venture capitalist to fill an endowed chair in entrepreneurship, says Jerry Platt, dean of the School of Business. Furthermore, Redlands is forming business advisory boards in San Diego and seven other Southern California cities where the university has campuses. The panels will have two levels of membership. The first level is localized, with members giving insights and discussing changes in local markets. The second level has a local focus, too. Advisers will also “look more globally” and may meet twice a year.

In a related matter, Redlands redesigned its undergraduate business degree to include an industry analysis specialization. The five specialization courses focus on a specific industry. “In San Diego, it could be biotech. In Burbank, it could be entertainment,” says Platt. He notes that Census Bureau projections indicate that the future professional’s career could consist of 10 to 15 jobs. The businessperson needs to “be in position to do a quick study.” Platt adds that Redlands is in the process of modifying the graduate business program.

Master Of Innovation

Tom Green, dean of National University’s School of Business and Management, says the school will begin a master of innovation degree in the spring. (photo/lambertphoto.com)

National University is rolling out a master of innovation degree in the spring, says Tom Green, dean of the School of Business and Management. The 12-course program will consist of five areas: product and service innovation, process innovation, organizational innovation, cultural innovation and strategic innovation. In addition to taking a course in each area, the student will be paired with a mentor in that discipline. Green says mentors will be drawn from sources including partnerships with businesses, offsite programs, internships and advisory boards. In addition, the university has discussed mentoring with the North County Economic Development Council.

Graduate business programs often culminate in a capstone project. This is done instead of a thesis. Part of the assignment in the innovation program may be to pitch the capstone project to a venture capitalist, says Green.

Alliant International University has two programs that link students and some faculty with businesses.

Organizational psychology is the focus of the Organizational Consulting Center (OCC) of the university’s California School of Organizational Studies. Clients include Julian Charter School. Rapid growth prompted the school to contract for services including strategic planning and staff coaching. This fall, OCC helped the Navy do a survey related to the merger of five departments, reports John Renner, center director.

“Ideas for projects come from two sources,” he says. Student internships generate some projects. Word of mouth also leads people to contact OCC. Renner structures the projects; striving to involve students in the assignments. He can be reached at (858) 623-2777, Ext. 310.

Alliant’s GlobalMind Center for Strategic Consulting’s international projects included a project to transfer technological skills to 40 vocational students in Tijuana, reports Rachna Kumar, center co-director. Alliant students and faculty worked with the Tijuana Chamber of Commerce and Universidad Technologico de Tijuana on the project that emphasized “data-driven strategic planning” for small businesses.

Kumar says some students work with the center for class credit; others want to start businesses. Furthermore, international students and alumni provide input that helps businesses market in their countries. GlobalMind also provides Capability Maturity Model Ingeneration training. For information about the center, call (858) 635-4615.

Smart Forums

Venture capital was among the issues discussed when University of Phoenix held a three-hour entrepreneurship forum in October. Phoenix’s new MBA program also features an “interpretive” finance course, says Michael Reilly, San Diego chair of the College of Business.

Students assume the role of business owners and consider financing options that include selling the business and taking on a partner. “There is no correct answer,” Reilly says, noting that the decision will be based on factors including financial statements and market conditions.

For an entrepreneur, venture capital is one method of financing a business, says Reilly of University of Phoenix. He’s done venture investing and has started businesses. He used “sweat equity” and a U.S. Small Business Administration loan to buy a small business and turn it into a large company.

Reilly notes that venture capitalists take some sort of an active role in a business. While this could be a drawback, there are benefits to having a venture capitalist review a business plan. Reilly says that the investor is a “second set of eyes” that may see problems that the entrepreneur overlooked.

At Point Loma Nazarene University, there’s a “flavor” of venture capital in the MBA program, says Bruce Schooling, dean of the Fermanian School of Business. That flavor is seasoned by the faith-based university’s mission. “You don’t have to be Christian” to attend, says Schooling, but should be aware that the university is. Teaching is reflective of values and issues like the need to be more ethical.

When doing business, Schooling says questions raised include, “Is it about increasing shareholder wealth or stakeholder wealth? Yes, there has to be a profit, but at what cost?” The dean adds that the undergraduate business program includes entrepreneurship and small business institute classes.

Cal State San Marcos offers a general MBA, “We encourage our students in their final master’s projects to work on an issue or an entrepreneurial venture they want to explore,” says Keith Butler, director of operations for the College of Business.

Dreaming Big

At Chapman University, venture capital is one component of “Dream Big,” a program woven into courses for the master of arts in organizational leadership. The program starts with students identifying goals as beginning dreamers, says assistant professor Christine Cecil. The next stage is intermediate dreamer, with the student becoming a great dreamer by the end of the degree program. “We’re the emotional component behind the financial arm,” says Cecil.

She cites the example of a refugee who wants to open a restaurant. The man was one of the lost boys of Sudan, those who fled their homes and traveled through Africa on foot. As a Chapman student, the man’s dream started with the goal to be a restaurant owner. The dream expands to bringing others along as employees. Next come issues like planning for payroll and seeking venture capital.

Dream Big is based on the acronym FREEDOM: friendship, recreation, emotions, energy, decisions, organizing and money. “The goal is to dream in all seven areas,” says Cecil.