Rady Lecturer Gives Insight On Entrepreneur Success

You can be an entrepreneur without starting a company. At least that’s what Del Foit, a lecturer for the Rady School’s Lab to Market course, believes. While the typical definition of entrepreneurship is somewhat formulaic—entrepreneurship is the process and attendant risks, of designing, launching, leading and growing a startup business venture—it doesn’t have to be.

According to Del Foit, entrepreneurship is about creating value by thinking innovatively to solve significant problems or unmet market needs. Based on this definition, an entrepreneur is an individual who applies science, technology, or new business models to solve these unmet needs. For example, Thomas Edison was an inventor and entrepreneur who developed a company Edison Electric Light Company, but Jonas Salk should also be considered an entrepreneur for his invention and development of the first successful polio vaccine.

In either case, Del Foit believes that entrepreneurship is more important than ever, and that is particularly true for the Rady School of Management MBA program.

“The Rady School of Management MBA program’s entrepreneurial focus is about providing students with the mindset, knowledge, and skills that allow for success in ‘innovation-driven enterprises’—be it a startup/emerging company, or an established large enterprise,” explained Del Foit in a blog. “In either case, the individual creates value and is rewarded by identifying and evaluating opportunities that others have overlooked.”

This mindset is best represented in Rady’s signature Lab to Market, three-course sequence. Lab to Market is a real-time, action-learning experience that immerses students in market problems and teaches them how to identify scalable new ideas that fill the need. Students are taught to hone their critical thinking, communication, effective problem solving and other entrepreneurial skills. And while this course doesn’t always translate into students starting a new company after graduation, it still turns them how to think like an entrepreneur.

“It is about teaching students how to create value by applying the analytical frameworks and tools of their MBA education to various sectors,” said Del Foit.

regions: San Diego

About the Author