MBA Students
Classroom Structure
Carlson Ventures Enterprise associates start the Ventures program at the start of their first spring semester and continue through the end of the following fall. Students receive eight credit hours for their work in the Ventures Enterprise, with a grade issued after each term. Most associates spend about twelve hours per week on their enterprise work, primarily on projects. The majority of the grade is based on project work, with additional consideration for collaboration skills, class participation, presentation skills, and professionalism.
Program Structure
The coursework is divided into three sections and each section of the curriculum builds upon the previous and is designed to draw connections to the real-world project work.
Introduction to Entrepreneurship teaches the foundational best practices, frameworks, and mindsets of entrepreneurial thinking and doing.
Entrepreneurship in Practice focuses on extending our understanding of and experience with opportunity assessment, business building, and assumption validation.
Topics in Entrepreneurship provides insight into subject matter relevant to the real world application of entrepreneurial skill through guest speakers, panels, and activities.
The most defining experience would have to be my time in the Carlson Funds Enterprise as well as the Carlson Ventures Enterprise—the experiential learning programs that the MBA program offers. Especially in my industry—finance—I needed to get accustomed to the lingo and the jargon, and I think that [Enterprise experience] really helped me and put me in a good position coming into my role here at General Mills.