Experiential Courses and Labs

Chicago Booth students are able to experience entrepreneurship first-hand through a variety of experiential learning opportunities. The courses below provide students with real-life experiences to put their classroom learning into practice.

New Venture Lab

This lab course (Bus 34701) is geared towards students interested in starting or working for new ventures. Teams of three to five students are paired with actual start-up companies and small enterprises, and gain real-world experience by helping these entrepreneurs grow their business. Under the guidance of the course instructor, students address challenges and opportunities and make recommendations that will have a lasting impact on the growth of the participating start-up enterprise. The course clients represent diverse industries including technology, biotech, industrial, and consumer based firms.

Elfman-Wareham Private Equity & Venture Capital Lab

In this course (Bus 34702), students complement their academic learning by working at a private equity or venture capital firm. Through a competitive application process, students are paired with a PE/VC firm for a 10-15 hour per week internship where they tackle specific assignments that range from evaluating a current portfolio company to identifying new opportunities for investment. Sponsored by Rick Elfman, '83, and Terri Wareham, '82. For additional information, please refer to the FAQs (PDF), the course description, and the list of participating firms (PDF). Eligible students may apply here (PDF).

Edward L. Kaplan New Venture Challenge

The Edward L. Kaplan, '71, New Venture Challenge (NVC) is Chicago Booth's premier business plan competition, allowing students to turn their entrepreneurial ideas into reality. The NVC spans the entire academic year to prepare students for what it takes to launch and run a business. During the fall, students pitch their business ideas, collaborate, and form teams, which must include at least one current Chicago Booth student. After submitting feasibility summaries in early February, approximately 25 student teams are selected to advance to the second round of competition and take Bus 34104 to develop their ideas into full business plans. During the class, venture capitalists, private investors, and established entrepreneurs provide critique and guidance. Between eight and ten teams are selected to present at the day-long finals competition in May before a world-class panel of investors and entrepreneurs. In 2008, a total of $80,000 was awarded to the top businesses.

Since it began in 1996, the NVC has awarded more than $500,000, and has helped launch more than 40 companies, which have gone on to raise more than $100 million to date. Learn more about these companies started at Chicago Booth. View the resources page for NVC participants.

Entrepreneurial Internship Program

The Entrepreneurial Internship Program allows students to participate in a subsidized internship with a start-up company or venture capital firm over the summer, and then take a seminar course (Bus 34105) in the fall to develop their internships into case studies. Supported by the Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, Kathryn C. Gould, '78; Donald W. Hamer, '58; David Beecken, '70; and Rattan Khosa, '79, participating students can intern with emerging entrepreneurial companies or private equity firms in a traditional, global, or socially-focused area.

Management Lab

Tackling assignments on par with those of the world’s premier consulting firms, the Management Lab in New Product and Strategy Development (Bus 37701) provides an unparalleled opportunity for students to master strategic thinking, management, and research skills in a hands-on environment. Working in teams, students partner with high-level executives at some of the world’s leading companies to manage assignments in new product development, business strategy, and operational research. Recent Management Lab teams have worked on problems of international scope, which included sending teams of students overseas for extended periods of time to manage projects on site.

Social Entrepreneurship Lab

In this course (Bus 34110) students explore social entrepreneurship first-hand by working with local non-profit enterprises and for-profit ventures that have a social mission. Much like the New Venture Lab, students make strategic recommendations to the participating organizations and firms after careful analysis, to leverage greater growth.