To help you plan your curriculum, we have developed several Career Pathways within the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Learning Community. These Pathways will help prepare students for many kinds of careers, whether you want to start your own new venture or pursue an innovation driven career in International Entrepreneurship, Corporate Innovation, Social Enterprises, Health Care and Life Sciences, Energy and Sustainability, Marketing and Digital Media, or Family-led Businesses. You may be interested in being on the other side of the table and want to pursue a career which is focused on venture investing and we have courses and programs that can help you build these skills. For Innovation and Entrepreneurship careers, we also have multiple extra curricula activities for you both in the BUild lab and within Questrom.
Gregory Stoller
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Learning
Community Lead
Starting your own Business or Social Venture
Starting your own Business or Social Venture
Many successful companies are started by new MBA’s. This extensive list includes Zoom, Rent the Runway and Peloton. This has been the career route for many BU MBA’s, forming companies such as Healthy Gamer, Evertrue and All in Energy (Non–Profit). In these BU classes you can learn the skills of ideation, validation, financial modelling and pitching that will be crucial to your success as an entrepreneur. In several of these classes you can work on your own business idea as the class project.
| Course: | Curric- ulum Info: | Pre-requisite: | Semesters: |
|---|---|---|---|
Suggested: | |||
| SI852 Starting New Ventures - 3 cr. | QST FE721 or FE722, QST MK723 or 724, QST OM725 or OM726, QST QM716 or QM717 | Spring (Evening) | |
| SI855 Entrepreneurship - 3 cr. | QST FE721 or FE722, QST MK723 or 724, QST OM725 or OM726, QST QM716 or QM717 | Fall (Evening), Spring (Day) & Summer 1 (Evening) | |
| SI857 Dilemmas in Scaling New Ventures - 3 cr. | not offered in 2023-24 | ||
Other Electives You Might Consider: | |||
| IS815 FinTech Revolution: Disruptive Technologies, Blockchain and Future of Finance - 3 cr. | not offered in 2023-24 | ||
| IS827 Platform Strategy and Design - 3 cr. | Fulfills Action Learning Requirement | Fall (Evening) & Spring (Evening) | |
| IS855 Digital Transformation: Immersive Interactions and Insights at Silicon Valley - 3 cr. | Fulfills Action Learning Requirement | FT MBA: second-year standing. PEMBA: 36 credits of coursework. | Spring (Intensive) |
| HM717 Drugs, Devices, and Diagnostics: New Challenges, Strategies, and Execution - 3 cr. | QST HM703, QST FE712 or FE722, QST MK723 or MK724, QST SI750 or SI751 | Fall (Evening) | |
| HM801 Bench-to-Bedside: Translating Biomedical Innovation from the Laboratory to the Marketplace - 3 cr. | Fall (Evening) | ||
| MK856 Consumer Insights - 3 cr. | QST MK723 or MK724 | Fall (Evening) | |
| OM854 Operations Analysis and Innovation - 3 cr. | QST OM725 or OM726 | not offered in 2023-24 | |
| OM865 Idea Lab - 3 cr. | QST OM725 or OM726, QST MK723 or MK724 | not offered in 2023-24 | |
| OM880 Product Design and Development - 3 cr. | QST OM725 or OM726 | Fall (Evening) | |
| SI814 Intellectual Property Strategies - 3 cr. | QST AC710 or AC711, QST FE721 or FE722, QST MK723 or MK724, QST MO712 or MO713, QST QM716 or QM717, or permission of the instructor. | Spring (Intensive) | |
| SI839 Design Thinking and Innovation - 3 cr. | QST SI750 or QST SI751 | Spring (Day & Intensive) & Summer 2 (Intensive) | |
| SI845 Technology Strategy - 3 cr. | QST AC710 or AC711, QST FE721 or FE722, QST MK723 or 724, QST MO712 or MO713, QST PL727 or PL730, QST SI750 or SI751 | Spring (Evening) |
Extra Curricula:
Corporate Innovation
Corporate Innovation
A rapidly growing group in many companies is the Corporate Innovation Group. Companies increasingly know they must innovate or die! Innovators in this field manage the cultivation, design, development, and commercialization of new ideas. To be innovative, any new idea must resolve the innovation paradox – introducing enough novelty to appeal to new markets while retaining enough familiarity to tap into existing behaviors. Managers and leaders create the conditions for innovation at the individual, team and organizational levels, and are successful through their knowledge of opportunity recognition, business analytics, idea interdependence, and intellectual property.
| Course: | Curric- ulum Info: | Pre-requisite: | Semesters: |
|---|---|---|---|
Suggested: | |||
| SI855 Entrepreneurship - 3 cr. | QST FE721 or FE722, QST MK723 or 724, QST OM725 or OM726, QST QM716 or QM717 | Fall (Evening), Spring (Day) & Summer 1 (Evening) | |
| SI860 Managing Corporate Innovation - 3 cr. | QST SI750 or SI751 recommended but not required | Fall (Evening) | |
Other Electives You Might Consider: | |||
| ES872 Entrepreneur's Communication Playbook - 1.5 cr. | QST ES700, ES701, ES730, or ES740 | Spring (Saturday) | |
| IS815 FinTech Revolution: Disruptive Technologies, Blockchain and Future of Finance - 3 cr. | not offered in 2023-24 | ||
| IS827 Platform Strategy and Design - 3 cr. | Fulfills Action Learning Requirement | Fall (Evening) & Spring (Evening) | |
| IS855 Digital Transformation: Immersive Interactions and Insights at Silicon Valley - 3 cr. | Fulfills Action Learning Requirement | FT MBA: second-year standing. PEMBA: 36 credits of coursework. | Spring (Intensive) |
| HM717 Drugs, Devices, and Diagnostics: New Challenges, Strategies, and Execution - 3 cr. | QST HM703, QST FE712 or FE722, QST MK723 or MK724, QST SI750 or SI751 | Fall (Evening) | |
| HM801 Bench-to-Bedside: Translating Biomedical Innovation from the Laboratory to the Marketplace - 3 cr. | Fall (Evening) | ||
| MK856 Consumer Insights - 3 cr. | QST MK723 or MK724 | Fall (Evening) | |
| OM854 Operations Analysis and Innovation - 3 cr. | QST OM725 or OM726 | not offered in 2023-24 | |
| OM865 Idea Lab - 3 cr. | QST OM725 or OM726, QST MK723 or MK724 | not offered in 2023-24 | |
| OM880 Product Design and Development - 3 cr. | QST OM725 or OM726 | Fall (Evening) | |
| SI814 Intellectual Property Strategies - 3 cr. | QST AC710 or AC711, QST FE721 or FE722, QST MK723 or MK724, QST MO712 or MO713, QST QM716 or QM717, or permission of the instructor. | Spring (Intensive) | |
| SI839 Design Thinking and Innovation - 3 cr. | QST SI750 or QST SI751 | Spring (Day & Intensive) & Summer 2 (Intensive) | |
| SI845 Technology Strategy - 3 cr. | QST AC710 or AC711, QST FE721 or FE722, QST MK723 or 724, QST MO712 or MO713, QST PL727 or PL730, QST SI750 or SI751 | Spring (Evening) | |
| SI852 Starting New Ventures - 3 cr. | QST FE721 or FE722, QST MK723 or 724, QST OM725 or OM726, QST QM716 or QM717 | Spring (Evening) | |
| SI868 International Consulting Project - 3 cr. | QST SI750 or QST SI751 | Fall (Evening) | |
| SR801 Social Impact: Business, Society, and the Natural Environment - 3 cr. | Spring (Day & Evening) |
Extra Curricula:
International Entrepreneurship
International Entrepreneurship
Whether a new venture is a small startup in a predominantly domestic market or a larger operation involving multi-national corporations, an understanding of global financial policies, cultures, and interdependencies is critical for the creation of a compelling business plan and the cultivation of strategic alliances. Building a business model that considers foreign opportunities and volatility relating to supply chain, essential partnerships, and the differences of global markets, will inform potential investors about the feasibility of a product and the scalability of its structure and can be the key to unlocking crucial funding.
| Course: | Curric- ulum Info: | Pre-requisite: | Semesters: |
|---|---|---|---|
Suggested: | |||
| SI852 Starting New Ventures - 3 cr. | QST FE721 or FE722, QST MK723 or 724, QST OM725 or OM726, QST QM716 or QM717 | Spring (Evening) | |
| SI855 Entrepreneurship - 3 cr. | QST FE721 or FE722, QST MK723 or 724, QST OM725 or OM726, QST QM716 or QM717 | Fall (Evening), Spring (Day) & Summer 1 (Evening) | |
| SI858 Innovation Eco-Systems - 3 cr. | Fulfills Action Learning Requirement | QST SI750 or QST SI751 | Spring (Intensive) |
Other Electives You Might Consider: | |||
| FE827 International Financial Management - 3 cr. | QST FE712 or FE722 | not offered in 2023-24 | |
| SI868 International Consulting Project - 3 cr. | QST SI750 or QST SI751 | Fall (Evening) | |
| SR801 Social Impact: Business, Society, and the Natural Environment - 3 cr. | Spring (Day & Evening) |
Extra Curricula:
Managing an Entrepreneurial Organization
Managing an Entrepreneurial Organization
You may not want to start your own venture, but instead join an existing early stage venture or social venture. Here you will need to address issues relating to human resource management, funding sources, revenue models, rapid culture change and addressing the multiple challenges caused by rapid growth.
| Course: | Curric- ulum Info: | Pre-requisite: | Semesters: |
|---|---|---|---|
Suggested: | |||
| SI852 Starting New Ventures - 3 cr. | QST FE721 or FE722, QST MK723 or 724, QST OM725 or OM726, QST QM716 or QM717 | Spring (Evening) | |
| SI857 Dilemmas in Scaling New Ventures - 3 cr. | not offered in 2023-24 | ||
Other Electives You Might Consider: | |||
| IS827 Platform Strategy and Design - 3 cr. | Fulfills Action Learning Requirement | Fall (Evening) & Spring (Evening) | |
| MO844 Managing Organizational Change - 3 cr. | QST MO712 or MO713 | Fall (Evening) & Spring (Evening) | |
| MO848 Leadership Challenge - 3 cr. | QST MO712 or MO713 | Fall (Intensive) & Spring (Evening) | |
| MO853 Negotiations - 3 cr. | QST MO712 or MO713 | Fall (Intensive), Spring (Day & Intensive) & Summer 2 (Evening) | |
| SI868 International Consulting Project - 3 cr. | QST SI750 or QST SI751 | Fall (Evening) | |
| SR801 Social Impact: Business, Society, and the Natural Environment - 3 cr. | Spring (Day & Evening) |
Extra Curricula:
Financing Ventures
Financing Ventures
The creation of new growth oriented businesses relies heavily on venture capital and corporate venture capital funding. A career in this industry involves fundraising, investing (deal structure, terms, due diligence, governance) and gaining liquidity. Partners are responsible for identifying investment objectives and finding suitable opportunities in line with their investment thesis.
| Course: | Curric- ulum Info: | Pre-requisite: | Semesters: |
|---|---|---|---|
Suggested: | |||
| FE854 Entrepreneurial Finance - 3 cr. | QST AC710 or AC711, QST FE712 or FE722 | not offered in 2023-24 | |
| SI852 Starting New Ventures - 3 cr. | QST FE721 or FE722, QST MK723 or 724, QST OM725 or OM726, QST QM716 or QM717 | Spring (Evening) | |
| SI857 Dilemmas in Scaling New Ventures - 3 cr. | not offered in 2023-24 | ||
Other Electives You Might Consider: | |||
| FE823 Investments - 3 cr. | QST FE712 or FE722 | Fall (Day) & Summer 2 (Evening) | |
| FE850 Private Equity: Leveraged Buyouts - 3 cr. | QST FE713 or FE820 | Fall (Day) & Spring (Evening) | |
| MO853 Negotiations - 3 cr. | QST MO712 or MO713 | Fall (Intensive), Spring (Day & Intensive) & Summer 2 (Evening) | |
| SI855 Entrepreneurship - 3 cr. | QST FE721 or FE722, QST MK723 or 724, QST OM725 or OM726, QST QM716 or QM717 | Fall (Evening), Spring (Day) & Summer 1 (Evening) |
Extra Curricula:
Energy and Sustainability
Energy and Sustainability
Perhaps no area of innovation and entrepreneurship is more exciting than “cleantech”: the development of new technologies, business models and products/services that advance environmental sustainability. Given that the many observers consider climate change to be the most urgent environmental sustainability issue facing humanity, innovation and entrepreneurship in the energy sector is especially vital to reduce global carbon emissions.
| Course: | Curric- ulum Info: | Pre-requisite: | Semesters: |
|---|---|---|---|
Suggested: | |||
| FE833 ESG Equity Investing - 3 cr. | Spring (Evening) | ||
| OM845 Clean Technologies and Supply Chains - 3 cr. | QST OM725 or OM726 | not offered in 2023-24 | |
| PL851 Sustainable Energy Business Models and Policies - 3 cr. | not offered in 2023-24 | ||
| PL855 Energy Sector Market Dynamics - 3 cr. | Spring (Evening) | ||
| SI836 Decarbonization of the Global Economy - 3 cr. | QST PL727 or QST PL730 | Fall (Evening) | |
| SI852 Starting New Ventures - 3 cr. | QST FE721 or FE722, QST MK723 or 724, QST OM725 or OM726, QST QM716 or QM717 | Spring (Evening) | |
| SI849 Corporate Sustainability Strategy - 3 cr. | QST SI750 or QST SI751 | Fall (Evening) | |
Other Electives You Might Consider: | |||
| SI855 Entrepreneurship - 3 cr. | QST FE721 or FE722, QST MK723 or 724, QST OM725 or OM726, QST QM716 or QM717 | Fall (Evening), Spring (Day) & Summer 1 (Evening) | |
| <a href="https://www.bu.edu/phpbin/course-search/search.php?search=QSTSI857SI857 Dilemmas in Scaling New Ventures - 3 cr. | not offered in 2023-24 |
Extra Curricula:
Boston University Questrom School of Business
Rafik B. Hariri Building
595 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02215