Interest in Entrepreneurship Increasing Among Millennials

OpenView is in the process of interviewing candidates for a pre-MBA Associate position on our investment team, and we have received tremendous interest in the role. Hundreds of qualified candidates applied, which made the decision of who to interview extremely difficult. I noticed that several applicants had started their own businesses over the past few years, either while they were in school or immediately after graduating. I was also surprised to find that we were receiving a lot of resumes from candidates who had already earned their MBAs. Why? Well, after some research into the topic, I found that interest in entrepreneurship and growth venture capital is increasing in both undergraduate and graduate business schools. In fact, according to Fortune Magazine, more than two-thirds of U.S. colleges and universities are now teaching courses on entrepreneurship (over 10x as many as in the 1970s).

Before the financial crisis began, it seems that many millennials felt that “safe” working for large companies, but as their safety net diminished (or vanished) over the past few years, many decided to try their hand at starting their own businesses. A lot has been written on the topic in recent months, and while many publications, like Business Week, note that, With Jobs Scarce, MBAs Create Their Own, several others, such as Fortune Magazine ask, Can you learn to be an entrepreneur? The latter is a topic for another time… but I have certainly noticed this upswing while providing recruiting support to OpenView and our portfolio companies, and anticipate that the number of companies looking for investors will grow exponentially in the coming years.

Check out this article in Business Week, Entrepreneurial Spirit Soars on B-School Campuses, for more insight into this growing trend.