Its first 100% online program teaches the entrepreneurial skills necessary to launch new ventures.

It just became a little bit easier for aspiring entrepreneurs to realize their dreams. Babson College ─ the top-ranked business school for entrepreneurship education ─ is introducing Entrepreneurship 101 Online, its first 100% web-based, open enrollment program to teach the entrepreneurial skills that are absolutely essential to launch successful new businesses.

Entrepreneurship 101 is an interactive, 4-week, online program that explores the entrepreneurial process of getting started through Babson’s branded learning method of Entrepreneurial Thought & Action®. ETA® emphasizes the importance of balancing action and experimentation with planning and analysis ─ a process that Babson believes is the most effective way to succeed within the uncertain environments that entrepreneurs face every day.

“Entrepreneurship is the most powerful force on the planet for creating economic and social value,” said Elaine J. Eisenman, Dean of Babson Executive and Enterprise Education. “We are delighted to be offering this unique program in an innovative online format so that aspiring entrepreneurial leaders around the world have access to the best in entrepreneurship education.”

Depending on the entrepreneur’s background and preparation, participants will focus on developing their own new ideas for potential businesses and creating fast, inexpensive market tests to qualify opportunities. The program strongly encourages practice over an emphasis on theory.

For More Information or to Register

The Online Format

The 10-hour program, which runs from May 6 – June 1, 2013, is hands-on and practical in nature, combining lively discussions with global colleagues; is self-paced with media-rich learning and activities; and offers weekly virtual class sessions with Babson’s Faculty Director and Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship Dr. Andrew Corbett. The online program finishes with a live-stream experience connecting virtual participants around the world with those in a residential program at Babson. The online program was designed specifically for new and aspiring entrepreneurs for whom travel to the Boston area is not possible or a flexible and distributed learning is preferred over an extended classroom session.

Program topic areas include:

∙ Entrepreneurial Thought & Action—Babson’s Approach to Entrepreneurship
∙ Self-Understanding and its Importance for Entrepreneurship
∙ Creativity and Ideation
∙ Market Testing
∙ Taking Action

Throughout the program, participants are challenged to apply learning and take action. Time is reserved to advance personal business ideas or to work in teams with other entrepreneurs.

As an alternative to the online format, Entrepreneurship 101 also is offered in-person on campus at the Babson Executive Conference Center.

Entrepreneurship 101 – Premium

The Premium version of Entrepreneurship 101 features one hour of one-on-one consulting with a faculty member from Babson College’s Entrepreneurship Division, in addition to the online program. The consulting takes place via web conference within three months after participation in Entrepreneurship 101. This option is ideal for those participants with immediate plans to launch or grow ventures upon completion of the program and those who would benefit from the strategic advice of a Babson faculty member with deep expertise in consulting to new and growing ventures.

For more information about Entrepreneurship 101 Online, please click here or feel free to contact us at 781-239-4354 or exec@babson.edu.

About Babson College

Babson College is the educator, convener, and thought leader for Entrepreneurship of All Kinds®. The College is a dynamic living and learning laboratory, where students, faculty, and staff work together to address the real-world problems of business and society — while at the same time evolving our methods and advancing our programs. We shape the leaders our world needs most: those with strong functional knowledge and the skills and vision to navigate change, accommodate ambiguity, surmount complexity, and motivate teams in a common purpose to create economic and social value. As we have for nearly a half-century, Babson continues to advance Entrepreneurial Thought and Action® as the most positive force on the planet for generating sustainable economic and social value. For information, visit www.babson.edu.

Top Chef judge and food celeb to help student entrepreneurs shape beneficial food enterprises

Babson College has named Food & Wine Special Projects Director and Top Chef Judge Gail Simmons – accomplished culinary expert, food writer, and dynamic TV personality – entrepreneur-in-residence.

Her appointment is co-sponsored by Babson’s Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership (CWEL), which provides opportunities for women to act entrepreneurially, transform their aspirations into reality, and create social and economic value for themselves and others; and the Lewis Institute for Social Innovation at Babson College, where entrepreneurs obtain the resources they need to build new businesses based on sound social, environmental, and financial values.

Simmons will work directly with CWEL and the Lewis Institute to mentor and guide Babson entrepreneurs, especially in designing strategic marketing and communications approaches to their enterprises.

“As an inspirational food communications entrepreneur, Gail Simmons will share her rich and diverse experiences with students and help them shape ventures that will impact and add value to the world,” said CWEL Director Susan Duffy.

Simmons is an active supporter of Common Threads, an organization that teaches low-income children to cook wholesome and affordable meals. She was a founding member of Food & Wine’s Grow for Good Campaign to raise funds and awareness for sustainable agriculture programs in the United States. She also sits on the boards of City Harvest, Hot Bread Kitchen, the Institute of Culinary Education’s Alumni Committee, and the Women at NBCU Advisory Board.

“Gail Simmons will be a tremendous resource for our students and faculty interested in virtually any aspect of food,” said Cheryl Kiser, executive director of the Lewis Institute for Social Innovation at Babson College. “She can bring opportunities to student entrepreneurs, offer the latest insights and thinking on food issues, and provide a wealth of knowledge to get people ready to develop food-related initiatives.”

About Gail Simmons

Gail Simmons is a trained culinary expert, food writer, and dynamic television personality. Since the show’s inception in 2006, she has lent her extensive expertise as a permanent judge on BRAVO’s Emmy-winning series Top Chef. Now in its tenth successful season, Top Chef is rated the #1 food show on cable television. Gail is also host of Top Chef: Just Desserts, Bravo’s pastry-focused spin-off of the Top Chef franchise, which aired its second season in the fall of 2011.

Gail joined Food & Wine in 2004 and directs special projects for the magazine, acting as liaison between the marketing and editorial teams on magazine events and chef-related initiatives, working closely with the country’s top culinary talent. During her tenure, she has been responsible for overseeing the annual Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, America’s premier culinary event. Prior to joining Food & Wine, Gail was the special events manager for Chef Daniel Boulud’s restaurant empire.

Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Gail moved to New York City in 1999 to attend culinary school at what is now the Institute of Culinary Education. She then trained in the kitchens of legendary Le Cirque 2000 and groundbreaking Vong restaurants, and worked for esteemed food critic Jeffrey Steingarten at Vogue. Throughout her career, Gail has contributed to several cookbooks, including It Must’ve Been Something I Ate by Steingarten, Chef Daniel Boulud: Cooking in New York City and The New American Chef, by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. Gail’s first book, her very own memoir titled Talking With My Mouth Full, was published by Hyperion in February 2012.

In addition to her work on Top Chef, Gail makes frequent television appearances on TODAY on NBC, ABC’s Good Morning America, and Fox & Friends, among others. She has been featured in such publications as New York magazine, Travel + Leisure, GQ, People, TV Guide, US Weekly, Entertainment Weekly, Los Angeles Times, and was named the #1 Reality TV Judge in America by The New York Post. She also appears at the nation’s foremost culinary festivals, including the South Beach Wine & Food Festival, New York City Wine & Food Festival and many more. Gail can be seen in the online video series The Pantry Project on www.kitchendaily.com, where she teaches viewers new ways to cook with the staples, both familiar and unusual, in their kitchens.