Should You Study Entrepreneurship at Business School?

For many people, starting their own business is the ultimate career goal. In fact, it's one that many succeed in reaching: entrepreneurship rates in the United States have consistently trended upwards for almost 20 years.

However, the barriers facing aspiring entrepreneurs in 2022 are very real.

From recent ups and downs in economic growth increasing the financial risk involved, to the diverse business skills required to build a new business venture, many entrepreneurs are unsure where to begin.

Business schools offer an attractive launchpad. As well as developing students' knowledge of day to day operations in startups, business masters programs like the MBA (Master of Business Administration) also hone students' soft skills and offer access to networks of potential investors.

To find out if going back to business school to study entrepreneurship is worth the investment, we spoke to Austin Cohen, founder and CEO of fitness app FlexIt.

He tells us about how his business school experience at Columbia Business School impacted his entrepreneurial journey and offers advice for the aspiring entrepreneur.

The journey to aspiring entrepreneur

When asked where his interest in entrepreneurship started, Austin says that it was a mix of innate curiosity and an evolution of his interests over time.

"I've always had an interest in innovation and creativity," he says. "I've always liked analyzing why things are the way they are and how I could make them better."

At first, this innate curiosity seemed like it might take Austin down the medical route. He always had an interest in health and fitness, but during his undergraduate degree at Columbia, he realized he didn't want to be a doctor.

When he graduated, his career took him West, and this was where his entrepreneurial ambitions started to take shape.

Exploring the startup ecosystem in California

After leaving New York, Austin traveled for a while in California. There, he met a variety of successful entrepreneurs and investment professionals who inspired him to pursue entrepreneurship for himself.

"I was traveling a lot in San Francisco and the Valley," Austin recalls, "and I got really ingrained in the startup ecosystem."

He became part of a group of professionals who were investing in early-stage consumer businesses, mostly at the luxury end of food, transport, hospitality, and entertainment.

"That really spurred everything for me," he says.

This initial spark of interest in entrepreneurship led Austin to his first position as a co founder.

Embarking on his first business venture: Wings Up

From 2013 to 2018, Austin was part of the founding team for a new business venture that aimed to make private flight more accessible by offering hourly rate booking. The company was called Wheels Up, and in 2021 they announced a SPAC-based IPO valued at US$2.1 billion.

Being part of such a successful startup practicing disruptive innovation taught Austin a lot.

"Everything for me was about helping myself to operate and scale businesses, to help other founders and folks in early-stage business development," he says.

Why go to business school?

For many people, this might have been the end of their learning journey. After all, Austin was already a successful entrepreneur; what could business school teach him that he didn't already know?

Austin did not share this attitude.

From 2015 to 2016, he returned to Columbia to complete the full-time MBA at Columbia Business School. The business skills and network he gained from his time there has been an instrumental part of his ongoing entrepreneurial success.

Using business school to accelerate his own businesses

Returning to Columbia for Austin was an experience defined by his new sense of focus in his career.

Where before he hadn't known in which direction his curiosity was taking him, now he knew that he wanted to keep creating successful startups and pursuing new business opportunities.

This focus allowed him to "lean in" to the resources for students at Columbia, including the myriad networking and training opportunities available through the school's Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center.

The Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center

The center's aim is to help launch best-in-class startups and nurture students who aspire to careers in venture capital, creating an environment where new startups flourish and scaling ventures receive the support they need.

The courses on offer include:

• Foundations of Entrepreneurship, a gateway course giving students the knowledge needed to pursue entrepreneurship.

• Launch Your Startup, an accelerated program for students ready to apply these learnings to a business idea.

• Entrepreneurial Greenhouse, for students who already have a minimum viable product (MVP) and a committed team.

The center offers resources not just for current students but also alumni, and this ability to forge long-term relationships with faculty, students, and alumni benefited Austin's entrepreneurial journey.

"I was fortunate to make great relationships with my classmates and professors," Austin says. "The school's played an instrumental part in my personal career growth as well as my business's growth since then."

Founding FlexIt

Of course, when Austin first graduated from his MBA, he was still working at Wheels Up as a co founder.

However, after studying entrepreneurship with such focus and taking advantage of Columbia's programs for founders, he was soon ready to strike out on a new venture once again.

In January 2018, Austin founded FlexIt Fitness, an innovative tech platform delivering virtual fitness experiences from training to nutrition to physical therapy. He is still CEO today.

The company has gone from strength to strength under Austin's leadership. It's been recognized by publications including Sports Illustrated, Entrepreneur, TechCrunch, and Yahoo Finance, and was named a "Most Innovative Product of 2021" by Innovation & Tech Today, among other accolades.

When looking back at what has helped make FlexIt a success, Austin believes his experience at business school is a big factor.

"Hindsight's 20:20": key moments in Austin's MBA journey

Austin believes that his experiences on the MBA at Columbia were instrumental in getting him to this point: being the successful entrepreneur behind not just one profitable venture, but two.

However, it's hard for him to pinpoint just one moment or program that made the difference. Though many aspiring entrepreneurs want to know what "big moments" to look out for on their MBA, in Austin's experience, the value of the program increases over time and is, in many ways, a matter of perspective.

"[My MBA was full of] 'hindsight 20:20' kind of moments," he says. "You don't notice it in the moment but years later you can look back and see how instrumental the experience you had was."

One of these moments was a core marketing class in his first semester, taught by Professor Olivier Toubia, whose research focuses on innovation and idea generation.

"I've had the good fortune over the nearly seven years since I graduated to work with Professor Toubia and become good friends and partners," Austin says.

"We did studies early on with students of his that informed a lot of what I was thinking about building a business and how I wanted to launch.

"That's made a major impact on FlexIt, so when I look back I can see how formative that was."

How MBAs can help students become successful entrepreneurs

The lessons offered by Austin's business school experience are clear.

1. Be intentional with your time

Firstly, it's important to go into your business masters program with a clear goal in mind, whether that's to raise money for your own business idea or to explore opportunities at existing startups.

"Really be intentional with your time," says Austin. "Two years might seem like a lot of time but it goes by in the blink of an eye.

"You want to be intentional with who you're talking to, how you're networking, and which events you can be at. There's always multiple things you could be doing."

2. Tailor your learning to your overall goals

Setting your intentions for your degree will in turn enable you to seize all the learning opportunities available to you on your program.

These might be examining case studies about innovation at established firms, learning about new markets, or exploring the fundamentals of social entrepreneurship.

Whatever it is, identify the business acumen you need and pursue it.

3. Make the most of mentoring and networking opportunities

Austin also recommends making the most of any extra-curricular programs and mentorship opportunities available to you through institutions like the Lang Center.

"The Lang Center offers coaching and office hours where students can meet with successful entrepreneurs," he says.

"I've had the good fortune of working with many students, and it's possible if students really lean in to create incredible relationships with their coaches, who could even become investors in your business. There's no script for what can happen."

4. Commit to a business idea you're passionate about

It's no coincidence that Austin has ended up working in his original area of interest: health and fitness.

"Entrepreneurship, starting something from scratch, isn't easy," Austin says. "But if you have an unrelenting commitment to your beliefs, then it's one of the most rewarding things."

Want to be a successful entrepreneur? Consider business school

We can't deny the odds are not always in your favor when you strike out on the path to entrepreneurship and self employment. Despite all the great opportunities available at business schools, not everyone who does an MBA will become a successful entrepreneur.

However, by going to business school – and following Austin's advice as you do so – you give yourself the best possible chance of success.

"I urge anyone who's got the entrepreneurship bug to scratch it, and to do it at business school," Austin says. "It's a relatively risk-free environment, because you can fall and land more softly."