The Robert H. and Beverly A. Deming Center for Entrepreneurship at the CU-Boulder Leeds School of Business has received a $10,000 grant to support summer entrepreneurship internships for MBA students.
The grant is the seventh to be awarded to the Deming Center by the Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City, Mo., a not-for-profit organization that aims to accelerate entrepreneurship in America.
"With these funds, we are able to support one of the largest entrepreneurial internship programs in the country," said Kathy Simon, director of the Deming Center. "We provide stipends for students interning at early-stage companies and not-for-profit organizations. These internships give students firsthand experience in entrepreneurial environments and often lead to full-time jobs with the companies."
In the past two years, CU-Boulder students have interned for Noodles & Company, BrandJuice Consulting, Greenhouse Partners, Haley Floral, Interior Sound Design, Kalos Strategy Group, Key Equipment, Kindred/Keziah, Millennium Venture Group, Mobius Venture Capital, Bingham Hill Cheese, CU's Technology Transfer Office, PERA Ventures, Roving Planet, Sequel Venture Partners, Superior Liquor Mart and VHG Inc.
Typical internship assignments include market research and analysis, project and product management, strategic planning, venture capital and investment banking modeling and analysis, new product development, research and evaluation of new business opportunities, and financial planning, analysis and management.
Last summer, MBA student Jason Christie interned for Roving Planet, which provides wireless LAN management software to universities, hospitals, airports and large corporations. Christie gathered competitive intelligence, updated the market potential for the industry and prepared press releases.
"It was a unique opportunity to see how a company prepares for growth by grappling with issues including development, marketing and finding sources of venture capital," Christie said.
The Leeds School's graduate entrepreneurship program was recently ranked 15th in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. This is the graduate program's fifth consecutive year to be ranked among the top 20 nationwide.
The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation works with partners to encourage entrepreneurship across America and to improve the education of children and youth.
The Deming Center for Entrepreneurship is a joint program of the Leeds School of Business and the College of Engineering and Applied Science. For more information visit .