Entrepreneur Resources for Alumni
Babson has some great resources to support your entrepreneurial endeavors. In addition, we invite you to share your entrepreneurial expertise with fellow alumni and students.
B.E.T.A. ChallengeThe Blank Center's B.E.T.A. (Babson Entrepreneurial Thought and Action®) Challenge recognizes major milestones Babson businesses have achieved by taking action. Sponsored by the Alumni & Friends Network, The Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship, and the Babson Alumni Association, this year’s challenge will include an alumni competition. Winners of the graduate, undergraduate and alumni B.E.T.A. Challenge will each win a grand prize of $20,000 in cash and "services in kind" donations from corporate sponsors respectively. In addition, $2,500 will be awarded to the two other finalist ventures in each of the three competitions. Applicants compete for prizes by demonstrating success in achieving major milestones by taking action. The 2013 B.E.T.A. Challenge Competition is scheduled for Thursday, April 11. For details, visit
http://2013babsonbeta.eventbrite.com/.
The John E. and Alice L. Butler Venture Accelerator supports and advances student and alumni entrepreneurial businesses in each phase of their startup venture—from opportunity exploration and pursuit with an action plan to the ultimate launch. The deadline for applications is April 15, 2013. Applications past this deadline will be reviewed on a monthly basis. Click here to apply.
MassChallenge
Babson is an academic sponsor of MassChallenge, a global business competition that provides entrepreneurs with resources to launch their ventures successful. Nine Babson student and alumni businesses were selected as finalists out of 125 for the 2012 MassChallenge. Finalists receive mentorship and training, office space, a chance to win a share of $1 million, and more.
Accelerate Your Business: A Webinar Series for Entrepreneurs
This four part webinar series features the faculty advisors for the Babson [Student] Accelerator Program and provides aspiring entrepreneurs with faculty insights for exploring, pursuing, launching and growing business endeavors.
Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship
The Blank Center is the hub of entrepreneurial activity at Babson. Through the web site you can access faculty research and publications and learn about speaker events. The Blank Center regularly invites entrepreneurial leaders to campus to share their stories with members of our community.
Babson Alumni Supporting Entrepreneurs (BASE)
The Babson Alumni Supporting Entrepreneurs (BASE) program, formerly Babson Alumni Resource Network (BARN), provides practical support for Babson Alumni Entrepreneurs by connecting them to other experienced alumni who act as business advisors, helping to clarify issues and explore options for start-up businesses and existing companies trying to move to their next level of success. BASE Teams work with Alumni Entrepreneurs as sounding boards and coaches, providing insights and perspectives, based on their own business experience and expertise. To request a BASE application, contact Kathryn Shilling, Director Alumni Volunteer & Recognition.
Babson Entrepreneur Experience Lab (EEL)
Babson College and the Business Innovation Factory (BIF) have created an Entrepreneur Experience Laboratory to design, develop, and test new entrepreneurship support solutions and systems. This initiative will shed light on the entrepreneurship experience through the lens of the entrepreneur, create a platform to design and test new ways to support entrepreneurs and accelerate new venture creation, and leverage an Entrepreneur Video Booth where entrepreneurs can answer important questions via new media.
Rocket Pitch
At this annual event hosted by the Blank Center, alumni entrepreneurs are invited to pitch their new ventures in three minutes or less to a large audience of students, faculty, entrepreneurs, investors, and service providers. For more information, please contact Antonette Ho.
Social Media Resources
Several social media resources are available to help alumni entrepreneurs expand your network.
- Babson Entrepreneurs LinkedIn Group
This group is a subgroup of the Babson College Community LinkedIn Group and provides a digital space for Babson entrepreneurs to meet, network, and discuss business challenges and successes.
- Babson Entrepreneurs Facebook Group
Similar to LinkedIn, this group provides a digital space for Babson entrepreneurs to exchange information and ideas.
- Babson Entrepreneurs Blog
This blog is written by Babson entrepreneurs for Babson entrepreneurs and features various topics of interest to individuals starting, growing, or liquidating business.
- Following @BabsonEship on Twitter
Keep up to date on upcoming events and other news from the Blank Center.
Alumni Entrepreneur Volunteer Opportunities
BASE Advisor
If you are a Babson alum who would like to advise and mentor Alumni Entrepreneurs, to help them tackle specific business issues or develop strategies to grow their businesses, please contact Kathryn Shilling, Director Alumni Volunteer & Recognition for a BASE Advisor Application. Upon receiving your completed Advisor Application, a BASE Leadership Team member will talk with you about your business experience and expertise, and about the areas in which you can help our Alumni Entrepreneur Alumni Entrepreneurs. Each BASE Advisor can expect to be invited onto three to four projects during the year. BASE Team projects typically involve three to five hours of meetings, normally via telephone conferences, during the course of thirty to ninety days.
Blank Center Volunteer
The Blank Center values your expertise as alumni entrepreneurs. We invite you to share your time and talent in the following ways:
- Mentors
We seek alumni entrepreneurs to facilitate roundtable discussions to provide students who are exploring entrepreneurial endeavors with guidance and feedback.
- One-on-One Meeting Facilitators
We welcome alumni entrepreneurs to host weekly one-on-one office hours (in person or virtually). Your expertise is invaluable to students who are at various stages of entrepreneurial development.
- Workshop Facilitators
Alumni entrepreneurs who have a passion for public speaking are encouraged to reach out to the Blank Center to share ideas for workshop topics. Workshops are scheduled at various parts of the day and the target audience is student entrepreneurs (both undergrads and MBA).
- B.E.T.A. (Babson Entrepreneurial Thought and Action™) Challenge Alumni Evaluator
Formerly the Douglass Foundation Graduate Business Plan Competition and John H. Muller Jr. Undergraduate Business Plan Competition, the Blank Center’s B.E.T.A. (Babson Entrepreneurial Thought and Action™) Challenge recognizes major milestones student businesses have achieved. Alumni volunteer evaluators decide who the semifinalists are by reading and scoring randomly assigned submissions. Students with the highest scored submissions compete at the Venture Expo (B.E.T.A. Challenge semifinals). The top 3 graduate and top 3 undergraduate finalists are chosen at the Venture Expo and later compete at the B.E.T.A. Challenge finals.
To serve in one or more of the Blank Center volunteer roles listed above, please contact the Blank Center at
blankcenter@babson.edu or 781-239-4420.