Why EL Matters

Entrepreneurial Thought & Action

No one is born with an entrepreneurial gene. The skills necessary to become an entrepreneurial leader—risk management, continuous learning, deep collaboration—aren’t reserved for a certain class, race, or gender. It doesn’t require dropping out of school to launch the next unicorn. Anyone can practice and develop entrepreneurial competencies and skills.

Entrepreneurial Thought & Action® (ET&A™) is a proven methodology for developing the skill set and mindset needed to not just launch a new business, but also make change in an established company, lead a team, or create social impact.

What Entrepreneurial Thought & Action Looks Like

Entrepreneurial Thought & Action starts with what gets you up in the morning. What are you passionate about?

Instead of overly planning and analyzing, you have three action steps you can take:

1. Start with what you already have.

What do you already know? What about your past experiences can help inform your next steps?

2. Calculate how much you are willing to put on the line.

Instead of asking how much you want to make, ask how much am I willing to spend?

3. Invite others on the journey.

Get advice and feedback from colleagues; ask for assistance or moral, emotional, and financial support.

With each action you take, you get feedback, ask questions, get results, and then recalibrate where you need to go next. ET&A is not a linear pathway; it’s iterative.

The Method of Entrepreneurial Thought & Action®

Learn Act Build
Adapted from Neck, Neck, & Murray (2021) Entrepreneurship: The Practice & Mindset, Sage Publishing.
Entrepreneurial Thought & Action is a registered trademark of Babson College.
© Babson College 2023, All Rights Reserved
Heidi Neck

Entrepreneurial Thought & Action (ET&A) is a method that can be practiced to embrace and confront uncertainty rather than avoid it. It emphasizes smart action over planning. It emphasizes moving quickly from the white board to the real world. It’s a method that can be learned and should be repeated.”

Heidi M. Neck, Ph.D.
Professor of Entrepreneurship at Babson

Entrepreneurial Thought & Action at Babson

Babson has infused ET&A into coursework at every level—from undergraduate and graduate classes to executive education programs—so that leaders can create, identify, assess, shape, and act on opportunities in a variety of contexts and organizations.

Undergraduate

Undergraduate

Starting on their first day, every undergraduate Babson student begins to experience ET&A via the Foundations of Management and Entrepreneurship (FME) course. FME is a yearlong course that allows students to develop, launch, and manage a new business venture.

Undergrad
Graduate

Graduate

The cornerstone of the Babson graduate experience is being able to practice ET&A in real-world settings. That may mean consulting at home or abroad through the Babson Consulting Experience or The Management Consulting Field Experience. Or it may mean getting feedback from investors on your venture during B.E.T.A. Challenge or Rocket Pitch.

Graduate
Executive Education

Executive Education

ET&A is infused into executive education programs so that individuals and teams can address organizational challenges—despite change or uncertainty. Babson subject matter experts work across four focus areas: entrepreneurial leadership, entrepreneurship, inclusive leadership, and strategic innovation.

Executive Education
Babson Academy

Babson Academy

Working with institutions in more than 80 countries, the Babson Academy empowers educators around the world to teach entrepreneurship. Online and in-person programs are framed by Entrepreneurial Thought and Action, giving educators, administrators, and students an increased capacity to recognize and exploit entrepreneurial opportunity.

Babson Academy

Entrepreneurial Thought & Action in the Babson Community

Competitions Help Babson Grad Perfect Her Pitch

Competitions Help Babson Grad Perfect Her Pitch

As Babson College graduates donned a cap and gown at the undergraduate Commencement ceremony in May, Swarna Shiv ’23 was pitching her startup venture at the end of a six-week marathon in which she competed in five high-stakes entrepreneurial national competitions.

Drawn by Diversity, She’s Focused on Solving Human Trafficking

Drawn by Diversity, She’s Focused on Solving Human Trafficking

As a first-generation college student, Tiffany Ramsarran ’24 was looking for a business school that emphasized diversity, and a place where she could tackle the global issue of human trafficking. Babson College supplied both.

2024-01-12 Taking a Chance Beats Checking a Box: Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

Taking a Chance Beats Checking a Box: Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

Jackie Khorassani first set foot on Babson College’s campus in January 2020 for the Price-Babson Symposium for Entrepreneurship Educators. It changed the trajectory of her professional career.

Learn More About Babson

Your next step is to get to know us even more. We are ready to answer all your questions about Babson.